Job Overview
The International Commercial Lead for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) will serve as the cross-functional leader of the SMA International Center of Excellence. In this role, you will chair and lead the brand strategy setting forums for a duration of 18-24 months, focusing on refining strategies for local market execution in alignment with key geographies. You will be responsible for driving the cross-functional integrated customer strategy, navigating the international organization through the Spinraza High Dose launch, and defining competitive strategies for SMA. In partnership with Value & Access, you will review business cases for market expansion and ensure excellence in commercial launch execution. Additionally, you will collaborate with Product Development & Commercialization on lifecycle management initiatives for the SMA franchise, which includes Thecaflex and salanersen, along with the go-to-market model.
Principal Accountability
- Cross-Functional Leadership & Affiliates Engagement:
- Lead cross-functional partners (Marketing, Medical, Market Access, Patient Advocacy Groups, Communications, Customer Excellence & Operations) to enhance SMA’s 18-month integrated customer plan with a high degree of alignment and focus.
- Chair the International Therapeutic Area Council (ITAC) to co-create the brand strategy by engaging key internal partners from top affiliates.
- Communicate the international brand strategy and tactics across the broader organization.
- Commercial Strategy:
- Lead a commercial team to deliver content that is strategically aligned and supports brand growth objectives, ensuring a seamless transition to local markets.
- Oversee the end-to-end process of delivering content that supports an omnichannel digital strategy.
- Set and manage an international commercial budget that reflects growth strategies and is grounded in sound assumptions.
- Differentiated Communication:
- Collaborate with scientific communications, corporate affairs, and patient advocacy to develop a powerful, differentiated communication for the product, guiding local affiliates in leveraging relevant data for effective market activation.
- Competitive Readiness & Metrics:
- Conduct in-depth competitive assessments with the Customer & Market Intelligence (CMI) team and evaluate key brand performance metrics to inform brand strategy, ensuring clear delivery of metric summaries to leadership.
- Input in Lifecycle Management Decisions:
- Support lifecycle management (LCM) programs and major initiatives through the execution and delivery of detailed business cases for investment.
Minimum Experience Requirements
- Bachelor's degree required; MBA highly preferred.
- 12+ years of commercial experience in pharma or biotech; experience in rare diseases preferred.
- Strong track record of developing robust global marketing strategies to support brand growth goals and align strategies across regions; global and/or affiliate in-line marketing experience required.
- Fluency in financial reporting and budget management, with the ability to support investment business cases.
- Demonstrated expertise in building brand architecture that supports global branding, positioning, and competitive messaging.
- Strong scientific curiosity with the ability to extract insights for competitive differentiation.
- Excellent leadership skills with over 5 years of direct team management experience.
- Ability to make difficult decisions, prioritize effectively, motivate teams, and inspire cross-functional collaboration.
- Previous sales experience or roles that require high customer interaction are highly valued; pipeline or commercial development experience is beneficial.
- Analytical and problem-solving mindset with the ability to leverage data to inform strategies.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively write and deliver presentations to professionals at all levels within the organization.
- A proven track record of taking strategy through to execution.
- Deep commercial and marketing expertise, along with strong communication and presentation skills, including the ability to synthesize information for senior management.
- Ability to effectively influence, collaborate, and communicate with internal stakeholders at all organizational levels, as well as external business partners.
- Highly motivated by team success with a strong work ethic.
Apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.