Trade Channel Field Manager

Novo Nordisk A/S; Jeddah; On-site; SAR 360,000 - 480,000; Full time

Job summary

Novo Nordisk is seeking a Trade Channel Field Manager in Jeddah to lead six Trade Channel Executives and drive weight-management initiatives across pharmacy chains in the Kingdom. The role blends field leadership with strategic account management and in-store activation.

You will coach the team, negotiate Joint Business Plans at HQ, and ensure execution on shelf, planograms and stock while maintaining compliance and ethical standards. Fluent in Arabic and English required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy and a strong track record in field-based trade/channel management.
• 5+ years in trade/channel or consumer health channel management.
• 1–2 years people management with high-performing teams.
• Experience owning pharmacy chain accounts with category/shopper thinking.
• Strong forecasting, planning and data analytics capabilities.
• Fluency in Arabic and English, written and spoken.

Responsibilities

• Own the team’s sales objectives and lead commercial negotiations with chain HQs.
• Coach field team on clinical conversations and weight-management shopper conversations.
• Ensure what is signed at HQ is implemented on shelf with planograms and stock.
• Lead face-to-face education sessions and digital learning for pharmacists.
• Plan coverage using store tiering and ensure CRM data accuracy.
• Consolidate insights and report weekly on KPIs; ensure SFDA-compliant practices.

Skills

Trade channel mgmt

People management

Key account ownership

Forecasting

Analytics

Arabic/English bilingual

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy

Tools

CRM systems

Job description

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Department: Cardiometabolic Business Unit

Location: Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Field-based, with regular travel to pharmacy chain HQs and stores across your assigned territory.

Your impact begins here

As Trade Channel Field Manager, you will lead a team of six Trade Channel Executives and own Novo’s partnership with assigned pharmacy chains across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Your focus is building weight management as a category in pharmacy, so what is agreed at chain HQ shows up on the shelf and in every counter conversation. The result: pharmacists who feel confident and supported, and people living with obesity who get the right conversation at the right moment.

What you’ll bring

You know pharmacy, you know retail, and you know how to build a team that delivers in both. You will bring:

• A bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy.
• 5+ years of experience in trade, channel or consumer health channel management, or a related commercial role.
• At least 1-2 years of people management or team leadership experience, with a track record of developing high-performing commercial teams.
• Experience owning pharmacy chain or major retail accounts (drug retail, mass or e-commerce), with clear category and shopper thinking.
• Strong commercial planning skills, including demand forecasting and account management, and the data literacy to turn performance analytics into action.
• An understanding of consumer behaviour and the ability to translate shopper insight into in-store activation.
• The ability to influence and collaborate across functions and at chain HQ level.
• Fluency in Arabic and English, written and spoken.

Useful, but not essential

• A mix of pharma and consumer health, OTC or FMCG (retail chain) experience.
• Existing senior relationships with pharmacy chain HQ leadership in KSA.

What you’ll do

You will hold commercial ownership of your chain accounts and lead the team that brings them to life in store. You will spend much of your time in the field, coaching alongside your team.

• Own the team’s monthly, quarterly and annual sales objectives, and lead commercial negotiations and Joint Business Plans with chain HQs, grounded in each chain’s category and shopper strategy.
• Coach your team through joint field visits on clinical conversations and the weight management shopper conversation: how to open, clarify, orient and refer or dispense appropriately, and how to support pharmacists through moments such as side effects, adherence and plateaus.
• Make sure what is signed at HQ is delivered at the shelf - visibility, planograms, category signage, availability and stock levels - and resolve or escape execution issues quickly.
• Lead the team’s face-to-face education sessions and digital learning for pharmacists, embedding consumer-conversation frameworks alongside product knowledge.
• Plan coverage using store tiering, shopper footfall and category potential, and keep CRM data accurate, complete and current.
• Consolidate field, shopper and competitor insight, report weekly on team KPIs, and make sure every interaction is SFDA-compliant, on-label and aligned with Novo’s business ethics and pharmacovigilance procedures.

Who you’ll work with

You will lead six Trade Channel Executives within the Cardiometabolic Business Unit and report to Mohamed El Eraki Cardiometabolic Sales Associate Director. Your team relies on you for clear priorities, honest feedback and hands‑on coaching – and you will rely on them for the market intelligence that shapes your next move.

Outside your team, you will build strong relationships with pharmacy chain HQ senior and regional leadership, pharmacy managers, pharmacists and independent pharmacies on the target list. Inside Novo, you will work closely with Sales, Marketing, Medical Affairs, Trade Marketing, Digital and e-commerce, and Supply Chain to connect national strategy with chain-level activation across the Kingdom.

What you can expect here

This is a role with real ownership. You will make decisions, negotiate at HQ level and see the results of your work on the shelf and in pharmacists’ confidence. You will grow as a leader by developing your team in the field, sharpening the playbooks they use and sharing what works with peers.

You will build deep expertise in weight management as a category - from obesity and the GLP-1 class to shopper behaviour and competitor dynamics - in a team that sets clear performance expectations and recognises results.

For further information, please contact Mohamed El Eraki Cardiometabolic Sales Associate Director [e-mail].

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