Our Mission

Aurinia exists to make a difference. From the earliest days of the company, we’ve seen the potential in applying a creative, thoughtful and responsible approach to developing and commercializing therapies with a goal of changing the course for patients in disease areas that have been historically challenging to address. We Care, for our patients and our employees.

We are currently developing an investigational drug as a treatment of lupus nephritis (LN) and preparing for its potential commercialization. We are also looking to leverage our internal capabilities to advance additional innovative therapies which have the potential to change the lives of people with rare autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

The Director Distribution and Trade Operations will report to the Sr. Director, Distribution and Channel Management. This individual will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Aurinia’s specialty channel distribution programs. This individual will be the subject matter expert as it relates to channel activities, coordinating with Commercial Operations, Finance, Legal, Patient Services colleagues and other cross functional teams. The Director will lead the management of Specialty Pharmacy (SP) partners, Specialty Distributor (SD) partners, this includes managing the day-to-day interactions of our third party logistics provider (3PL) including our order to cash program, HUB Services, implementation of pharmacy contracts & pull-through initiatives of our products in Specialty Pharmacy channels. The role will also be responsible for establishing and implementing operational strategy for specialty channel distribution across brands. This role will synthesize strategies from leadership into action plans for operational execution and provide oversight for all operational activities across the specialty channel. This role will be responsible for monitoring contracting strategy and execution for all specialty pharmacies (SPs) and distribution partners, as well as measuring key performance indicators (KPIs), metrics, scorecards to measure impact, success, and key deliverables.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead management of day-to-day activities with specialty pharmacy (SP) and specialty distributor partners within the key deliverables of the patient services program. This includes follow up, investigation and resolution solutions to untimely prescription fulfillment.
• Manage the order to cash program, including returns and product complaints with our 3PL.
• Create and execute operational plans that seek to increase adherence, time to fill, and ultimately provide a seamless patient journey from initial prescription to dispensed product
• Support launch activities for new products as it relates to SP strategy, pre/post launch implementation, and evaluation activities throughout the launch process.
• Proactively monitor and analyze business performance in collaboration with the Patient Services(PS) and Business Insights teams to assess and evaluate channel effectiveness
• Analyze specialty pharmacy and product data to consistently communicate business metrics in support of strategic objectives
• Create quarterly SP services scorecards for Channel Partner invoice evaluation and tactical discussions with Commercial Supply Leadership
• Manage SP invoice evaluation and work closely with Data Management and Business Support to ensure compliant management of invoices for channel partners data and services
• Partner with Patient Support Team on SP collaboration, communications, initiatives, and process improvements
• Develop operational SOPs, including the communication, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of those SOPs related to systems, processes, data, and reporting templates
• Work collaboratively with Data Aggregator and Insights team to ensure data received from our distribution partners are accurate and validated
• Support and maintain a high level of communication and collaboration with key partners within the distribution network (e.g. PS, Customer Support, Supply Chain), including issue management
• Manage and coordinate inventory levels of SP partners in accordance with department and corporate strategy
• Train internal and external customers as needed on distribution and operations
• Ad hoc projects and initiatives as required

The preferred candidate comes with strategic and operational experience in the specialty pharmacy providers, managing 3rd party consultants, vendors and partners, contract development, strong cross-functional project management experience, implementation ; is a solutions-oriented leader who can provide management structure and control; has strong verbal and written communication skills; is a team player; produces results, able to adapt to the changing priorities intrinsic to a growing company.

Preferred Experience

• Bachelor’s degree and/or appropriate experience required
• 7+ years Commercial Biotech/Pharmaceuticals industry experience a must. Commercial product launch experience preferred
• 5+ years of specific experience in working with specialty pharmacy(s) and specialty distribution partners
• Understanding of the US commercial and government healthcare and reimbursement environment
• Ability to work effectively with cross-functional stakeholders
• Team player with strong interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills; ability to contribute through open channels of communication and fostering collaborative relationships.
• Ability to rapidly assimilate information and to prioritize and manage multiple projects
• Strong understanding and commitment to customer service
• Excellent Power Point, Excel, Visio skills required
• Strong organizational skills in order to maintain a high level of productivity, innovation, and priority setting in order to complete assignments on-time
• Deeply committed to accuracy and pride in attention to detail and creative approach to problem-solving
• Ability to travel up to 10% of the time

All candidate information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.