Launch Planning Manager, Global Commercial Operations

The Launch Planning Manager is responsible for delivery high-quality launch planning programme management to Commercial teams across US OBU. This role reports into the Launch Planning Director.

He/she will work closely with key stakeholders across all launch activities including Franchise Heads, Brand Directors, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Commercial Excellence and multiple cross functional Leads/Partners. This role requires excellence stakeholder and relationship building skills and experience working in a matrix environment delivering complex, highly visible projects against tight deadlines.

Experience in project management practices will be vital and the successful candidate will be self-motivated, resilient, and highly organized, with an understanding of how to prioritize effectively in high-pressure environments.

Major Responsibilities

• Mobilize

• Assemble and collaborate with pre-identified cross-functional leads launch requirements, baseline launch plan and key milestones, establish ways of working including:

• Launch strategy and objectives

• Establishing and aligning core and extended cross-functional launch teams on the strategy and objectives for launch.

• Launch Kickoff/Onboarding

• Design and facilitate launch kickoff approach.

• Act as the primary point of contact for key stakeholders, including senior management, clients, partners and external vendors.

• Manage stakeholder expectations, solicit feedback and address concerns in a timely and professional manner.

• Maintain

• On-going oversight of the launch plan; change control governance, risk management, dependency communication and management including:

• Develop and validate comprehensive project plans outlining timelines, milestones, tasks and resource allocation.

• Coordinate with internal stakeholders, including product development, marketing, sales, and operations teams, to ensure alignment and commitment to project goals.

• Proactively identify and mitigate risks, issues, and bottlenecks that may impact project progress or outcomes.

• Facilitate and communicate

• Schedule and facilitate recurring launch meetings. Proactively support Launch Readiness Reviews with leadership including:

• Coordination of core team meetings, Launch Readiness Review Meetings and Day 0 meetings.

• Provide clear direction and leadership to project teams, fostering a collaborative and results-driven work environment.

• Facilitate effective communication and coordination among team members, ensuring everyone is informed and engaged throughout the project lifecycle.

• Conduct regular meetings, status updates, and progress reviews to track performance against project objectives and adjust plans as needed.

• Day 0 coordination

• Work with function leads to capture specific activities that need to happen on Day 0, when they need to happen, and track their progress.

• Community of practice, quality and compliance

• Active participation and sharing (overall feedback, pain points, process improvements, etc.) in regular sessions including:

• Implement rigorous quality assurance processes to ensure that all deliverables meet established standards and specifications.

• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations, industry standards, and company policies throughout the launch process.

• Actively participate in Launch Excellence Community of Practice providing learnings and experiences from existing launch assignments for the continued optimization of launch processes.

• Insights management

• Post launch, gather and document learnings, track against initial agreed KPIs, lead post-mortem session. Develop recommendations and action plans to optimize future launch processes and enhance overall project management effectiveness.

Key skills and experience

Essential

• Bachelor's degree with 5+ years of experience. Experience in product launch and knowledge of launch strategies and best practices

• Proven track record with multifaceted projects or programs in the past with multiple stakeholders from varied functions

• Global change and/or project management experience

• Understanding of risk management frameworks and mitigation steps

• Strong leadership abilities, with a demonstrated track record of successfully managing cross-functional teams and driving results, sometimes without authority

• Excellent communication and relationship building skills

• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills, with a keen attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously

• Bachelor's degree

• Self-motivated, resilient, and highly organized; with an understanding of how to prioritize effectively

• Managing and driving excellence and continuous improvement

• Familiarity with or ability to learn project management tools and software.

• A tactical mindset and a proactive approach to anticipating challenges, identifying opportunities, and driving innovation throughout the project lifecycle.

• Excellent interpersonal, presentation, and negotiating skills

• Confident and professional at all times

• Commercially driven

• Ability to work in a team matrix environment

• Able to work in a changing environment as no two launches will be the same!

• Ability to think quickly and work well under pressure

Preferred

• Experience in the pharmaceutical launch space and knowledge of launch strategies and best practices

• Previous AstraZeneca experience

• Understanding of scientific and/or commercial marketplace respective to oncology and/or biopharmaceutical therapeutic area(s)

• 3-5 years of Pharmaceutical Marketing or Agency related experience

• Good knowledge of project delivery methodologies e.g. PMP and Agile

Date Posted

28-Jun-2024

Closing Date

11-Jul-2024Our mission is to build an inclusive and equitable environment. We want people to feel they belong at AstraZeneca and Alexion, starting with our recruitment process. We welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of characteristics. We offer reasonable adjustments/accommodations to help all candidates to perform at their best. If you have a need for any adjustments/accommodations, please complete the section in the application form.

AstraZeneca requires all US employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 but will consider requests for reasonable accommodations as required by applicable law.