Senior Director, Commercial Distribution

Jobtailor; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor is seeking a senior leader to own and advance the U.S. commercial distribution strategy across the pharmaceutical supply chain.

You will design channel structures, manage relationships with 3PLs, wholesalers, and pharmacies, and drive readiness for product launches and ongoing commercialization. The role requires deep experience in distribution readiness, regulatory compliance, and cross-functional collaboration with Finance, Quality, Legal, IT, and Commercial teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a related field with strong supply-chain foundation.
• Extensive experience in commercial distribution readiness and launch execution.
• Experience selecting, contracting, and managing 3PLs and distribution partners.
• Proven ability to translate distribution requirements into system and data solutions.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the US commercial distribution strategy across channels.
• Own end-to-end order-to-cash and channel inventory processes.
• Oversee 3PL onboarding, contracts, and performance management.
• Ensure regulatory compliance (GDP, DSCSA, serialization) and quality governance.
• Lead cross-functional teams and executive reporting on readiness and performance.
• Develop dashboards on fulfillment, channel inventory, and partner performance.

Skills

Commercial distribution strategy

Order-to-cash processes

Pharmaceutical compliance

Vendor management

Cross-functional leadership

Supply chain management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management/Operations/Business/Engineering

APICS CPIM

APICS CSCP

PMP

Tools

EDI integration

Master data management

Financial planning

Job description

• Establish and lead the commercial distribution capability from pre-launch planning through ongoing commercialization
• Own the U.S. commercial distribution strategy, including channel design, product flow, service model, and scalability
• Lead distribution launch readiness, including critical-path activities, dependencies, risks, mitigation, and executive status reporting
• Design and implement the distribution network across manufacturers, packagers, 3PLs, wholesalers, distributors, pharmacies, and dispensing pathways
• Coordinate trading-partner onboarding, master-data readiness, testing, launch inventory positioning, Day-1 execution, and post-launch stabilization
• Establish distribution governance, SOPs, service expectations, escalation pathways, and business continuity plans
• Lead the 3PL lifecycle from RFP and selection through contracting, implementation, qualification, launch, and ongoing management
• Manage wholesalers, distributors, pharmacies, transportation providers, data vendors, and other trade partners
• Oversee order fulfillment, inventory visibility, shipment status, returns, replacements, recalls, exceptions, and service escalations
• Define partner KPIs, service-level expectations, scorecards, business reviews, issue management, and corrective actions
• Own order-to-cash execution across onboarding, ordering, allocation, fulfillment, invoicing interfaces, credit and collections, deductions, returns, and reconciliation
• Coordinate IBP/S&OP, demand forecasting, order activity, channel inventory analytics, financial close, gross-to-net estimates, reserves, chargebacks, rebates, distributor fees, returns, and deductions
• Oversee customer service for availability inquiries, order management, issue resolution, returns, replacements, and escalations
• Develop and maintain trade policies for ordering, allocation, returns, recalls, replacements, onboarding, and channel inventory
• Own channel-data aggregation, validation, governance, and interpretation for forecasting, inventory, financial planning, and decision-making
• Implement and support EDI connectivity and trading-partner integrations
• Define business requirements, master-data needs, controls, exception management, testing, reporting, and operational support
• Establish dashboards for fulfillment, channel inventory, customer service, partner performance, returns, chargebacks, exceptions, and launch readiness
• Analyze trends and exceptions, identify root causes, and lead corrective actions and continuous improvement
• Lead readiness for manufacturer and CMO state licensing and maintain licenses, registrations, renewals, and records
• Ensure compliance with GDP, DSCSA, serialization, traceability, state licensing, and pharmaceutical distribution requirements
• Partner with Quality on agreements, qualification, audits, inspections, deviations, CAPAs, complaints, recalls, returns, investigations, recovery, and serialization exceptions
• Maintain audit-ready documentation and support inspections or submissions
• Advise executive leadership on network design, partner strategy, operating risks, investments, and organizational needs
• Align manufacturing and packaging supply, release timing, launch inventory, replenishment, and channel execution with Technical Operations/Supply Chain
• Partner with Patient Services on free goods, samples, replacements, and patient-support distribution pathways
• Build and mentor a commercial distribution team and provide decision-oriented updates to launch governance and executive leadership

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Business, Engineering, or a related field; advanced degree preferred
• Minimum 12 years of progressive pharmaceutical or biotechnology experience, including substantial commercial distribution, trade operations, or launch-readiness responsibility
• Experience supporting at least one successful U.S. pharmaceutical product launch with direct accountability for commercial distribution readiness
• Experience selecting, contracting, implementing, and managing 3PL providers and working with wholesalers, distributors, pharmacies, and data vendors
• Experience with order-to-cash processes, customer service oversight, returns, chargebacks, gross-to-net inputs, channel inventory, and financial close coordination
• Experience establishing and using channel-data feeds to inform demand forecasts, inventory decisions, IBP/S&OP, and financial planning
• Working knowledge of state licensing, DSCSA, GDP, serialization, traceability, and pharmaceutical distribution compliance
• Ability to translate distribution requirements into EDI, system, master-data, integration, reporting, and exception-management solutions
• Success working across Commercial, Market Access, Finance/FP&A, Accounting, Quality, Legal, IT, Patient Services, and Technical Operations
• Vendor management, negotiation, analytical, executive communication, and decision‑making skills
• Ability to travel approximately 20% of the time
• Preferred: national wholesale and broad retail pharmacy launch experience; pre-commercial or emerging biotechnology experience; specialty pharmacy/distribution, hub services, free-goods/sample programs, or patient-support integration; ERP, order-management, chargeback, gross-to-net, channel-data, or commercial analytics platforms; APICS/ASCM CPIM or CSCP and/or PMP; commercial distribution or trade-operations team-building experience

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in commercial distribution strategy, including channel design, order-to-cash processes, and compliance with pharmaceutical regulations. Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage vendor relationships to ensure successful product launches and operational excellence.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Commercial Distribution Strategy
• Order-To-Cash Processes
• Pharmaceutical Compliance
• Vendor Management
• Cross-Functional Leadership

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Supply Chain Management
• Trade Operations
• Launch Readiness
• Channel Inventory Analytics
• Demand Forecasting
• EDI Integration
• Master Data Management
• Financial Planning
• Order Fulfillment
• Returns Management

Soft Skills

• Analytical Skills
• Executive Communication
• Decision-Making
• Negotiation Skills
• Team Building

Certifications & Qualifications

• APICS/ASCM CPIM
• APICS/ASCM CSCP
• PMP

Industry Keywords

• Pharmaceutical Distribution
• DSCSA