Executive Director, Portfolio & Pipeline Strategy

Role Summary

The Executive Director, Portfolio & Pipeline Strategy role is based in East Hanover, NJ with no remote option and no relocation support. Local candidates only. Up to 20% travel (domestic and/or international) may be required.

Responsibilities

• Lead a cross-functional team accountable for building the foundation for sustainable and profitable growth of the Therapeutic Area over a 10+ year horizon.
• Build forward-looking competitive readiness plans (strategy, tactical and scenario planning) grounded in external competitive environment and internal product/portfolio strategies; ensure constant readiness to anticipate and act on market changes and competitor activity within legal and compliant boundaries.
• Provide input on assets to S&G, GDD and Biomedical Research to maximize commercial viability and launch value; include Life Cycle Management planning for new indications, formulations, labels for in-line products, and Integrated Evidence Plans and LCM Plans for early pipeline assets (post IDPA until 6 months before FDP).
• Partner with US BD&L and US Market Access to provide country-level input for BD&L evaluations post-IDPA (including TPP development, stakeholder research, DC/IMB prep).
• Support and/or lead strategic evaluations that inform DA and TA strategies and provide input for TAL (e.g., White Papers/Position Papers; identifying competitive levers, portfolio gaps, and unmet needs).
• Form and lead Early Asset Teams to transition assets from S&G to US Commercial 6 months before FDP, contributing to FDP submission package and commercial strategy.

Responsibilities (continued)

• Perform strategic assessments of competitor activities, including market situation analysis, forecasting, benchmarking, and developing cross-functional competitive response plans in a legal and compliant manner.
• Monitor and benchmark competitor plans to provide early warnings of threats and opportunities for prioritized initiatives.
• Proactively surveil core Disease Area healthcare & macroeconomic environment to identify threats and opportunities relevant to US planning and future portfolio growth.
• Drive design and execution of competitive planning initiatives (competitive simulations) for key products; ensure integrity of competitive intelligence activities via coordination with team and external vendors.
• Lead lifecycle management planning across the Therapeutic Area portfolio to maximize long-term asset value.
• Collaborate with Medical Affairs, Global Drug Development, Strategy & Growth, Novartis Technical Operations, Regulatory, Finance, Supply Chain, Trade and Market Access to realize LCM priorities; manage risks and coordinate forecasts and cost projections with peers and vendors.
• Liaise with Market Access, Medical, BD&L, M&A, Biomedical Research, GDD and S&G to develop US go/no-go positions on asset targets.
• Inform commercial implications to early asset plans (pre-IDPA) and drive US-centric commercialization strategy for assets in later stages (pre-FDP) to inform strategic product profile development and transition to IPSTs as appropriate.
• Develop center of excellence capabilities within the team.

Qualifications

• Essential: Minimum 10 years of commercial experience with multiple functional experience (ideally including new products/pipeline/lifecycle management) in pharma/biotech/healthcare or consulting; at least 2 different cross-functional roles/experiences.
• Recent US market experience with product launches and lifecycle stages.
• Experience partnering with Medical Affairs and Global Drug Development to inform strategic choices.
• Highly autonomous, proactive, and capable of solving problems in a dynamic environment using industry knowledge.
• Portfolio approach with experience implementing innovative strategies in a competitive marketplace.
• Ability to lead and maintain consistent competitive readiness excellence.