Associate Director, Regional Marketing - NSCLC East

Merck Gruppe; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as an Associate Director in Regional Marketing, focusing on advancing commercial potential in oncology. This pivotal role involves developing impactful engagement strategies with Key Thought Leaders and managing critical stakeholder relationships. You will collaborate cross-functionally to shape customer engagement strategies and ensure compliance with business objectives. If you are a driven, solution-oriented individual with a passion for improving patient outcomes and a strong background in the pharmaceutical industry, this is a fantastic opportunity to make a significant impact in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in pharmaceutical/healthcare brand marketing or sales.
• Proven ability to build relationships with external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement engagement strategies with Key Thought Leaders.
• Manage relationships with stakeholders and drive advocacy for the brand.

Skills

Relationship Building

Communication Skills

Analytical Skills

Project Management

Scientific Knowledge

Education

BA/BS degree

Tools

Veeva Vault

PromoMats

Microsoft Word

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Work Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Shift: No
Department: HC-NA-HOA Marketing Oncology
Recruiter: Sarah Ellis

This information is for internals only. Please do not share outside of the organization.

Your Role

The Associate Director, Regional Marketing – NSCLC East is a crucial field-based member of the Marketing Team committed to advancing our commercial potential in METex14+ Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and ensuring the successful management of thought leader relationships. You will create meaningful customer experiences, helping to inspire education and therapeutic consideration for HCP and Patients. You will work cross-functionally with Marketing, Sales, Market Access, Medical Affairs, Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance to shape customer engagement strategies, manage P2P efforts, and key regional marketing initiatives, including congress presence and sponsorships, generate actionable insights, anticipate market trends, and uncover competitive intelligence, ensuring compliant execution of business objectives.

This role will play a vital part in creating and executing a comprehensive engagement strategy by developing a best-in-class experience with external stakeholders. You will establish and manage Key Thought Leaders and drive advocacy, identify and cultivate relationships with emerging leaders and rising stars, manage key stakeholder relationships (e.g., academic institutions, professional associations, congress organization committees, pathway committee members), and gather market insights to inform the development and execution of successful commercial strategies and tactics.

The ideal candidate will be a driven, collaborative, and solution-oriented individual with proven competency for scientific knowledge and the ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with KTLs and internal teams. You will have effective communication, excellent presentation development and delivery skills, and the ability to interact collaboratively with and influence key internal and external customers including scientific leaders and internal cross-functional stakeholders, including the C-Suite. This position reports to the Vice President, U.S. Oncology Marketing and will work closely with Sales, the TEPMETKO Brand Team, and the broader U.S. Oncology Marketing Team.

Location/Travel Requirements: Willingness to travel up to 50% of the time, inclusive of conferences on weekends, overnight programs, as well as attendance at key internal meetings. Individual must reside within Eastern US due to the extensive travel arrangements of this role.

Responsibilities

• Identify, develop, and implement an impactful engagement strategy with disease-state Key Thought Leaders (KTLs) in their assigned region that drives appropriate advocacy for tepotinib and generates insights that inform brand strategy and positioning.
• Represent EMD Serono and the brand as the critical point of contact with KTLs and Medical Experts, serving as the liaison for the Executive team at key prioritized congresses throughout the year (e.g., ASCO, NYLCF, etc.).
• Create and maintain accurate and detailed KTL and key stakeholder lists, engagement strategy, and action plans to contribute to brand lifecycle management.
• Appropriately mobilize thought leaders to their community peers in oncology clinics across the region.
• Develop and implement national and regional congress strategy with a focus on recruiting, organizing, and moderating meetings and discussions with KTLs to advance business objectives.
• Identify and implement innovative Peer-to-Peer KTL programming to drive brand uptake into the marketplace and manage key Peer-to-Peer Agency relationships.
• Monitor regional market trends and make real-time updates to KTL engagement plans to support business objectives.
• Identify oncology thought leaders for promotional speaker programs, advisory boards, conferences, and home-office training/meetings.
• Foster and lead productive business relationships with Sales Leadership and OTM Team, Marketing, Market Access, Medical Affairs, and other relevant functions.
• Work closely with the broader Commercial team to ensure alignment on the implementation of programs and marketing strategies and tactics.
• Contribute to the development of the brand planning process.
• Lead/assist in the design, recruitment, and execution of advisory boards.
• Lead the identification and recruitment of speakers, manage the speaker training process, liaising with stakeholders in legal, compliance, and medical, and partnering with internal operations on speaker program execution.
• Develop clear and fully aligned KPI measurement linked to national- and local-level plans, based on a thorough understanding of market dynamics, competitive landscape, and future trends and opportunity assessment.
• Ensure all promotion tactics adhere to regulations, requirements, and all other relevant laws and internal operating procedures and branding guidelines.
• Manage the development and execution of resources and materials such as speaker decks, ad board decks, and resources for use with KTLs.
• Oversee and have full accountability for the budget associated with activities/events implemented.
• Manage budget on an ongoing basis and ensure spend and gating are reconciled on time & accurately.
• Other duties as assigned.

Who You Are

Minimum Qualifications:

• BA/BS degree required.
• 7+ years (or 4+ years with advanced degree) proven experience in pharmaceutical and/or healthcare industry brand marketing and/or sales.
• Proven successful track record of relationship building with external stakeholders, while extracting insights that are relevant for the business strategies and ongoing plans.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct Thought Leader Engagement experience.
• Experience with Veeva Vault and PromoMats preferred.
• Understanding of US Oncology landscape including Community Oncology and Academic Oncology dynamics, GPOs, Payer landscape, Specialty Pharmacy stakeholders.
• Experience across multiple promotional channels (P2P, Personal, Non-Personal, Patient Marketing).
• Successful track record in understanding the US regulatory environment and navigating the MLR review process.
• Ability to effectively access, interact with, and influence various internal and external audiences as needed to support strategic initiatives, goals, and objectives.
• Strong scientific acumen.
• Proven ability to work cross-functionally with a collaborative mindset and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Very high proficiency with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Successful design and implementation of strategies with an ability to define a clear path in a complex environment, utilizing strong analytical skills to navigate through complex challenges.
• Excellent oral and written communications skills with an ability to translate complex information into succinct and impactful messages and deliver effective and influential presentations to external and internal stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of the commercial aspects of the business and ability to effectively connect strategic interests with other relevant functions within the organization (e.g. medical, market access, etc.).
• Expert knowledge of guidelines under which pharmaceutical companies operate.
• Proven project and vendor management skills including budget management, planning, prioritization, objective setting, and logistics execution.
• Adept in expense budget planning, tracking, and ROI measurement.
• Results-oriented, exhibits leadership skills, and ability to influence without authority.
• Demonstrated ability and eagerness to work in a fast-paced environment, striving for excellence in everything you do, alongside a team driven by improving the lives of patients.
• High ethical standards and personal integrity.

The Company is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. No employee or applicant for employment will be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, gender identity, transgender status, marital status, or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. This policy of Equal Employment Opportunity applies to all policies and programs relating to recruitment and hiring, promotion, compensation, benefits, discipline, termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment. Any applicant or employee who believes they have been discriminated against by the Company or anyone acting on behalf of the Company must report any concerns to their Human Resources Business Partner, Legal, or Compliance immediately. The Company will not retaliate against any individual because they made a good faith report of discrimination.