Director, Launch and Marketing Excellence

Some opportunities happen only once in a lifetime - like a job where you have the chance to change lives. At Alexion, people living with rare and devastating diseases are our Guiding Star. We are driven to continuously innovate and create meaningful value in all we do to help patients and families fully live their best lives. We value the uniqueness and diversity of our employees and recognize that nurturing the diverse perspectives and strengths of our people translates into innovative breakthroughs for patients.

This is what you will do:

Alexion is a matrix organization with a vital mission to serve patients with rare diseases. There is an exciting opportunity to shape the calibre and execution of the teams delivering the launch and brand strategy as part of the Marketing Excellence and Commercial Capabilities team, International.

Launch & Marketing Excellencewill be integral to the International and In-country cross-functional teams. This individual will improve Launch and Marketing capabilities within International (all countries except the US and Japan). This individual will identify areas for growth through observations, surveys and discussion. Through coaching, course development and delivery, the individual will measure the output of the intervention. Proactively you will connect with AZ colleagues to explore and tap into their resources to amplify your efforts.

The goal is to improve efficient and effective functioning driving excellence across the commercial functions.

We aim to build closer links with AZ assets and processes and capitalize on opportunities to enhance Alexion’s capabilities and procedures; an element of the role will be defining and supporting this change management process.

Based in Zurich, this role supports the sustained growth of Alexion in its core indications & expansion into new therapy areas. This role requires a high workload capacity and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, moving through leader, participant and individual contributor seamlessly and willingly to achieve objectives.

You will be responsible for:

Marketing Excellence Capabilities

• Lead planning and implementation of Alexion’s marketing capabilities enhancement programme, clearly detailing, promoting and executing content
• Be seen as a leader of marketing skills and competence, be a role model in ongoing self-development demonstrable through innovative ideas and horizon scanning
• Ensure capabilities align with organizational needs through feedback, surveys and observations – identify specific in-country needs and create and deliver tailored programs
• Measure outcomes of training initiatives and create plans for continuous improvement
• Provide marketing coaching to individuals and groups as required
• Identify appropriate AZ content and design content, where none is available, to deliver to the organization
• Collaborate with cross-functional colleagues to align on requirements and offer ’brand excellence’; training to all departments
• Attend TA to country monthly meetings to provide feedback for continual skill development and ensure consistency of approach
• Support the COMPETE to Lead framework to accelerate competitive capabilities

Launch Excellence

Working seamlessly with the Senior Project Managers and Planning:

• Define specific capabilities and needs aligned to launches to drive Launch Excellence
• Create and execute a comprehensive training plan
• Lead development of the ’Alexion Launch Academy’ supporting the SPM&P roles to devise and implement the training process with embedded measures of success
• With SPM&P input, continue to refine the International PROPEL playbook - (Planning and Readiness across the Organization for Partnership and Excellence in Launches (PROPEL)
• Align, measure, and embed launch KPIs into the PROPEL launch process
• Attend Launch events to identify, create and recommend steps to accelerate Launch Excellence
• Capitalize on Global and AZ expertise to efficiently achieve launch objectives
• Support Launch Excellence evolution in the shared markets

Disease and Tactical Planning

• Coordinate with Global, International and In-country teams on communication, process and output alignment, ensuring all plans are received on time and of the highest quality
• Support plan development through a series of coordinated training interventions designed & delivered by you to markets and or groups of markets and cross-functional teams, for example, strategic decision making, turning insights into action & rigorous prioritization
• Working with SPM&P, lead the implementation of the Disease Planning Process across the International region
• Working with SPM&P, lead dissemination of global plans and collection of the country plans through Disease Plan matrix agreements and storage (e.g. Box) facilities to collate materials
• Working with SPM&P, ensure tactical planning is completed compliantly through Smartsheet
• Create tactical reports for the brand teams to interrogate driving project team approaches to solutions and best practice sharing
• Conduct audits of plan quality, providing timely and constructive feedback to drive continual improvement
• Lead and coordinate country feedback on plans liaising across TAs to ensure the feedback process is consistent and reliable for markets
• Be known as the trusted partner and exceptional leader in Disease Planning, able to coach and support any function requiring insight and support

The incumbent may be required to perform other function-related activities and the responsibilities mentioned above as reasonably required by business needs.

You will need to have:

• Bachelor’s degree in a Scientific, Business or Finance-related field
• 10+ years of product marketing experience in the healthcare industry, having completed the Annual Planning Process
• Experienced trainer of content creation and implementation
• Experience in rare disease
• Launch experience in a leadership position
• Demonstrated project management skills with the ability to manage a high-volume workload and multiple projects simultaneously
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Excel and PPT
• Communicates in an impactful way with excellent written, verbal and listening English fluency
• Ability to travel up to 35% (determined by travel policy)

We would prefer for you to have:

• Proficiency with Smartsheet
• Project Management experience
• Previous experience working in an international role
• Management experience

Competencies/Characteristics

• Proactive self-starter who acts before being instructed
• Ability to function confidently under ambiguous conditions
• Optimistic, detail-oriented and energetic, able to work both independently and in a team environment in person and virtually
• Demonstrated ability to establish and develop internal and external networks
• Strong customer-service aptitude; comfort level and ease working cross-culturally, cross-geographically, and with differing workstyles
• Collaborates effectively with leaders at varying levels within the organization to execute on high visibility projects
• Natural talent to identify improvements and desire to make things better
• Able to change course rapidly as part of a dynamic organization
• Embraces Alexion’s Culture Values
• Comfortable as a leader whose role is to serve others

Alexion is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on serving patients and families affected by rare diseases and devastating conditions through the discovery, development and commercialization of life-changing medicines. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Alexion has offices around the globe and serves patients in more than 50 countries. Further information about Alexion can be found at: www.alexion.com.

Alexion is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We are committed to fostering a culture of belonging where every single person can belong because of their uniqueness. The Company will not make decisions about employment, training, compensation, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment based on race, color, religion, creed or lack thereof, sex, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, national origin, ethnicity, citizenship status, marital status, pregnancy, (including childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), parental status (including adoption or surrogacy), military status, protected veteran status, disability, medical condition, gender identity or expression, genetic information, mental illness or other characteristics protected by law. Alexion provides reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of candidates and employees. To begin an interactive dialogue with Alexion regarding an accommodation, please contact accommodations@Alexion.com. Alexion participates in E-Verify.

AstraZeneca completed its acquisition of Alexion, marking the creation of Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease. If you’re interested in career opportunities with AstraZeneca, click here.