Director of Commercial Operations

Abbott Established Pharmaceuticals (EPD) is looking for its new

Director of Commercial Operations - Emerging Markets

to be based in our Global Divisional EPD Headquarter in Basel, Switzerland.

Primary Job Function:

The Director of Commercial Operations assumes a pivotal role in shaping the Commercial Operations department within Abbott EPD. Reporting to the Senior Director of Commercial, Strategy, and Sales, this position involves steering a multifaceted regional organization. The primary focus lies in spearheading the formulation and execution of cutting-edge business intelligence & commercial analytics, distribution, trade sales and marketing, e-commerce , and hospital and Tender management strategies.

This role is responsible for navigating evolving trends in the pharma industry, evaluate existing go-to-market models, and define the strategic trajectory for Abbott EPD in Emerging Markets. This involves leading cross-functional task forces to enhance our market presence by:

Elevating go-to-market models to industry-leading standards

Introducing optimal operating models for enhanced channel penetration

Spearheading innovative partnership projects to expedite new launches and fortify Abbott EPD's position in key markets.

The Director of Commercial Operation’s overarching responsibility is to ensure the seamless execution of the Commercial strategy, encompassing the development and implementation of retail, hospital and tender Go-to-Market strategies, 3rd Party Management, trade marketing, channel management, and the establishment of essential eCommerce capabilities across the region.

Core Job Responsibilities Include :

Go-to-Market Strategy and Execution

Provide commercial support, solutions and executional rigor through local market engagement, optimizing across markets and portfolios, ensuring commercial execution in new GTM models, delivering value creation opportunities across key channels and/or customer segments.

Collaborate with global/regional commercial, marketing & finance teams to align affiliate operating plans to the global brand and channel strategies.

Partner and provide strategic and tactical guidance into operating plans across EM markets.

Work closely with Commercial teams locally in the rolling out critical commercial initiatives such as new product launches, developing of incremental sales channels (e.g., e-commerce), new promotional campaigns, etc.

Play an active part with Global Marketing, Commercial & Finance Team, understanding accurately the brands’ priorities, bringing to marketing team’s actionable customer and channel insights, pro-actively proposing initiatives to unlock value at the market level.

Distribution and Channel Management

Build understanding of Emerging Markets distributor landscape & identify areas for improvement, by building an integrated end-to-end inventory mapping framework.

Optimize the global / regional / affiliate organizational structure to optimize EPD distribution network.

Strengthen and grow Abbott’s brands across key distribution channels by Leading / contributing to various functional and distribution performance enhancement initiatives.

Develop commercial & trade solutions, supporting the execution of 3rd Party Management in EM across covering: Distribution Agreements, Promotion & Outsourcing Agreements, & Wholesale Agreements.

Ensure adequate distribution support through Channel Capability Building, while redefining / assessing / benchmarking the competencies required for distribution roles (commercial managers / head of distribution / Key account managers).

Drive capability building for distribution managers to enhance distributor selection, engagement & performance management.

Trade Sales and Marketing

Build best-in-class strategies and support markets in the effective implementation of the initiatives for the Abbott portfolio across critical distributor channel with close collaboration with the global, regional and local Marketing Team and the Sales Managers.

Facilitate and work closely with global / regional / affiliate to become “the bridge” between Marketing and Sales team as the channel expert to ensure right strategies and initiatives are implemented across key channels (retail, ecommerce, private hospitals, distributor/wholesaler and government channels) in all anchor markets.

Lead the implementation of integrated marketing approaches and drives the development and implementation of innovative go-to-market programs.

Assess and monitor the impact of commercial decisions on the brand, customer and channel P&L and measure and track strategies that yield the greatest returns, whilst ensuring appropriate resources are identified and allocated accordingly.

Proactively initiates business transforming initiatives, such as cultivating and expanding strategic partnerships programs with pharmacy chains, and other strategic accounts that leads to the successful implementation joint business plans.

partner with global / regional / affiliate marketing team for the ideation, planning, budgeting, production and implementation of all in store activities, including point of sales material, promotion and product / category communication to support the sales team. Collaborates with sales team to effectively present the brands, the products and the marketing initiatives to their customers.

Support markets in the planning, execution, tracking, and analysis of all aspects related to managing commercial relationships with strategic account to support the company strategy with customers to achieve short-term and long-term goals.

Partner with cross functional teams to drive Price Optimization initiative across EM markets. Evaluate product, customer and channel pricing strategies across key markets to maximize sales revenues through the active management of discounts from the headline ("list") price down to Net Sales Price (NSP).

Evaluates and presents business case & cost/benefit analyses to the Global Finance / regional commercial teams to facilitate sound business decision-making.

Elevate eCommerce Development:

Partner with global / regional / affiliate marketing and digital teams to develop ecommerce strategy and tactical plans that uses digital resources to achieve brand objectives i.e., driving new sources of competitive advantage, growth, and value creation.

Champion, train and inspire commercial colleagues to drive digital transformation, planning and optimization through the development and deployment of best-in-class ecommerce capabilities across key EM markets.

Define the ecommerce strategy and implementation roadmap for specified therapeutic areas and product categories and drive commercial excellence in E-Commerce for Abbott EPD to outperform competitors (financial & share performance) & to deliver incremental net sales.

Design and optimize end-to-end eCommerce strategy and implementation roadmap to establish customer centric online distributor channel.

Work with Global marketing and digital team to lead the identification and implementation of technology and platforms which will enhance the customer experience and drive internal efficiencies. Develop appropriate systems processes, methods and metrics and effectively use technology and relevant data to track performance and inform key stakeholders.

Strategic Oversight of Business Intelligence & Commercial Analytics:

Lead development and implementation of organization-wide business intelligence and sales analytics strategies across Emerging Markets.

Design a framework for data-based insights processes to track and diagnose performance, inform Commercial Operation decisions, and drive commercial effectiveness.

Strengthen organizational business intelligence and reporting systems, creating comprehensive reporting systems and dashboards.

Develop key metrics, visualizations, and reports to monitor sales performance, track KPIs, and facilitate informed decision-making.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to gather data requirements, align on KPIs, and deliver actionable insights.

Elevate Hospital and Tender Management

Advance Abbott EPD’s tender capabilities by developing, evolving, and improving tender operational infrastructure.

Partner with internal/external stakeholders to procure and deploy new Tender platforms, ensuring proper transition and leverage within Abbott.

Collaborate with multidisciplinary stakeholders to identify, develop, and align optimal tender processes and programs.

Lead ongoing collaboration with the global supply organization to optimize COGS for Abbott tender molecules.

Engage and develop local market tender colleagues, ensuring they have the right capabilities, processes, and tools for successful tender business.

Position Accountability/Scope:

Head of Hospital & Tender Management

Head of Trade Sales & Marketing

Head of Business Intelligence and Commercial Analytics

Will need to cross-functionally lead the Distribution / Channel Teams in the region / affiliates.
 

Profile Requirements:

Minimum Education:

Master’s degree in Business/Marketing/Commerce, MBA preferred

Minimum Experience/Training Required:

Robust Commercial experience with having had direct responsibility in the past for some or all the following key commercial areas (Sales & Marketing, Tenders Management, Retail & KAM, Distribution & Trade and eCommerce).

Strong preference for experience/results in countries in the region

5+ years Management experience (team and project management) preferably in the pharmaceutical industry

8+ years of Commercial Leadership experience required preferred in Emerging Markets

5+ years of Sales Management experience is required

Experience in Branded Generics and/or Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and/or Retail preferred

Competencies/skills:

Possess general management with strong financial and commercial background; understanding of sales & marketing, manufacturing/supply and understanding of cost structures

Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to create a compelling business case based on structured analysis across multiple factors e.g. volume, value, risk, price referencing, stakeholder management

Commercial Acumen with a clear Customer Focus, ability to modify strategy plans according to market dynamics and internal changing requirements

Leadership and People Management, providing expert guidance to the commercial area and allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing the work

Working understanding of the distribution and transportation industries, negotiations, claims management, supply chain experience, customs/documentation and compliance knowledge

Strategic Orientation coupled with a Winning Mentality

Structured persuasive selling and strong management negotiation skills with 3rd party distribution and transportation companies

Team player - Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve commercial area goals

Decision-making based on strategic development and comprehension skills

Impact & Influence - ability to influence teams without direct management

Sales skills gained in practical environment

Understanding of brand marketing and brand planning

Knowledge of Basic Finance (Budgeting and reporting) + Business development / Business planning

Ability to document insights, bridging Abbott’s brands’ strategy with Channel customers

Ability to translate the strategies into actionable / realistic engagement plans to ensure a profitable growth

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