Associate Director, Market Development - Rheumatology

Role Summary

The Associate Director, Market Development is a commercial leader responsible for driving national rheumatology sales performance, building strategic field execution frameworks, and ensuring operational excellence across the U.S. Rheumatology sales organization. Reporting directly to the Head of Sales, this role influences national strategy, supports regional leadership, and shapes field execution for one of AbbVie’s highest-priority franchises. Location: U.S. (Field-Based or Home Office).

Responsibilities

• Lead execution of the national sales strategy for AbbVie’s Rheum portfolio, ensuring alignment with the Head of Sales, Marketing, and broader Immunology leadership.
• Identify performance trends, growth opportunities, and operational gaps across regions; drive targeted interventions to optimize results.
• Partner with Regional Sales Directors to ensure consistent execution of brand strategy and field excellence across all geographies.
• Oversee national sales performance dashboards, KPIs, and reporting in collaboration with Analytics and Sales Operations.
• Develop national playbooks, field execution frameworks, and performance standards to support clarity and consistency in sales execution.
• Lead regular business reviews and performance deep-dives with regional and district leadership.
• Serve as the primary liaison between the field sales organization and key cross-functional partners (Marketing, Market Access, Training, and Reimbursement).
• Translate customer, competitive, and field insights into actionable recommendations for brand and commercial strategy teams.
• Support payer pull-through initiatives in partnership with Market Access to ensure optimal adoption of AbbVie’s Rheumatology therapies.
• Play a central role in national launch execution for new indications, formulations, or pipeline assets.
• Align brand positioning, messaging priorities, and promotional strategies with field execution planning.
• Ensure field teams are prepared with the capabilities, resources, and training needed to execute at the highest level.
• Partner with Regional Sales Directors, mentor District Managers, and contribute to leadership succession planning.
• Champion AbbVie’s culture, ensuring a high-performance, patient-centered, collaborative environment across the field organization.
• Support recruitment, development, and retention of top commercial talent across U.S. Rheumatology.

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor's degree in business, life sciences, or related field.
• Required: 10+ years of pharmaceutical or biotech commercial experience, including significant field sales leadership as well as marketing experience.
• Required: Demonstrated success leading large, complex field organizations in specialty therapeutics (preferably immunology or rheumatology).
• Required: Proven ability to influence senior leaders, drive execution at scale, and translate strategy into measurable performance.
• Required: Home office based role or hybrid with 50%+ travel.
• Required: Driving a personal auto or company car or truck, or a powered piece of material handling equipment.
• Required: Valid driver’s license: Ability to pass a pre-employment drug screening test and meet safe driving requirements.
• Preferred: Advanced degree (MBA or related).
• Preferred: Experience in rheumatology, immunology, or biologics/advanced therapies.
• Preferred: Background working with Market Access, launch planning, or field training a plus.
• Preferred: Experience supporting national product launches.