Associate Director, US Launch Excellence

MSD • North Wales, PA

1d • $142,400 - $224,100 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Director, US Launch Excellence will serve as the strategic launch partner for the US Immunology pipeline, with primary focus on approaching inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) launches. This role sits at the intersection of strategy, planning and execution, helping teams connect decisions, dependencies and workstreams into one integrated view of launch readiness. You will work closely with marketing leadership, cross-functional launch teams, Global partners and Centers of Excellence to translate strategy into action, anticipate what could affect readiness and help the team make timely, well-informed decisions. The right candidate brings strategic judgment, practical launch discipline and the ability to build trust and momentum without direct authority.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, General Management, Biotechnology or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology or life sciences consulting industry, including experience in marketing, sales, strategy and planning, commercial operations or related launch work.
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into executable plans and lead complex, cross-functional initiatives in a matrixed organization.
• Strong program and project management capabilities, including managing multiple priorities, milestones, risks and interdependencies.
• Proven ability to influence without direct authority, build commitment and create accountability across functions and organizational levels.
• Excellent written, verbal, facilitation and presentation skills, with the ability to simplify complexity and communicate clearly with senior stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel as needed and meet the on-site expectations defined for the approved role and location.

Nice To Haves

• Experience leading or materially supporting a new branded product, indication or commercial program launch in the pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical industry.
• Immunology, gastroenterology or IBD experience, including familiarity with complex patient, provider, access and account pathways.
• Experience across integrated go-to-market planning, patient support, market access, field readiness, customer experience or launch measurement.
• Demonstrated use of data and insights to inform priorities, readiness decisions, KPIs and performance optimization.
• Experience with scenario planning, Agile ways of working, launch governance, knowledge management or post-launch hypercare.
• Experience working across Global and market teams or in an alliance environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead integrated launch planning and readiness: Partner with marketing and launch leaders to translate brand, customer and go-to-market strategy into integrated, adaptable launch plans with clear outcomes, milestones, dependencies and ownership. Orchestrate readiness across core and extended launch workstreams, connecting functional plans and maintaining a clear view of the critical path rather than managing activities in isolation. Create transparent ways to assess readiness, surface gaps and support decisions through launch plans, readiness indicators, dashboards and key performance indicators. Support pre-launch measurement, launch monitoring and post-launch hypercare so teams can learn quickly and adjust when needed.
• Anticipate risk and strengthen decisions: Identify and challenge launch-critical risks, assumptions and interdependencies early; facilitate mitigation, trade-off and escalation discussions before issues affect readiness. Lead scenario planning and prioritization to help teams focus attention and resources on the work most important to launch success. Bring an outside-in and enterprise perspective, applying launch excellence practices while tailoring the approach to the asset, market and IBD customer ecosystem.
• Operate as a strategic launch partner: Serve as a trusted thought partner and launch excellence subject matter expert who asks the right questions, challenges constructively and engages the right functional expertise. Design and facilitate core and extended launch team meetings and other readiness forums that drive alignment, decisions, accountability and follow-through. Build strong partnerships across Marketing, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Patient Support, Data & Analytics, Digital, Field and Learning & Development, as well as Global teams and Centers of Excellence. Clarify Global-to-US inputs, ownership and handoffs so US teams can build on enterprise work, address market-specific needs and avoid unnecessary duplication.
• Advance launch excellence capabilities: Capture and apply launch learnings, reusable practices and knowledge to strengthen future Immunology and US Human Health launches. Improve launch ways of working across people, process and technology, including responsible use of digital and AI-enabled capabilities within company policies. Help evolve the launch partner model beyond program coordination toward strategic partnership that improves integration, decision quality and execution.

Benefits

• medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
• retirement benefits, including 401(k)
• paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days
• annual bonus
• long-term incentive

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level