Head Legal Value & Access

This job is with Novartis, an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community.

Location: London, UK

We're a team of smart, dedicated people united by a drive to achieve together. In this role, you will lead the legal strategy and governance for Value & Access (V&A) across international markets, covering pricing and reimbursement, market access, HTA, payer contracting, public procurement, and related policy. You will provide practical, solution-oriented advice in a fast-changing environment shaped by trade barriers, competition scrutiny, launch sequencing, reference pricing, exclusivity frameworks, and new pharmaceutical legislation. You will partner closely with market access, government affairs, policy, regulatory, medical, compliance, and commercial leaders to enable compliant, patient-focused access strategies while managing legal, regulatory, reputational, and access risks.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead legal strategy and provide senior counsel on value and access matters, including pricing, reimbursement, HTA, payer engagement, tendering/procurement, and innovative access models.
• Establish legal guardrails for value narratives, payer materials, and access initiatives in coordination with Medical/Regulatory/Compliance.
• Advise on launch sequencing, access archetypes, and contracting approaches; recommend risk mitigation plans.
• Support HTA and coverage frameworks, including evidence requirements, value dossiers, payer negotiations, and interactions with national decision makers.
• Advise on regulatory data protection and exclusivity and related lifecycle and biosimilar/generic entry considerations, in coordination with regulatory and IP teams.
• Support the interpretation and operationalization of the new EU pharmaceutical package and other pharmaceutical reforms across International, advising on incentives, launch/supply obligations, access expectations, exclusivity periods, and portfolio implications.
• Provide guidance on most favored nation type pricing issues, cross market pricing implications, rebate/discount structures, and associated competition law and enforcement risk.
• Oversee pricing and reimbursement support, including external reference pricing, confidential rebates/discounts, clawback/payback mechanisms, managed entry agreements, and national reimbursement conditions.
• Advise and provide guidance on the drafting, review, and negotiation of payer and stakeholder agreements (including value based arrangements), and on public procurement/tender strategy and related compliance requirements.
• Ensure compliant payer facing activities; design and deliver training for affiliates and regions on access law fundamentals (competition, payer interactions, tendering, data/privacy, transparency).
• Build a community of practice to share legal learnings and enforcement trends across markets.
• Support responses for regulatory inquiries, audits, and dawn raids related to pricing, access, and tendering.
• Anticipate and mitigate legal and policy risks arising from market reforms, external reference pricing, procurement pressure, competition enforcement, supply obligations, and evolving access expectations, and translate policy/legal developments into practical guidance and governance tools.

Essential requirements:

• Law school graduate & Bar member
• Significant post qualification legal experience, with substantial exposure to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or broader life sciences sector.
• Deep expertise in pricing, reimbursement, market access, health technology assessment, public procurement, competition law, and regulated stakeholder engagement.
• Strong understanding of EU and other national legal frameworks affecting pharmaceutical access and commercialization.
• Demonstrated experience advising on complex cross border matters involving policy change, launch strategy, payer contracting, and enforcement risk.
• Fluent English both written & verbal; any additional language is an advantage.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:

Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Benefits and Rewards:

Learn about all the ways we'll help you thrive personally and professionally.