Senior Director/Executive Director, Trade Relations

Shionogi • Florham Park, NJ

13d

About The Position

The Senior Director/Executive Director, Trade Relations leads the organization’s trade strategy, distribution network, and relationships with wholesalers, specialty distributors, specialty pharmacies, retail pharmacies, and other channel partners. The role leads a field team of Trade Account Directors and develops and executes trade strategies to ensure product availability, optimize distribution performance, support product access, and align with corporate commercial objectives.

This highly visible Market Access role is the primary strategic contact for the national Trade Account team. It works cross-functionally with Market Access, Supply Chain, Finance, Pricing, Legal, Commercial Operations, and Brand Teams to maximize channel performance and support product launches and lifecycle management.

The role covers Infectious Diseases and Rare Diseases business units. It oversees strategic partner relationships, distribution agreements, channel performance, financial planning, launch readiness, access-strategy alignment, and trade analytics. Travel to internal and external account meetings and conferences is required 60–75% of the year.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Supply Chain, Finance, Economics, Healthcare Administration, or a related field.
• For the Senior Director level: 12+ years of pharmaceutical trade, market access, distribution, supply chain, or channel management experience.
• For the Senior Director level: 7+ years of leadership experience managing teams and strategic trade accounts.
• For the Executive Director level: 15+ years of pharmaceutical trade, market access, distribution, supply chain, or channel management experience.
• For the Executive Director level: 10+ years of leadership experience managing teams and strategic trade accounts.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating agreements with wholesalers, specialty distributors, and specialty pharmacies.
• Deep understanding of pharmaceutical trade channels and the market access landscape.
• Expertise in specialty distribution and specialty pharmacy networks.
• Strong financial acumen, forecasting, and Gross-to-Net knowledge.
• Excellent negotiation, presentation, and executive communication skills.
• Ability to influence senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Ability and willingness to travel to internal and external account meetings and conferences 60–75% of the year.

Nice To Haves

• MBA, PharmD, or another advanced degree.
• Significant product launch experience and channel strategy development.
• Experience with IQVIA, SAP, JD Edwards, or similar ERP/reporting systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute enterprise-wide trade and distribution strategies across Infectious Diseases and Rare Diseases business units.
• Lead channel design and optimization for specialty pharmacy, specialty distributor, retail, and wholesale accounts.
• Establish long-term strategic plans for trade partner engagement across the portfolio and identify emerging market trends and competitive trade dynamics.
• Lead and develop the Trade Account team, build organizational capabilities and succession plans, and foster accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as executive lead for key trade-channel relationships.
• Ensure the Trade Account Director team conducts Quarterly Business Reviews with major trade partners.
• Negotiate and operationalize distribution and service agreements.
• Manage performance metrics, inventory levels, service requirements, and contractual obligations.
• Partner with Trade Operations, Supply Chain, and third-party logistics providers to ensure compliance with Distribution Service Agreements and mitigate shortages and improve service levels.
• Support Gross-to-Net forecasting and financial planning with Finance and Trade Operations, and analyze trade-channel performance and profitability.
• Identify and implement opportunities to reduce operational costs and improve efficiency, including evaluating fees, service agreements, and distribution economics.
• Lead trade-readiness activities for new product launches and ensure Trade Account Directors engage accounts appropriately.
• Collaborate across Market Access, including Payer, Pricing, and Patient Services teams, to align access strategies.
• Design and implement distribution models that support commercial objectives and patient access.
• Partner with Trade Operations and Commercial Operations to embed KPIs and maximize dashboards for trade-channel performance.
• Use internal systems, industry references, and trade-reporting tools to inform decisions.
• Partner with internal colleagues to improve forecasting models and trend analyses for executive decision-making.
• Travel to internal and external account meetings and conferences 60–75% of the year.

Benefits

• The salary range does not include comprehensive benefits, bonus, long-term incentive, applicable allowances, or any additional compensation that may be associated with the role.

What This Job Offers

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