Access Field Head - States

About the role

Novartis is looking for an Access Field Head for States, based at its Mumbai head office. The role leads state-level market access strategies and field engagement plans to improve patient access, affordability and adoption of Novartis therapies across priority state government accounts. It involves building partnerships with external stakeholders and working closely with cross-functional teams.

Key responsibilities

• Lead execution of the state access strategy across priority states and public accounts to drive patient access, formulary inclusion and brand uptake.
• Develop and scale partnership models with state-level accounts, government bodies and key stakeholders.
• Translate national priorities into actionable, high-impact field execution plans.
• Build and manage stakeholder ecosystems, including mapping, prioritisation and engagement plans with influencers, policymakers, healthcare providers and public sector authorities.
• Use market intelligence to shape access strategies and support data-driven decisions.
• Identify access barriers and unlock partnership and funding opportunities to improve affordability and continuity of care.
• Work with Commercial, Medical, Policy, Public Affairs and Compliance/Legal on compliant, scalable access initiatives.
• Develop state account plans with engagement cadences, partnership roadmaps and access KPIs.
• Lead and develop the access field team through coaching, goal setting and a high-performance, customer-centric culture.

Required profile

• Graduation (any stream); MBA preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in the pharma sector, with experience managing state government accounts.
• Previous people management experience required.
• Proven track record in state access preferred.
• Able to understand the changing dynamics of the pharmaceutical industry.
• Fluent in spoken and written English with good interpersonal and communication skills.

Required skills

• Market access strategy and health economics
• Health policy and health technology assessment (HTA)
• Public affairs and regulatory compliance
• Negotiation and project management