Commercial Portfolio Head

Summary

The Commercial Portfolio Head maximizes the value generation and access of its products portfolio through innovative go to market models, field force planning & in-field performance, commercial alliances & partnerships strategy and life cycle management.
This role ensures an efficient collaboration model with above- & in-country functions to execute strategies within resource constrained environment.
As part of Country Leadership team, he/she is responsible for developing a high-performing sales & marketing teams and building sustainable & enduring business partnership /relationships with key customers/stakeholders.

About the Role

Major accountabilities:

Commercial Partnerships & Alliances:

• Identify and evaluate partnership opportunities, proactively scanning for and assessing external collaborations that can enhance portfolio value

• Negotiate and structure agreements, leading the negotiations and formalizing partnership terms to align with strategic objectives

• Manage & sustain strategic alliances, overseeing ongoing partnerships to ensure mutual benefit and adapt to evolving needs

• Piloting international projects with opportunity to scale at Regional/International level.

Digital Marketing Execution

• Promote through digital channels, utilizing digital platforms to maintain brand visibility and engagement where required

• Manage content and channels, regularly updating and optimizing digital assets to maintain compliance and relevance

• Partner with TA Heads to identify opportunities for synergies and leverage digital promotion assets/plan to support the priority brands performance

Lifecycle Management (LCM)

• Build LoE excellence, tracking and preparing brands for LoE with tailored strategies

• Onboard brands from TAs by coordinating the transition of brands into the commercial portfolio, ensuring seamless transfer and streamlining of assets, budgets, analytics, and engaging key stakeholders for a smooth handover

• Partner with Legal, V&A, Supply chain and Finance to ensure proper estimation of volume/value erosion post LoE

• Identify and apply late LCM strategies, implement tactics to sustain brand value and minimize post-LoE erosion

• Externalize asset to reduce maintenance efforts, transferring or retiring assets to streamline operations and reduce costs

Portfolio Management

• Manage budget and forecasting, developing and monitoring budgets and forecasts to support portfolio goals

• Manage performance vigilance activity, this includes tracking brand performance and market trends to inform decision-making (effort will vary for supported versus carry over products)

• Liaise with Regulatory teams to ensure a proper portfolio management in terms of Risk Management Plan finetuning/amendments.

• Manage ad hoc requests (e.g., recalls, packaging queries), responding promptly to urgent and routine operational requests

• Partner with Supply Chain to minimize stock outs and write offs.

Leadership & Culture

• Lead and coordinate cross-functional teams to execute prioritized tactics according to Ethics, Risk & Compliance dynamics

• Build a high-performance culture, manage recruiting, performance, and coaching; develop critical capabilities and talent pipelines.

• Attract, develop, and retain top talent; strengthen succession plans and capabilities across the country organization.

• Role-model Novartis Leadership Expectations, inspire transformation and performance, and demonstrate self-awareness with a growth mindset.

Minimum Requirements:

Education:

• University degree in Bioscience or business
• Advanced degree in Bioscience, medicine, business, and/or management

Languages:

• English
• Country language desirable

Experience/Professional Requirement:

• Proven track-record of P&L and commercial management responsibility
• Extensive (>10) years' experience in leadership positions within the pharmaceutical or life science industry
• End-to-end portfolio management of mature brands, including onboarding, LoE planning, and post-LoE value retention using late-stage lifecycle tactics.
• Proven partnership expertise: opportunity scanning, negotiation, and governance across co-promote, distribution, and licensing with measurable value creation.
• Regulated digital marketing execution: content governance, channel optimization, compliance; strong market analytics and performance vigilance.
• Track record of leading cross-functional teams (Marketing, Sales, Legal, Finance, Market Access, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Commercial Learning & Solutions) and navigating complex stakeholder environments.
• Strategic decision-making: Prioritization frameworks, go/no-go criteria, and resource optimization across competing brands
• Matrix leadership and talent development: building high-performance, diverse teams; coaching, succession planning, and influencing across complex cross-functional and regional interfaces
• Enterprise thinker: Optimizes for total portfolio value and long-term sustainability, not single-brand wins.
• Resource discipline: rigorously aligns spend to investment guidelines and demonstrable ROI.
• Outcome-oriented: Sets clear KPIs (P&L, portfolio value, digital engagement, brand sustainability) and acts on insights.

Why Novartis?

Our purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people's lives and our vision is to become the most valued and trusted medicines company in the world. How can we achieve this? With our people. It is our associates that drive us each day to reach our ambitions. Be a part of this mission and join us! Learn more here: https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

Benefits and Rewards:

Read our handbook to learn about all the ways we'll help you thrive personally and professionally: Novartis Life Handbook

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:

Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse team's representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients' lives. Ready to create a brighter future together? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

Benefits and Rewards: Learn about all the ways we'll help you thrive personally and professionally.
Read our handbook (PDF 30 MB)