Head of Sales - East

Merck•Rockville, MD

2d•Remote

About The Position

The Head of Sales - East is a field-based commercial role leading a team of Business Development Managers, each responsible for a sales territory, and reports to the Head of Commercial for North America. The sales region spans over multiple states, selling BioReliance Biosafety Testing Services. BioReliance is the world's largest provider of pharma and biopharma GMP manufacturing and biologics safety testing. This role is responsible for driving region-wide business performance with a strong emphasis on coaching, forecasting accuracy, customer relationship management, proactiveness, and cross-functional collaboration. The candidate must live East of the Mississippi.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Biology, Biochemistry, or related Life Science.
8-10+ years of commercial sales experience in the biotech industry including the use of CRM software, forecasting tools and other sales-related programs.
Experience leading teams - coaching, developing, and motivating a high-performing sales team.
Knowledge of Contract Testing Services (CTS) within the pharmaceutical and biotech drug production segment, or related experience.
Strong quantitative skills; proficient in pipeline management, opportunity assessment, and data-driven decision making.
Data-driven; uses metrics to coach and drive decisions.
Proactive problem-solver; identifies risks early and assigns ownership.
Candidate must live East of the Mississippi.

Nice To Haves

Advanced Degree (MBA, MS, PhD)

Responsibilities

Demonstrates proactive leadership and strategic account stewardship to grow revenue.
Reach or exceed quarterly and yearly sales targets.
Monitor and improve the region’s sales performance, identify gaps, and implement actionable plans with clear milestones and owner accountability.
Lead, mentor, and develop the sales team through regular, structured coaching; establish and communicate best practices for forecasting, deal execution, and customer relationship management.
Ensure accurate and timely forecasting; maintain a robust, properly staged pipeline; implement rigorous review cadences with leadership and account teams.
Develop a comprehensive sales plan within the region focusing on growth activities and based on a target account list for each territory within the region.
Provide feedback and recommendations on the workforce and support required for the success of the plan.
Track pricing and price increase success within the region to protect business profitability.
Develop relationship with key decision-makers at target accounts within the region as well as foster the networking activities of the Account Managers at these customers.
Support Business Development Managers (BDM) during specific situations where an escalation process is needed to either solve a significant issue or protect/win a significant piece of business.
Provide clear focus and prioritization to the regional BDM team.
Represent the team in key meetings and calls to ensure visibility and impact.
Evaluate individual performance at mid-year and year-end and allocate compensation accordingly.
Work collaboratively with business partners (customer service, technical service, field marketing, technology management, demand planning, etc.).
Maintain reliable accessibility during business hours to support the team, respond to issues, and remove obstacles to order progress.