Sr Manager, Product Marketing (Liver)
Gilead Sciences · Tokyo
At Gilead, we’re creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we’ve tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer – working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world’s biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.
Every member of Gilead’s team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we’re looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.
We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.
Job Description
The Senior Manager, Marketing will lead the commercialization and launch of a major new therapy within the liver disease area. Working closely with the Director, Marketing, the role is responsible for translating insights and strategy into launch plans, coordinated execution, performance monitoring, and timely course correction.
The successful candidate will lead day-to-day cross-functional launch planning, collaborate with internal stakeholders and global teams, and work closely with external business partners. The role requires strong strategic thinking, disciplined execution, sound stakeholder management, and the ability to convert customer, patient, and market insights into measurable business outcomes.
The individual is expected to proactively communicate progress, risks, opportunities, decisions required, and support needs to the Director, Marketing and other key stakeholders.
Key responsibilities
Launch strategy and brand management
Lead development of the brand strategy, launch strategy, annual plan, and tactical plan for a major new product launch, with guidance and support from the Director, Marketing.
Take day-to-day ownership of the launch brand, connecting insights, strategic choices, execution priorities, and business outcomes.
Define target customers, desired behavior changes, positioning, core messages, and critical success factors.
Translate patient, customer, market, and competitive insights into actionable recommendations and practical launch plans.
Establish performance objectives and key indicators, monitor results, and propose timely course corrections.
Launch readiness and execution
Lead day-to-day cross-functional launch planning and establish clear milestones, decision points, dependencies, risks, and mitigation actions.
Coordinate readiness across marketing, sales, medical affairs, market access, commercial operations, and other relevant functions, with timely alignment and escalation to the Director, Marketing.
Lead development and delivery of launch initiatives, promotional materials, customer programs, and field-readiness activities.
Ensure that field insights and execution feedback are incorporated into launch plans and ongoing optimization.
Maintain a strong focus on both delivery quality and the ultimate business impact of launch activities.
Cross-functional, global, and external collaboration
Partner effectively with cross-functional stakeholders and facilitate decision-oriented discussions to support successful launch planning and execution.
Collaborate with global teams to contribute local insights, shape relevant plans, and localize global assets for the local market.
Work closely with external business partners on joint planning, execution, issue resolution, and performance review, with support from the Director, Marketing as appropriate.
Manage agencies and vendors effectively, ensuring clear accountabilities, high-quality output, appropriate timelines, and efficient use of resources.
Represent marketing in relevant internal and external forums and communicate recommendations with clarity and credibility, seeking alignment from the Director, Marketing on major decisions.
Customer, patient, and market insights
Develop a deep understanding of the patient journey, customer needs, treatment pathways, and barriers to adoption.
Lead or support market research and integrate quantitative and qualitative evidence into strategic and tactical decisions.
Engage with field teams and relevant external stakeholders to identify evolving needs, opportunities, and risks.
Apply a disciplined insight-to-action approach to improve strategy, execution, and customer experience.
Business planning and performance management
Provide inputs to forecasting, business planning, and launch performance evaluation in partnership with the Director, Marketing, Finance, and relevant stakeholders.
Develop clear assumptions, risks, opportunities, and recommendations to support high-quality business decisions.
Manage assigned launch budgets and resources in alignment with agreed priorities and the broader marketing OPEX process.
Use data and performance indicators to identify gaps, recommend interventions, and improve marketing effectiveness.
Compliance and operational excellence
Ensure marketing activities comply with applicable laws, industry codes, internal policies, and review processes.
Maintain effective meeting discipline, documentation, action tracking, and follow-through for the launch program.
Balance speed, quality, compliance, and resource constraints in a complex and changing environment.
Team collaboration and communication
Contribute to a collaborative and high-performing team environment by sharing knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned.
Work closely with the Director, Marketing to obtain guidance and support on complex strategic, partnership, and organizational matters.
Proactively provide timely updates and escalate material risks, issues, opportunities, decisions required, and support needs.
Actively seek feedback and incorporate learnings to continuously improve marketing effectiveness and personal performance.
Qualifications
Required experience and capabilities
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
Relevant marketing or commercial experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, or a related industry.
Demonstrated ability to contribute to the development and execution of brand or commercialization strategy.
Experience leading cross-functional projects and influencing stakeholders without direct authority.
Strong strategic thinking, analytical problem solving, project management, stakeholder management, and prioritization skills.
Ability to translate research and business information into actionable insights, decisions, and tactical plans.
Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills, including clear and timely communication with senior stakeholders.
Fluency or strong business proficiency in both Japanese and English.
Preferred experience
Experience leading or playing a significant role in a pharmaceutical or biotechnology product launch.
Experience in specialty care, rare disease, hepatology, gastroenterology, immunology, oncology, or another complex therapeutic area.
Experience collaborating with global teams and external business partners in a joint operating model.
Experience managing agencies, vendors, budgets, and multiple simultaneous workstreams.
Demonstrated learning agility, sound judgment, and willingness to seek guidance and escalate issues when appropriate.
Advanced scientific, medical, public health, or business degree.
For Current Gilead Employees and Contractors:
Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.