Associate Director ECP Marketing, Ophthalmics

Primary Duties

The Associate Director of Professional Marketing within the Ophthalmics Franchise will lead the marketing to Eye Care Professionals (ECPs) through channels that leverage Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in promotional efforts. These channels will primarily be personal promotion but could also be via Non-Personal Promotion (NPP). This role will be responsible for developing the Pro Ed Plan for key channels (speaker bureau, symposia, and NPP KOL tactics) including pull through strategies and tactics. The role will lead the design, development, & ensure compliant implementation Professional Education tactics that leverage customer insight that may lead to innovative formats and educational experiences.

Additionally, the role will also be responsible for leading the development and execution of advisory boards to better understand key business problems facing the brand team. The Pro Ed lead will work with internal subject matter experts and external experts to define the key questions and determine the optimal format for answering these questions.

As part of the commercial team, this role shares responsibility for achieving revenue, market share and A&P expense targets, and is responsible for managing the budget, including accruals and phasing. In delivering against assigned objectives, the role collaborates and integrates extensively with other members of the marketing team, the field sales team and multiple internal functions. The role also requires flexibility to respond to requests from leadership to support various key marketing projects and initiatives that may arise. As appropriate, this role provides direction for work delegated to assigned staff and/or vendors to ensure quality and timely completion of deliverables.

Responsibilities

% of Time
Job Function and Description
10%

• Coordinate A&P budget with Finance (phasing, monthly/quarterly close, ring-fences, vendor confirmations, credits, budget issues and analysis); clearly communicate performance and recommendations to leadership
• Coordinate development and definition of the Detailed Level Operating Plan including project plans, descriptions, priorities, timing, and budget phasing for team
• Develop monthly reports and conduct budget analysis as needed; weekly performance reporting is critical to continually evaluate and pivot

50%

• Responsible for developing the pull through strategies and tactics for educating ECPs via Ophthalmic KOLs
• Manage team of internal and external partners in creation of new professional education content for speaker program and symposia use
• Oversee operations for speaker programs and symposia including strategic direction, budget management, sunshine reporting, and program analysis
• Lead development and execution of trainings for KOL speakers including event management team, medical team, and market development team
• Liaise with Market Development on the selection and use of KOL speakers
• Ensure necessary sponsorships for conference events are submitted and approved as needed
• Work with senior leaders in the planning and development of annual brand plans to leverage the voice of the KOL in promotional activities and ensure alignment with overall strategic objectives
• Set up and facilitate working group meetings, agency meetings, status calls and reviews

30%

• Responsible for leading the development and execution of advisory boards or other methods to better understand key business problems facing the Ophthalmic Franchise
• Partner with internal and external stakeholders to determine key business questions and appropriate format/audience/timing for answering them
• Oversee content development and approval by review committee
• Ensure compliant execution and tracking of all KOL engagements for ad board
• Disseminate ad board feedback internally so that learnings can be acted upon quickly

10%

• Develop and maintain positive and collaborative working relationships with a broad range of stakeholders to ensure achievement of assigned objectives and/or maximize the impact & effectiveness of programs and tactics to achieve those objectives
• Ensure understanding of and adherence to all relevant internal and external policies or guidelines related to the team s activities and deliverables

Education and Experience Requirements

• College degree required, MBA preferred
• Ophthalmic Market Experience Preferred
• 7+ years of pharmaceutical commercial experience
• Broad marketing background with at least 3 years of experience in HCP marketing including PP, NPP, digital marketing, and agency management
• Strong fiscal stewardship and experience managing multi-channel marketing approach across multiple customer types
• Experience with policy-setting, high-level compliance discussions, and senior leadership alignment
• Previous experience in designing and launching HCP marketing material including medical/legal/regulatory approval, KOL training, and performance evaluation / metric analysis
• Strong understanding of clinical decision-making process, drivers and barriers of HCP behavior, and approach to marketing across distinct segments and different customer-types
• Ability to access and influence various functional areas and motivate groups to action without direct line management responsibility
• Ability to quickly digest scientific and clinical updates and translate into marketing tactics
• Pharma Sales experience a plus
• Demonstrated strong written, communication, and presentation skills
• Must have superior analytical ability to analyze current and future landscape and specific market insights to make recommendations that impact our brands.
• Ability to translate strategies into measurable tactical programs that have high ROI for our brands

Key Skills, Abilities, and Competencies

• Expert level knowledge of HCP marketing tactics including Speaker Bureau and other KOL-driven tactics
• Ability to develop new material and messaging based on strong market understanding
• Ability to assess issues, evaluate options with both quantitative and qualitative analysis and develop recommendations for action steps
• Strong interpersonal, presentation and communication skills
• Strong project management skills
• Strong business acumen
• Proven ability to work in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to act decisively and exercise good judgment in making decisions with limited information
• Ability to interface with key individual and organizational customers, industry contacts, and suppliers, using tact and diplomacy
• Ability to manage budgets
• Understanding of the US promotional regulatory environment
• Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams in order to complete tasks in a timely manner
• Must be a fast learner, creative and flexible, results oriented and thorough

Complexity and Problem Solving

• Escalates decisions that have broader strategic or business impact and/or that deviate from established strategies or budgets to the US Marketing Director and/or other senior business leaders
• Ability to work in a complex environment, across cross-functional situations, and ensure decisions are made quickly and correctly

Other Job Requirements

• Domestic and some international travel required
• Ability to travel overnight 30%

Associated topics: community, demand generation, endowment, event, mba, newspaper, presale, principle gift, solicitation, stewardship