Director, Trade and Channel Strategic Planning and Execution

Job Details

• Job Title: Director, Trade and Channel Strategic Planning and Execution
• Location: Morristown, NJ or Cambridge, MA (Hybrid - 3 days a week in-office requirement)

Overview

The Director, Trade and Channel Strategic Planning and Execution contributes within the U.S. Market Access organization. The role is accountable for coordinating cross-functional strategy, tactics, and operations across specialty pharmacy, wholesaler, and distributor accounts, as well as the Trade and Channel Operations and Strategy teams. The Trade & Channel team optimizes specialty pharmacy, wholesaler, and distributor economics through negotiation and step-down strategies.

This role serves as a strategic advisor to the Head of Trade & Channel and helps translate enterprise objectives into coordinated actions. The role sets operational direction for the team, elevates efficiency and collaboration, and provides strategic communication to senior leadership. It also establishes the performance framework used to hold specialty pharmacy and channel partners accountable, so that contracts, programs, and initiatives deliver on access, affordability, and patient delivery goals.

This position is ideal for a collaborative, detail-oriented problem solver with deep operational knowledge of the U.S. healthcare system, including specialty pharmacies, trade partners, channel operations, and contract performance tracking.

Join the team transforming care for people with immune challenges, rare diseases, cancers, and neurological conditions. In Specialty Care, you’ll help deliver breakthrough treatments that bring hope to patients with some of the highest unmet needs.

About Sanofi

We're an R&D-driven, AI-powered biopharma company committed to improving people's lives and delivering compelling growth. Our deep understanding of the immune system — and innovative pipeline — enables us to invent medicines and vaccines that treat and protect millions of people around the world. Together, we chase the miracles of science to improve people's lives.

Main Responsibilities

1. Operational Strategy & Execution

• Act as a strategic advisor to the Head of Trade & Channel in shaping the operating strategy and multi-year roadmap for Trade & Channel.
• Advise on negotiation and step-down strategy in partnership with the Head of Trade & Channel and the Strategy and Customer Facing teams.
• Consult on enterprise readiness for product launches, channel transitions, and distribution network changes, and provide guidance on associated risk and investment trade-offs.
• Develop team priorities and objectives, supported by business planning resources, so that each team member has clear, actionable, and accountable direction.
• Develop incentive compensation plans for eligible teams, aligning team priorities with incentive compensation guidelines and balancing them with the broader U.S. Market Access organization.
• Refine CRM to meet the specific needs of Trade & Channel while ensuring compliance and structural requirements.

2. Specialty Pharmacy & Channel Performance Management

• Define the performance framework, metrics, dashboards, and business review cadence used to manage specialty pharmacy and channel partners, identify risks, and guide leadership decisions.
• Consult with analytics and business insights partners so that tools and future-state resources (e.g., AI) maximize contract performance evaluation, identify gaps, and support corrective solutions.
• Use insights from performance monitoring to recommend ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of channel and specialty pharmacy programs.
• Lead or contribute to internal and external benchmarking against industry standards, and evaluate and streamline performance reporting methods.
• Present performance, risks, and recommendations to Market Access and executive leadership, and drive decisions on mitigation and investment.
• With Customer Facing, Strategy, and Operations teams, help ensure contractual agreements are developed, implemented, and executed in line with brand and Trade & Channel objectives.

3. Strategic Portfolio Intelligence & Cross-Functional Coordination

• Synthesize and prioritize internal and competitive intelligence across therapeutic areas to inform Trade & Channel and Market Access decisions and enable proactive responses to channel challenges.
• Build field intelligence inputs from account and trade teams to identify actionable cross-portfolio opportunities.
• Collaborate with leaders across Trade & Channel teams to improve efficiency, reduce duplicative effort, and keep roles and responsibilities clear amid changing organizational and market conditions.
• Participate in cross-functional internal initiatives as a strategic advisor to the Head of Trade & Channel and associated teams.

4. Executive Strategic Communication & Internal Advisory

• Craft strategic presentations for senior leadership and executive forums that translate complex cross-portfolio insights into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Serve as a thought partner and advisor to brand and TA access strategy teams, compliantly sharing strategic frameworks and insights on challenges that apply across products.

5. Process Optimization, Enablement & Innovation

• Build the processes, tools, and capabilities that make Trade & Channel operations efficient, scalable, and valued by channel partners.
• Create cross-asset resources and frameworks that equip account teams for proactive engagement and consistent execution against portfolio priorities (e.g., coverage tracking, competitive response, access win/loss mitigation).
• Implement continuous improvement initiatives to meet and exceed service levels and partner performance goals.
• Sponsor strategic initiatives that advance Trade & Channel (e.g., specialty pharmacy onboarding, distribution network design, channel expansion).
• Provide guidance on digital and data capabilities with channel partners to drive insights and performance.
• Lead through influence and coach matrixed colleagues, building trade operations capability across the organization.

About You

Education

• Bachelor's degree required; degree in Business, Health Administration, Supply Chain, Pharmacy, or a related field preferred.
• Advanced degree (MBA, MPH, MHA, PharmD) is a plus.

Experience

• 6+ years of experience in pharmaceutical or biotech Trade & Channel, Market Access, Commercial Operations, or specialty pharmacy performance, including leadership of complex cross-functional work.
• Deep expertise in U.S. pharmaceutical distribution, including wholesalers, specialty distributors, and specialty pharmacy networks.
• Proven track record of setting operational strategy, leading contract implementation, and influencing senior leaders without direct authority.
• Strong financial acumen, including gross-to-net and contract economics.
• Strong analytics and problem-solving skills with a continuous improvement mindset and demonstrated outcomes.

Preferred

• Experience in Patient Support Services, hub, or specialty pharmacy performance management.
• Ability to communicate and present effectively to senior leaders in a matrix environment.
• Highly self-directed, able to manage projects with minimal direction.

Technical Proficiency

• Strong proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and project management platforms.
• Familiarity with CRM systems, contract tracking platforms, and business intelligence tools.

Travel

• Approximately 25% travel for key customer meetings, account team meetings, implementation support, and internal business reviews.

Why Choose Us

• Bring the miracles of science to life alongside a supportive, future-focused team.  
• Discover endless opportunities to grow your talent and drive your career, whether it’s through a promotion or lateral move, at home or internationally.  
• Enjoy a thoughtful, well-crafted rewards package that recognizes your contribution and amplifies your impact.  
• Take good care of yourself and your family, with a wide range of health and wellbeing benefits including high-quality healthcare, prevention and wellness program

Sanofi Inc. and its U.S. affiliates are Equal Opportunity employers committed to a culturally inclusive workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender, gender identity or expression; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or liability for military status; domestic violence victim status; atypical cellular or blood trait; genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing) or any other characteristic protected by law.

All compensation will be determined commensurate with demonstrated experience. Employees may be eligible to participate in Company employee benefit programs, and additional benefits information can be found here.