US Launch Operations - PH Retail Launch Leader

Role Summary

Lead and oversee project management activities for Global Marketing Launch projects, partnering with US Launch Excellence Lead and Marketing Leaders. Collaborate with Regulatory, Manufacturing, Quality, R&D, Finance, New Product Planning, Innovation Strategy, and Affiliate Commercial teams to design robust launch plans, proactively identify risks, and ensure timely, high-quality product launches.

Responsibilities

• Independently manages project management activities for prioritized Launch initiatives in major geographies.
• Provides input on strategy for implementing the Launch plan and developing realistic launch milestones and deliverables.
• Leads a team to develop and maintain launch scope documentation; updates the launch plan at least annually or after major modifications, and secures team/leadership alignment around the new plan and deliverables.
• Utilizes external inputs and business process knowledge to drive transformation within the scope of Launch Excellence.
• Partners with cross-functional teams to develop and maintain up-to-date Launch timelines (using Microsoft Project) and process maps (if appropriate).
• Identifies, communicates and manages the critical path and leading indicators of the team’s progress to major Launch milestones.
• Monitors and reports performance to plan and collaborates with Global Launch Leaders to drive execution.
• Manages upcoming team-related activities, key milestones, and decisions; proactively updates the Launch schedule and revises it as appropriate.
• Drives data completeness and accuracy within business systems by the team, functions, and geographies.
• Partners with Financial, functional teams and geographies to manage the overall Launch budget; discusses variances, drives re-forecasts, and communicates cost implications of Launch scenarios.
• Leads assessment of Launch risks, mitigation/contingency planning and ownership; triggers plans when needed.
• Proactively identifies and communicates risks that may affect the Launch critical path and portfolio milestones and mitigates or avoids them.
• Applies a quality mindset to completion of all study and project tasks; liaises with Global Launch Leaders to escalate issues.
• Documents key decisions, actions and modifications in Launch scope, resources and timeline; coordinates Launch meeting logistics and ensures timely meeting agendas and minutes.
• Conducts risk assessments and contingency planning; assesses resource roadblocks and impact of scope changes on resources and budget.
• Generates ideas for new processes and drives process improvements to enhance Launch Excellence; ensures consistency of documented processes and shares learning across teams.
• Leads and participates in retrospective project/process review meetings to identify issues and strengths and capture learnings for future iterations.

Qualifications

• Experience: At least 5 years in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry in roles involving product launch, commercialization, or new product introduction; proven track record of managing cross-functional projects in a matrix environment.
• Strong project management skills: defining launch timelines, milestones, risk mitigation, budget oversight.
• Excellent communication (oral and written) and influencing skills to engage stakeholders globally and locally.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with changing priorities and global time zones.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences / Pharmacy / Biotechnology / Engineering / Business (or equivalent).

Skills

• Strategic mindset: translate market insights into actionable launch plans.
• Analytical capability: interpret data, build business cases, inform decision-making.
• End-to-end launch readiness: from pre-launch planning to operational readiness (supply, logistics, pricing).
• Stakeholder management: partner with functional leads across Commercial, Supply, Regulatory, Medical.
• Agile and adaptive approach: lead through ambiguity, change and scale-up scenarios.
• Digital fluency: familiarity with launch dashboards, forecasting models, and project management software.
• Leadership: ability to motivate, influence, coach and lead teams across functions.
• Problem-Solving: proactive problem-solver with ability to anticipate challenges and mitigate them.
• Communication: excellent written and verbal English communication for presenting complex information clearly to diverse audiences.