Senior Director/Executive Director, Trade Relations
Shionogi Inc.
Summary
The Senior Director/Executive Director, Trade Relations is responsible for leading the organization's trade strategy, distribution network, and relationships with wholesalers, specialty distributors, specialty pharmacies, retail pharmacies, and other channel partners. This role will lead a field team of Trade Account Directors and will develop and execute trade strategies that ensure product availability, optimize distribution performance, support product access, and align with corporate commercial objectives.
Job description
Overview
The Senior Director/Executive Director, Trade Relations is responsible for leading the organization's trade strategy, distribution network, and relationships with wholesalers, specialty distributors, specialty pharmacies, retail pharmacies, and other channel partners. This role will lead a field team of Trade Account Directors and will develop and execute trade strategies that ensure product availability, optimize distribution performance, support product access, and align with corporate commercial objectives.
This is a highly visible role within Market Access and serves as the primary strategic contact for the national Trade Account team and works cross-functionally across Market Access, Supply Chain, Finance, Pricing, Legal, Commercial Operations, and Brand Teams to maximize channel performance and support product launches and lifecycle management.
Responsibilities
Strategic Trade Leadership
- Develop and execute enterprise-wide trade and distribution strategies across multiple business units (Infectious Diseases and Rare Diseases).
- 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.
- Identify emerging market trends and competitive trade dynamics.
Leadership & Talent Development
- Lead and develop the Trade Account team
- Build organizational capabilities and succession plans.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Account & Partner Management
- Serve as executive lead for key trade-channel relationships.
- Ensure Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with major trade partners are conducted across the Trade Account Director Team
- Negotiate and operationalize distribution and service agreements.
- Manage performance metrics, inventory levels, service requirements, and contractual obligations.
Distribution & Operations
- Ensure compliance with Distribution Service Agreements (DSAs) via partnership with Trade Operations, Supply Chain and 3PL providers to mitigate shortages and improve service levels.
Financial & Commercial Leadership
- In partnership with internal Finance and Trade Operations, Support Gross-to-Net (GTN) forecasting and financial planning, analyze trade-channel performance and profitability.
- Identify and implement opportunities to reduce operational costs and improve efficiency (evaluation of fees, service agreements, and distribution economics)
Product Launch & Market Access Support
- Lead trade readiness activities for new product launches and ensure Trade Account Directors are appropriately engaging accounts.
- Collaborate across the Market Access organization (e.g., Payer, Pricing, and Patient Services teams) to ensure alignment of access strategies.
- Design and implement distribution models that support commercial objectives and patient access.
Analytics & Business Intelligence
- Partner with Trade Operations and Commercial Operations team to further embed KPIs and maximize dashboards for Trade channel performance.
- Utilize available internal systems, industry references, and trade reporting tools to inform decisions.
- Partner with internal colleagues to maximize forecasting models and trend analyses to support executive decision-making.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in business, Supply Chain, Finance, Economics, Healthcare Administration, or related field.
- MBA, PharmD, or other advanced degree preferred.
- For Senior Director: 12+ years of pharmaceutical trade, market access, distribution, supply chain, or channel management experience; 7+ years of leadership experience managing teams and strategic trade accounts.
- For Executive Director: 15+ years of pharmaceutical trade, market access, distribution, supply chain, or channel management experience; 10+ years of leadership experience managing teams and strategic trade accounts.
- Demonstrated experience negotiating agreements with wholesalers, specialty distributors, and specialty pharmacies.
- Significant launch experience and channel strategy development preferred.
- Deep understanding of pharmaceutical trade channels and market access landscape.
- Expertise in specialty distribution and specialty pharmacy networks.
- Strong financial acumen, forecasting, and GTN knowledge.
- Experience with IQVIA, SAP, JD Edwards, or similar ERP/reporting systems.
- 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/conferences 60-75% of the year.
Benefits
- Comprehensive benefits
- Bonus
- Long-term incentive
- Allowances
Company overview
Shionogi Inc. is a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company with a rich history dating back to 1878. As the U.S. subsidiary of Shionogi & Co., Ltd., the company operates from its headquarters in Florham Park, New Jersey, with a workforce of 501-1,000 employees. Shionogi specializes in research, development, manufacturing, and distribution of pharmaceuticals, diagnostic reagents, and medical devices. The company is particularly renowned for its expertise in antimicrobial resistance and has been at the forefront of developing novel antibiotics since the 1950s. Beyond antibiotics, Shionogi has expanded its portfolio to include innovative medications for HIV, influenza, and COVID-19, while also advancing clinical programs in areas such as Fragile X syndrome, acute ischemic stroke, metabolic disorders, and oncology. The company maintains a strong commitment to addressing global health challenges through strategic partnerships with industry, government agencies, biotech companies, and academia. Shionogi's mission focuses on supplying the best possible medicines to protect patient health and well-being, leveraging both in-house discovery capabilities and collaborative approaches to deliver groundbreaking treatments for patients worldwide.