Commercial Portfolio Lead - Pharmacy Channel

About the role

The Commercial Portfolio Lead manages the customer-facing team to grow Novartis' business in the pharmacy channel and at HCP level. The role translates commercial strategy into tactical, data-driven customer engagement, combining remote and face-to-face interactions into an omnichannel model. It also builds and develops a high-performing, change-agile team while staying fully compliant with Novartis standards and local regulation.

Key responsibilities

• Prioritise the portfolio and set the engagement plan, defining the role of each channel (virtual, field, digital) per customer segment and running the annual planning cycle and quarterly business reviews
• Manage budget and forecasting for the channel, keeping spend within investment guardrails
• Ensure timely execution of the plan: call planning, targeting, message delivery, follow-up and pharmacy-level activation, with weekly reviews, field coaching and virtual quality checks
• Partner with Supply Chain and Market Access to protect availability and pull-through at pharmacy level
• Integrate virtual and field engagement into a seamless omnichannel experience, including remote detailing, digital content and CRM-driven next-best-action, using a test-and-learn approach
• Build dashboards with Analytics teams, track performance, productivity and customer experience, and lead a team of virtual and field roles with situational leadership
• Drive change agility, attract talent, build capabilities and ensure succession coverage
• Ensure compliance with the Novartis Code of Ethics, local industry codes and data-privacy requirements, and collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Medical, Market Access and Finance

Required profile

• University degree in business, life sciences, pharmacy or a related field; advanced degree preferred
• 3+ years in commercial roles in the pharmaceutical or healthcare industry, with a record of results in pharmacy or a comparable channel
• 5+ years of people leadership, ideally leading field-based teams and/or managers, including hiring, coaching, performance management and succession planning
• Demonstrated experience with virtual or omnichannel engagement models and leading teams through change
• Experience working with Legal, Compliance, Market Access and Medical in a regulated environment

Required skills

• Customer segmentation, targeting and territory/call-plan optimisation
• Consultative selling, objection handling and sales coaching
• Budgeting, forecasting and resource allocation
• Knowledge of digital and omnichannel engagement tools and promotional content creation software
• Strong analytical skills, dashboards and performance analytics
• Situational leadership, change agility and stakeholder influence