Pharmacy Operations Associate
Location: Washington, DC or New York (Preferred); Open to Remote
About Pharmacy1st Health
Pharmacy1st Health is building a new model of rural healthcare delivery by transforming independent rural pharmacies into integrated, tech-enabled clinics that deliver primary care, pharmacy services, and chronic disease management under one roof. Our mission is to create the “Kaiser of rural America” - a vertically integrated system that makes high-quality, affordable care accessible to every community we serve.
Role Overview
The Pharmacy Operations Associate plays a critical role in supporting the successful acquisition and integration of community pharmacies into our growing platform. This role sits at the intersection of pharmacy operations, compliance, contracting, and performance analytics. This is a hands-on role for someone who wants exposure to the full lifecycle of pharmacy acquisition, from pre-close paperwork and licensing, to post-acquisition contracting, to performance analysis and reporting. Early in the role, the work will be more operational and execution-focused; over time, the role evolves to become increasingly analytical and insight-driven as systems and processes stabilize. The ideal candidate is analytics focused, operationally resilient, and comfortable doing detailed and repetitive work to ensure accuracy, continuity, and results.
Key Responsibilities
Pre-Acquisition Support
- Collect and organize required documentation from existing pharmacy owners for acquisitions.
- Prepare and submit paperwork to buying groups and wholesalers, including American Pharmacy and related partners.
- Support compliance-related documentation refreshes required even when wholesalers remain unchanged.
- Initiate and track licensing processes with:
- State Boards of Pharmacy
- DEA
- Local and state tax authorities (e.g., resale certificates, tax IDs)
- Coordinate closely with internal stakeholders to ensure readiness for acquisition close including HR.
Post-Acquisition Operations & Contracting
- Lead and support the transition of all operational accounts into the company’s name post-acquisition.
- Manage contract switches and filings with:
- Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs)
- Other payer and vendor relationships
- Conduct persistent follow-up with PBMs and payers to ensure:
- Contracts are executed correctly
- Claims are paid accurately and on time
- No lapses or cuts in coverage occur
- Maintain detailed tracking of submissions, approvals, and outstanding issues.
- Handle frequent back-and-forth communication, including calls and escalations, with external partners.
Analytics & Reporting (responsibility grows over time)
- Analyze pharmacy purchasing patterns, reimbursement trends, and operational performance.
- Build and maintain reports for leadership to support operational and financial decision-making.
- Identify discrepancies, inefficiencies, or opportunities through data analysis.
- Partner with leadership to translate data into actionable insights.
- Over time, the role is expected to shift from approximately 50% operational / 50% analytical per location to 70% analytical / 30% operational as systems mature.
What We're Looking For
- Strong attention to detail and follow-through.
- Comfort with administrative, process-driven, and repetitive work.
- Analytical mindset with the ability to work with numbers, patterns, and reports.
- Willingness to “get hands dirty” and do unglamorous but critical work.
- Strong communication skills and comfort being persistent and assertive with external partners.
- Ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously.
- Comfort working in a fast-moving, acquisition-driven environment.
Preferred Qualifications (but not required)
- Experience with pharmacy operations, healthcare operations, or regulated industries.
- Familiarity with PBMs or payer contracting.
- Background in analytics, finance, operations, or healthcare administration.
- Experience in high-ownership, scrappy environments (startups, family businesses, growing organizations).