Executive Director - Launch Excellence

Location: Plainsboro
Posted on: June 23, 2025

Job Description:

About the Department Our Marketing & Patient Solutions group creates and delivers human-centered experiences, where innovation meets customer-centricity, driving the ultimate experience for our patients. Our focus extends beyond transactions to craft experiences as one fully integrated, aligned and connected organization that puts empathy at the center, powered by insight and foresight. We develop an end-to-end approach to strategy, focusing on every touchpoint that impacts our customers. We leverage data and insights to inform our decision-making processes, ensuring that our strategies are rooted in a deep understanding of customer needs and behaviors. Our 'test and learn’ mindset and approach enables us to iterate rapidly and refine our strategies based on real-world results. We are building an intentional team culture that is made up of diverse skillsets, united by the shared belief that reinvention and learning is what fuels continuous growth. Do you get excited about exploring the unknown? Does the idea of driving value through human-centered design pull you in? Are you ready to experiment with us? The Position The Executive Director, Head of Launch Excellence Strategy will guide launch strategy and execution at NNI – for the portfolio and individual brands and will work with the therapeutic areas teams to ensure alignment with organizational objectives and industry best practices. This role will foster innovative approaches and processes to enhance business performance and drive sustainable growth across the organization. This role involves developing and implementing enterprise capabilities, best practices, processes, and governance across the portfolio. The initial focus of this role will be to ensure success of near-term launches across Diabetes, Obesity, and MASH programs, ensuring market/product/organizational readiness. Relationships This position will report to the VP of Future Portfolio, Pipeline Strategy and Launch. This role will coordinate closely with cross-functional teams (e.g., marketing, sales, analytics, research and development, finance, operations, global, etc.) to plan bold launch strategies that achieve business objectives and launch milestones. Works cross functionally with the global team to ensure launch measurements and governance reviews are on track and align on major milestones and business reporting requirements. The role has a team of Launch excellence leads and PMO (in-house as well as external resourcing) reporting to them. Essential Functions Strategic Launch Planning: Lead with strategic approach to launch plans, ensure a unified view across launches, including supporting processes and a governance structure. Collaborate closely with the therapeutic area/brand leads and teams to provide connectivity across functions(Reg, Deve, Medical, Access, Portfolio Strat/Ops, Pipeline), provide guidance on commercial strategies and market readiness. Incorporate overall launch plans into broader commercial execution strategy. Be accountable for launches from L-30 through successful launch to L6 months and build muscle into launch and drive accountability and ownership on launch performance Market Readiness Planning and Unified launch approach: Develop and implement a comprehensive launch strategy and consistent, robust approach to market readiness in collaboration with the therapeutic area/brand leads. Oversee and ensure the readiness of launches by monitoring key indicators and success factors within the market. Take proactive measures to address any challenges or roadblocks in the launch process. Coordinate interlinked launches across therapeutic areas or indications, identify synergies, and risks with mitigation plans. In addition, the role will drive alignment of commercial readiness activities with regulatory, medical, supply, market access and sales Implement Launch Excellence Frameworks: Establish and oversee launch excellence frameworks, including Pre-Launch and Post-Launch performance assessments to gather learnings and drive continuous improvement. Capture lessons learned and best practices to apply to future brands and launches, evolving the launch playbook to cover interdependencies and key changes in the Cardiometabolic market landscape Potential to build a dedicated Launch Analytics Hub: Lead and drive the team for creation of integrated launch analytics hub delivering cross-cutting insights that power field effectiveness, brand planning, and portfolio decisions. Oversee development of launch playbooks and launch excellence frameworks, including Pre-Launch and Post-Launch performance assessments to gather learnings and drive continuous improvement Talent Development for TA/Brand leadership roles: This team set-up creates a supportive environment where early and mid-career talent can develop the skills necessary for future Brand/ TA leadership roles. Akin to an incubator, identify talent with leadership potential; define, equip, and provide regular coaching that includes development, feedback, and recognition, driving the team toward becoming a key source of emerging leaders who can serve as future Brand/TA leads Enterprise Capability Development: Develop launch excellence frameworks, tools, and methodologies across the organization to ensure asset, market, and enterprise readiness. Establish processes and governance structure to support new launches and market readiness Budget Management: Work closely with finance and brand strategy to define the budget allocated for TA and brand activities. Secure global funding and assess progress during pre-launch Risk Management: Proactively raises risks within the brand/launch plan to brand and marketing leads, other functional leaders, and VP. Uses business and launch expertise to inform risk mitigation strategies and assesses potential resourcing needs. Leads through ambiguity and change management needed within brand and other functions as necessary to overcome obstacles and achieve launch success. Process and Operations Management: Champions/manages the team of internal launch collaborators to ensure successful and timely launch process management. Ensure completion of launch readiness tasks, ensuring a standardized approach across brands and that resourcing is in place to support launch strategy initiatives. Owns launch roadmap to support launch success. Track team to facilitate LAP meetings, flag risks, escalate, coordinate decisions, remove roadblocks etc Process Optimization and standardization: Drive initiatives focused on continuous improvement of launch execution and marketing processes. Identify areas for enhancement and implementing processes to optimize TA/brand performance and launch outcomes based on marketing activities Best Practice Integration and Continuous improvement: Capture lessons learned and best practices to apply to future brands and launches. Collaborate with internal cross functional stakeholders to incorporate these into marketing strategies and execution across the portfolio. Share broadly across NNI to drive adoption and excitement around the capability. Evolve launch playbook to cover interdependencies and key changes to the Cardiometabolic market landscape and implement launch excellence frameworks People Development and Coaching: Responsible for setting and communicating clear individualized role expectations for each report based on position, skills, talents, and objectives. Ensure that reporting personnel have strengths-based individual development plans (IDP), with annual goals and measurements that are consistent with the priorities of the business. Provide regular coaching of reports that prioritizes appropriate challenging, development, feedback, regular recognition, and support. Drive team towards the vision of being an incubator of early brand leads who can serve as future TA leads Physical Requirements 20-30% overnight travel required. Development Of People Supervisory. Ensure that reporting personnel have individual development plans (IDP), with annual goals and measurements that are consistent with the priorities of the business, and that interim reviews are held so that their work is focused on those priorities, and they understand their level of accountability for results and the measurement process. Ensure that the IDP forms include completed learning and aspiration plans and are in place for all reporting personnel to enable the achievement of goals and capability to assume increased levels of responsibility. Manage the application and communication of all Novo Nordisk policies, procedures, and Novo Nordisk Way. Qualifications Requires a bachelor’s degree, and a master’s degree is preferred Requires 15 years of commercial function experience in biopharmaceutical/medical device industry, with 10 of those years in marketing/brand/product management. This includes strong knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry, competitive market dynamics and trends, especially within diabetes preferred Requires product launch experience (planning and execution) from a marketing/brand/product management function, within the biopharmaceutical or medical device industry. This includes demonstrated success in commercial planning and launching products, including driving effective launch strategy, and identifying and implementing best practices Requires 3 years management experience (including experience leading 2 direct reports) with a proven track record of development and coaching Required to be on-site at Plainsboro Township, New Jersey campus 3 - 4 days a week, remaining 1 – 2 days can be virtual Demonstrated history in business excellence, launch excellence, and/or marketing excellence within the pharmaceutical industry preferred Experience managing competing priorities and ensuring timely delivery of project tasks, preferably within a product launch preferred Experience with US operations within life sciences preferred Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders across functions (marketing, sales, supply chain, finance, global strategy, etc.) Excellent track record of creating and delivering presentations to senior leaders and cross functional teams Outstanding planning and organizational skills with exceptionally high attention to quality of detail and proven track record of results and follow up Demonstrated collaboration skills in leading cross-functional teams required Embodies leadership behaviors, including authenticity, servant leadership, will, empathy, decisiveness, and driving focus and simplicity The base compensation range for this position is $222530 to $389430. Base compensation is determined based on a number of factors. This position is also eligible for a company bonus based on individual and company performance. Novo Nordisk offers long-term incentive compensation and or company vehicles depending on the position's level or other company factors. Employees are also eligible to participate in Company employee benefit programs including medical, dental and vision coverage; life insurance; disability insurance; 401(k) savings plan; flexible spending accounts; employee assistance program; tuition reimbursement program; and voluntary benefits such as group legal, critical illness, identity theft protection, pet insurance and auto/home insurance. The Company also offers time off pursuant to its sick time policy, flex-able vacation policy, and parental leave policy. We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants. At Novo Nordisk we recognize that it is no longer good enough to aspire to be the best company in the world. We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we’re life changing. Novo Nordisk is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal laws, rules or regulations. If you are interested in applying to Novo Nordisk and need special assistance or an accommodation to apply, please call us at 1-855-411-5290. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

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