Associate Director/director Congress and Event

PLEASE ENSURE YOU APPLY WITH AN ENGLISH VERSION OF YOUR CV

MANDATORY EXPERIENCE: PHARMACEUTICAL/BIOTECH INDUSTRY, ONCOLOGY, HEMATOLOGY preferred

Preferred Location - SWITZERLAND, would consider Germany/UK/France

NO AGENCIES

General Description:
The Associate Director/Director Congress & Event will build and lead the congress and event function responsible for planning and execution of congress activities within the EU markets. In addition, this role will drive the tools and capabilities across EU countries that support international and affiliate implementation of congresses and events and foster HCP engagement.

Essential Functions of the job:

- Act as commercial main point of contact for all European led/supported congresses
- Work cross functionally to plan and execute congress events to an excellent standard
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams and countries to get an in-depth understanding of their business needs and objectives and execute strategy into successful events.
- Development of innovative and tailored hybrid and virtual formats that foster HCP engagements.
- Ensure onsite management and oversight for congresses and events.
- Co-ordinate all stakeholders internally and externally to ensure delivery of all congress activity on time, on budget and in accordance with legal and compliance requirements.
- Selection and management of congress and event agencies that effectively address affiliate needs.
- Setup, roll-out and continuous support of meetings management platform: identify requirements and support roll-out of best-in class event management tools for EU.
- Develop and approve, together with Brand Lead, all commercial materials including booth panels, booth materials, interactive or digital content, for congress use
- Support countries with tools and capabilities in rolling out local hybrid and virtual formats.
- Maintain oversight of core congress and event documentation.
- Planning and oversight of EU congress and event budget.
- Forge strong team-oriented working relationship with key constituencies of the Global Team: in particular with global/US counterparts, Country Managers and their Commercial and Medical Directors.

Qualifications:

- A minimum of 6 years of pharmaceutical industry or related experience in managing pharmaceutical congresses.
- Global and/or international experience is a prerequisite.
- Biotech or pharmaceutical marketplace launch experience required, ideally in hematology/oncology
- Experience in virtual congress planning and execution
- EU marketplace launch experience of orphan drugs advantageous.
- Knowledge of tools and regulations regarding meetings/travel
- Demonstrated project management skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- Demonstrated ability in establishing and cultivating effective internal working relationship with multi-layer, cross-functional counterparts across geographies (from HQ in USA to countries throughout International).
- Proven ability to successfully engage with internal/external key stakeholders, creating alignment horizontally and vertically and able to influence people both in-line management as well as in a matrix management environment.
- Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills, including strong formal presentation skills.
- Good understanding of different cultures (both business as well as country) and demonstrates an appreciation of cultural diversity, with sensitivity to differences in attitudes and norms.
- Entrepreneurial and innovative of spirit.
- Ability to manage complexity, ambiguity and paradoxes.
- Fluent in English; other languages advantageous.

Education Required: Undergraduate degree in business, informatics, economics, event management, biological or medical sciences required. MBA and/or post graduate preferred. At least 6 years of industry experience.

Computer Skills: PC, including MS Office Suite

Other Qualifications:
Travel: 20-30%

Supervisory Responsibilities:

- No

Competencies:
Ethics - Treats people with respect; Inspires the trust of others; Works with integrity and ethically; Upholds organizational values.

Planning/Organizing - Prioritizes and plans work activities; Uses time efficiently. Completes administrative tasks correctly and on time. Follows instructions and responds to management direction.

Communication - Listens and gets clarification; Responds well to questions; Speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations. Writes clearly and informatively. Able to read and interpret written information.

Teamwork - Balances team and individual responsibilities; Gives and welcomes feedback; Contributes to building a positive team spirit; Puts success of team above own interests; Supports everyone's efforts to succeed. Contributes to building a positive team spirit. Shares expertise with others.

Adaptability - Able to adapt to changes in the work environment. Manages competing demands. Changes approach or method to best f