Senior Commercial Brand and Access Partner - Associate Director

Responsibilities

• 1. Strategic Brand Leadership, Access Strategy & Operational Plan Delivery: Strategic Brand Leadership: Provide senior leadership in shaping UK brand strategy, integrating commercial, access, customer, market and field insight to define strategic ambition, positioning, growth drivers, customer priorities, key risks and critical success factors.
• Operational Plan Ownership: Own the development and implementation of access-focused operational plans that translate brand strategy into prioritised activities, clear timelines, resourcing requirements, investment choices, cross-functional accountabilities and measurable KPIs.
• Business-Shaping Decision Making: Use market, competitive, customer, financial and field insights to make business-shaping recommendations, identify opportunities, address barriers, prioritise resources and refine brand priorities throughout the year.
• Access Strategy & Expansion Leadership: Lead the brand access strategy and access expansion plans in partnership with VAP and Market Access teams, ensuring funding pathways, regional pull-through requirements, local implementation needs and stakeholder barriers are embedded within strategic and operational planning.
• 2. Customer Insight, Positioning & Engagement Planning: Customer Understanding: Generate and apply deep customer insight across priority customer groups, including clinicians, multidisciplinary teams, payers and other NHS decision-makers.
• Segmentation & Targeting: Maintain clear segmentation, targeting and prioritisation to guide promotional resource allocation, customer engagement and field execution.
• Brand Positioning & Messaging: Develop and refine the UK brand positioning, core messages and campaign narrative, ensuring scientific accuracy, customer relevance and compliance.
• Market Access Customer Insight: Retain awareness of payer, pharmacy and regional access stakeholder needs so that brand plans and materials support appropriate local implementation.
• 3. Peer-to-Peer Meeting Programmes & Customer Engagement: Peer-to-Peer Programme Leadership: Lead the strategy, design and delivery of national and regional peer-to-peer meeting programmes that support brand objectives and enable meaningful scientific and clinical exchange within compliance requirements.
• Speaker & Faculty Development: Identify, brief and develop appropriate speakers and faculty in partnership with Medical and Compliance, ensuring high-quality content delivery and consistent brand-aligned messaging.

Requirements

• Degree Requirement: Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Business, Marketing, or a related commercial discipline.
• Advanced Qualifications: Post-graduate qualifications in Marketing (e.g., CIM, MBA) or Health Policy are highly desirable.
• Senior Commercial Leadership Track Record: Minimum of 6+ years of progressive experience across brand marketing, product management, market access or commercial leadership within the UK pharmaceutical or biotechnology sectors, with evidence of operating at a senior strategic level and influencing business direction.
• Strategic Planning & Operational Ownership: Proven experience shaping brand strategy, developing access strategy, owning operational plans, influencing senior stakeholders and delivering integrated customer-facing activities that support measurable commercial growth.
• Peer-to-Peer Programme Leadership: Demonstrated success designing and delivering customer meeting programmes, speaker initiatives, advisory boards or medical education activities in a compliant pharmaceutical environment.
• Market Access Experience: Experience working with Market Access, VAP, payer or NHS stakeholder needs, including development of access strategy, access expansion plans, local implementation support and customer-facing access materials.
• Budgetary Management: Proven experience managing brand budgets and optimising investment across promotional, meeting and agency-led activities.
• Launch & Growth Execution: Successful history of leading cross-functional brand launches, growth initiatives or indication/line extension plans, with exposure to market access considerations preferred.
• Core Competencies: Strategic Brand & Access Leadership, Customer Engagement Excellence, Strategic Communication, Digital & Systems Acumen, Compliance Excellence.

Preferred

• Digital & Systems Acumen: Proficiency with marketing tools and systems, including Veeva CRM, Veeva PromoMats and marketing analytics platforms.
• Compliance Excellence: Thorough understanding and practical application of the ABPI Code of Practice across brand planning, promotional materials, meetings and field execution.