Retail Channel Manager
Eli Lilly · Bogotá
At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.
The Retail Manager is responsible for designing and leading the integrated strategy for the private pharmacy and B2B channels, positioning them as sustainable growth platforms for the affiliate. Reporting to the Business Unit Director, the role translates business unit and brand priorities into channel strategies, commercial agreements, and disciplined execution.
The role owns the implementation and compliance of commercial and pricing policies within the channel, ensuring that negotiations are appropriately evaluated, approved, documented, and executed across pharmacy chains, distributors, and other B2B partners. The position balances growth, access, profitability, customer value, and excellence at the point of sale, in line with applicable regulations and Lilly’s ethics and compliance standards.
Key Responsibilities
Channel Strategy & Business Development
- Own the short- and medium-term strategy for the private pharmacy and B2B channels, including channel segmentation, growth priorities, customer value propositions, and execution of roadmaps.
- Identify, assess, and develop new business opportunities with national and regional pharmacy chains, distributors, wholesalers, digital pharmacy platforms, and other relevant B2B partners.
- Translate business unit and brand strategies into differentiated channel plans that expand reach, improve availability, and strengthen customer and patient experience.
- Provide senior-level recommendations to the Business Unit Director and cross-functional leadership on channel opportunities, risks, investment choices, and commercial trade-offs.
Commercial Strategy, Negotiation & Account Leadership
- Develop a deep understanding of the policies, regulations, and guidelines governing the retail channel and the commercialization of prescription medicines in Colombia, including competition law, regulatory requirements, and Lilly’s internal ethics and compliance policies.
- Design, propose, secure approval for, and implement commercial policies aligned with brand strategy and commercial framework for distributors and channel development and affiliate financial objectives.
- Develop competitive commercial schemes, including discount models, rebates, volume agreements, service arrangements, and other commercial terms, based on data analysis and customer/channel profitability.
- Lead complex, high-value negotiations with pharmacy chains, distributors, and B2B partners, protecting business objectives while building sustainable long-term relationships.
- Lead Joint Business Planning with strategic customers, establishing shared priorities, performance indicators, governance routines, and corrective actions.
- Develop and strengthen relationships with senior and C-level stakeholders across key pharmacy, distribution, and B2B accounts.
Performance, P&L & Operational Excellence
- Monitor business performance across sell-in, sell-out, inventory, rotation, service levels, commercial investment, gross-to-net, profitability, and other relevant channel KPIs.
- Own the B2B and Retail channel budget, ensuring disciplined allocation of resources, return on investment, and compliance with approved financial parameters.
- Build and maintain performance dashboards, forecasts, business reviews, and scenario analyses to support timely decision making.
- Establish governance mechanisms to ensure commercial agreements are properly documented, approved, implemented, monitored, and reconciled.
- Anticipate channel risks, supply or inventory challenges, customer concentration issues, and execution gaps, and coordinate mitigation plans with relevant teams.
Trade Marketing & Point-of-Sale Execution
- Partner with Marketing, Sales, consumer, private ecosystem, Finance, Legal, Compliance, and other internal teams to design and execute channel strategies and customer initiatives.
- Lead trade marketing programs, pharmacy activations, customer education initiatives, and commercial programs, ensuring excellence and consistency at the point of sale.
- Drive adoption of appropriate customer programs, digital capabilities, and channel innovations that improve execution, measurement, and customer engagement.
- Ensure all channel activities and materials comply with applicable regulations, internal procedures, and approved brand strategy.
Leadership & Stakeholder Management
- Act as the affiliate subject-matter leader for the private pharmacy and B2B channels, influencing decisions across functions and brands.
- Lead cross-functional workstreams without direct authority, setting priorities, aligning stakeholders, resolving issues, and ensuring accountability for results.
- Promote a culture of integrity, customer centricity, strategic thinking, continuous improvement, and fact-based decision making.
- Coach and develop colleagues involved in channel execution, sharing capabilities in negotiation, account planning, analytics, and commercial excellence.
Candidate Profile
Basic Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Economics, Engineering, Marketing, Finance, or a related field.
- Minimum of five years of relevant experience managing or developing private pharmacy, retail, B2B, distribution, wholesale, trade marketing, or key account channels.
- Demonstrated experience leading negotiations with pharmacy chains, distributors, wholesalers, or other complex B2B customers.
- Proven ability to develop channel strategies, customer plans, commercial agreements, and growth initiatives with measurable business impact.
- Experience in P&L management, budgeting, forecasting, profitability analysis, and commercial data interpretation.
- Experience working cross-functionally with senior stakeholders in a matrix organization.
- English proficiency.
- Availability to travel as required to engage customers and support channel execution.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in the pharmaceutical, healthcare or consumer health.
- Knowledge of the Colombian pharmaceutical retail, private pharmacy, and distribution landscape.
- Postgraduate studies in business, marketing, finance, strategy, or related discipline.
Key Competencies
- Strategic channel development and business acumen
- Complex negotiation and influencing at senior levels
- Customer leadership and long-term partnership development
- Data-driven decision making and financial acumen
- P&L ownership, prioritization, and resource allocation
- Cross-functional leadership in a matrix environment
- Execution excellence and accountability for results
- Commercial innovation and continuous improvement
- Ethical leadership, sound judgment, and compliance orientation
- Talent development, coaching, and capability building
Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.
Lilly does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.
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