Head of Franchise Excellence

The businesses of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany•Rockville, MD

12d•$155,800 - $233,600•Hybrid

About The Position

As the Head of Franchise Excellence, you will build and lead the cross-franchise delivery engine that powers strategic and market excellence across BioReliance Contract Testing Services (CTS). Uniquely positioned to connect market intelligence, modality-specific segment strategies, pricing excellence, and marketing operations, your team will drive end-to-end initiatives that cut across all CTS franchises - from strategy development through to go-to-market execution. With dedicated expertise spanning key growth modalities, your team will ensure BioReliance remains at the forefront of an evolving and competitive landscape. Working closely with franchise leaders, commercial, operations, and R&D teams, you will turn market insights and business priorities into franchise and modality growth strategies - complete with executable go-to-market tactics that drive growth and competitive positioning across CTS.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Life Sciences, or a related field
Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in portfolio management, marketing, strategy consulting, program management or commercial strategy within the life sciences, biotechnology, or contract testing industry, including demonstrated people leadership experience.
PhD/Master's degree in Business, Life Sciences, or a related field
Minimum 8 years of progressive experience in portfolio management, marketing, strategy consulting, program management or commercial strategy within the life sciences, biotechnology, or contract testing industry, including demonstrated people leadership experience.

Nice To Haves

Proven track record of leading cross-functional or cross-franchise programs at a senior level, with the ability to influence without direct authority across a matrixed organization.
Strong strategic thinking and analytical capabilities, with the ability to synthesize complex market and business data into clear, actionable strategies.
Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with a demonstrated ability to build, develop, and inspire high-performing teams.
Experience working in a global, matrixed organization across multiple geographies.
Experience in strategy development, strategic pricing, marketing operations, or commercial excellence functions within a life sciences or CRO/CDMO environment is preferred

Responsibilities

Define and drive cross-franchise growth strategies spanning all CTS franchises, with modality-specific focus.
Build and own business cases for strategic growth initiatives, supported by market sizing, competitor intelligence, scenario modeling, and pricing frameworks that are competitive, value-aligned, and supportive of CTS portfolio P&L objectives.
Develop and maintain dashboards and analytical models tracking revenue, profitability, utilization, and customer diversification, consolidating insights for CTS leadership, regional, and cross-franchise reviews.
Drive and consolidate cross-franchise contributions to key annual planning processes including Strategic Development (SD), Operational Planning (OP), and the Annual Marketing Plan, ensuring alignment across all CTS franchises.
Develop franchise and modality growth strategies complete with executable go-to-market tactics that serve as the commercial playbook for sales teams across CTS.
Oversee cross-franchise marketing programs, campaigns, roadshows, webinars, and account-based marketing initiatives, partnering with Marcom, SMEs, and Commercial Operations to drive market presence and sales enablement.
Track and optimize marketing initiative effectiveness, capturing case studies, scaling best practices, and managing client communications across the portfolio.
Drive process improvements that enhance efficiency and scalability across CTS franchises, standardizing reporting, governance, and tracking to ensure visibility and accountability on key initiatives.
Program-manage complex cross-franchise projects such as Salesforce campaigns and other strategic initiatives, partnering with Operations and Finance to resolve roadblocks and deliver lean, high-impact workflows.
Lead, develop, and inspire a team of senior individual contributors including Market Segment Leaders, a Strategic Pricing Lead, and a Marketing Operations Lead, fostering a high-performance and collaborative culture.
Act as a key integrator and senior thought partner to franchise heads and the CTS leadership team, aligning cross-functional stakeholders across sales, R&D, operations, and finance from strategy through execution.