Health Economist (final title commensurate with experience)

(Final title commensurate with experience: Manager, Senior Manager, Associate Director, Director)

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is an innovative, independent non-profit healthcare research organization dedicated to improving the application of evidence throughout the healthcare system. ICER produces influential public reports evaluating the clinical effectiveness and value of new treatments, tests, and delivery system interventions. These reports have strongly influenced US drug pricing policy and have been used by a wide variety of public and private insurers to guide price negotiation and formulary decision-making. ICER also convenes independent appraisal committee meetings at which public deliberation occurs to ensure that all perspectives are heard, and that scientific and ethical values are addressed transparently for the benefit of the public and all policymakers. In everything we do, our organization seeks to foster an honest public dialogue about the evidence on effectiveness and value, and to translate this evidence into action to improve patient care.

Because of the role it plays in the US healthcare system, ICER has become a leader in the methods of cost-effectiveness analysis as it is applied within a broader health technology assessment framework. We are already known within the international HTA community as leaders in specific areas such as the methods for evaluating treatments for ultra-rare disorders, as well as methods for addressing distinctive assessment challenges of cell and gene therapies that represent potential cures. ICER also is a leading innovator in methods to integrate traditional cost-effectiveness analysis with empiric and qualitative measures of broader dimensions of value and contextual considerations. 

ICER is looking to expand its team, which includes a diverse set of clinicians, researchers, and policy experts. We are seeking a Health Economist—final title commensurate with experience—to help lead the health technology assessment and economic evaluation activities that serve as the backbone for all our work.

Details on the specific responsibilities and minimum qualifications are provided in the sections that follow. Before going there, however, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are you interested in using comparative effectiveness research and economic evaluation to effect change in clinical practice, insurance coverage, pricing of new interventions, and other policy, even in the face of sharp criticism by those uninterested in changing?
2. Do you take particular pride in your writing? Are you able to convey complex topics and concepts to a broad audience in an economical and compelling fashion?
3. Do you have experience with economic evaluation model building? Do you strive for quality in your work and your contributions to teams?

If you’ve answered “yes” to each question, read on!

Job Summary

Under direction of the Chief Scientific Officer, this individual will be responsible for managing the development and testing of rigorous economic models to assess the potential costs, cost-effectiveness, and budgetary impact of a wide range of diagnostic, prognostic, therapeutic and other clinical interventions, as well as summarizing results, producing key sections of existing reports, and consulting on multiple approaches to implement findings in practice and policy.

Candidates must have a compelling personal record of engagement with the methodological issues central to the field of health technology assessment.

The position requires a person of unquestionable integrity, with exceptional communication and presentation skills, and an ability to engage with and influence a broad range of stakeholders. Depending on experience and training, this individual may also represent ICER at a variety of external academic and policy venues and may be expected to generate white papers and academic publications to support ICER’s methods. 

Key Responsibilities

• Provide contributions and supervision on multiple complex projects in coordination with ICER teams and collaborators, including preparing reports, building economic models, and highlighting implications of findings for patients, clinicians, payers, industry, policymakers, and other stakeholders
• Collaborate with senior leadership and other ICER experts to develop and communicate guidance regarding the development, refinement, and/or enhancement of methods and policies relevant to economic evaluation, including cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, cost-benefit, and budgetary impact analyses
• Consult with external collaborators and internal project teams on the conception, design, specification, and format for presentation of decision-analytic economic models. Assist with building, vetting, and stress-testing of both externally and internally developed models as well as comparisons with other published modeling efforts that are relevant to the topic at hand
• Educate and provide consultation on health economic methods to research staff, panel and advisory board members of ICER's public deliberative programs, and other interested stakeholders
• Contribute to the reputation of ICER by fostering the highest level of cooperation, integrity, objectivity, responsiveness, and overall transparency in the economic evaluation of healthcare interventions
• Prepare and deliver presentations and relevant reports for economic component of ICER evidence reviews
• Engage with the wider patient, payer, and industry communities in the US and the relevant HTA communities internationally to share key aspects of ICER’s methods development and consult on applications in other settings

Minimum Educational Requirements

A master’s-level degree or higher (e.g., doctorate) in a relevant discipline such as decision sciences, health economics, operations research, biostatistics, epidemiology, or a related quantitative social science field is required.

Basic Qualifications

• Experience in conducting health technology assessments, academic health-economic modeling, or other health-focused economic evaluation work requiring development, specification, and testing of modeling methods
• Possess outstanding writing capabilities, able to write clearly and cogently without requiring editorial assistance. Must also be facile editors of the drafts of others
• Ability to demonstrate substantial experience in the critical evaluation of evidence, including ability to critique the research methods and statistical findings of published economic studies to put the development of the current model in the appropriate context
• Accomplished presenting skills with experience conveying complex methods to a variety of audiences
• Efficiency, collaboration, candor, openness, results orientation and a commitment to a consultative approach to decision-making

Additional Qualifications for Associate Director or Director level

• A track record of mentorship of research staff.
• Analytical, consulting, and project management experience, including demonstrated ability to determine the key areas of controversy in a clinical area, conceptualize the appropriate project scope, and develop appropriate action plans from multidisciplinary perspectives
• Methodological development within applied health economics or health technology assessment, as evidenced by authorship of high-impact articles in academic journals, editorial roles, and/or participation in high-profile conference sessions preferred
• Experience with interactive application programming languages (e.g., VisualBasic, Java, ColdFusion) preferred
• Experience with other general programming languages useful in decision analysis (e.g., C++, SAS) preferred
• The highest levels of personal initiative, attention to detail, and independent work
• Excellent organizational as well as written and oral communication skills

Salary Range: $110,000-$190,000

It is not intended that the above-listed duties reflect every job duty, responsibility, or task that the employee may be called upon to perform. The employee is expected to perform all job-related duties and tasks assigned by his/her supervising manager or other authorized manager.