Senior Manager, Forecasting

AstraZeneca•Gaithersburg, MD

About The Position

The Forecasting Senior Manager, Oncology leads the US forecasting process for one of the key brands in the US Oncology portfolio. As a thought partner to the business, the Senior Manager will develop product-specific short-term and long-term forecasts and provide critical insights into market risks & opportunities that may impact performance to ultimately guide commercial strategy and decision-making. Strong analytical and critical thinking skills are essential to developing rigorous forecasts using patient-flow/patient-based models and incorporating new AI capabilities. The Senior Manager seamlessly collaborates with Insights and Analytics colleagues to deliver data-based, actionable insights to the business. In addition, the Senior Manager will closely partner with Marketing, Sales, Market Access, Sales Operations, Global Analytics & Insights, Supply Planning, and Finance to ensure alignment on forecast assumptions and narrative. The Senior Manager regularly presents to senior leaders the forecast and performance story. Key abilities include consultative and influencing skills, quantitative technical skills, and proficiency in interpreting primary market research/secondary data analyses. This role reports to the Integrated Insights Senior Director for the Tumor Franchise and sits within US Integrated Insights - Oncology Business Excellence organization, an inclusive team that partners with the US Oncology commercial organization to drive strategic decisions by providing objective, data-driven insight generation and analytics.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree, with a preference for a quantitative field (e.g., Engineering, Data Science, Statistics, Math, Economics, Computer Science, Operations Research)
2 + years of experience at a pharmaceutical / biotechnology manufacturer or working in the biopharmaceutical industry (e.g., forecasting, data/analytics, management consulting, market research, investment banking)
2+ years of experience in forecasting: building models, leading input evaluation, communicating outputs, and guiding business decisions based; forecasting specifically in a biopharmaceutical role
Familiar with pharmaceutical analytics data sources (APLD, IQVIA, claims, etc.) and epidemiological data (SEER, Kantar, DRG)

Nice To Haves

Advanced Quantitative Degree or Advanced Marketing Degree (e.g., MBA)
Experience working in Oncology
Knowledge of primary market research, advanced analytics, and competitive intelligence; experience collaborating with others to integrate findings into the forecast
Leadership Capabilities: Passion for Customers: Understands one's customers and uses that insight to provide value; Highly consultative with ability to build credibility and relationships with key collaborators.
Thinks Strategically: Strategic and critical thinking skills to quickly identify and act on opportunities, combining forethought with action.
Acts Decisively: Makes and acts on decisions quickly and effectively and fosters the same in others; Comfort with ambiguity with the ability to challenge traditional thinking and courage to take smart risks to solve problems.
Works Collaboratively: Actively creates and promotes cross-boundary collaboration to achieve better business results.
Ability to influence: Strong communication and influencing skills with demonstrated ability to develop and effectively present succinct, compelling reviews of business performance infused with insight and business implications/actions to be considered.
Lead without authority: Demonstrated success in mentoring, coaching, directing others towards delivering towards a shared goal, even without direct reporting lines; Creates an environment that enables others to perform at their best.

Responsibilities

Lead the US forecasting and business planning processes and all associated work streams for covered brand / indications (scenario planning, integration with Finance, etc.)
Develop, build, and maintain up-to-date product-specific short-term and long-term forecast models.
Synthesize a coordinated picture using information from multiple sources.
Manage external agencies to build or update models as needed.
Proactively and clearly identify key drivers that impact short-term and long-range product and market forecasts, highlighting significant risks and opportunities
Incorporate AI analytical tools into the forecast process and support continuing development of the AI forecasting platform
Collaborate cross-functionally with key commercial leaders, Business Excellence colleagues, and other forecast collaborators to align on objective, data-driven forecast inputs
Provide in-depth analyses of underlying drivers of brand performance in support of key business deliverables and milestones (e.g. Quarterly Business Reviews)
Monitor external environment to stay up to date on the competitive landscape and latest market developments for covered brand/indications
Consult on primary research and secondary analytics relevant to forecasting, and incorporate results into modeling to add deep customer insight and assess future events
Deliver insightful, objective presentations to senior leaders (e.g., VP of US Franchise) that clearly and succinctly highlight critical insights and business implications through strong storytelling