LEO Pharma

Senior Director, Rare Disease Marketing

LEO Pharma$230K — $320K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
  • 12+ years in US pharmaceutical/biotech industry; 8+ years in marketing, preferably in rare diseases or specialty marketing.
  • Previous US product launch experience is essential, with emphasis on rare disease or specialty branding.
  • Experience in agency and vendor management, demonstrating budget management skills.
  • Proven record in people management, with ability to recruit and retain high-performing marketers.
  • Experience in HCP and patient/consumer marketing, especially in low-prevalence disease education and market development.
  • Strong cross-functional leadership abilities in a matrixed organization.

Responsibilities

  • Lead US brand strategy and pre-launch marketing plan for a rare disease product.
  • Coach and develop a marketing team, setting clear objectives and providing regular feedback.
  • Drive disease awareness and market-shaping strategies in collaboration with medical affairs and advocacy groups.
  • Oversee development of HCP marketing strategy and omnichannel engagement across various channels.
  • Involve relevant partners to incorporate insights and align with brand strategy.
  • Define launch readiness roadmap, milestones, and develop launch materials.
  • Establish relationships with opinion leaders and patient advocacy; manage engagement and insights.
  • Manage the brand marketing budget, overseeing agency partnerships and vendor performance.

Benefits

  • Contributes to a landmark rare disease launch with meaningful patient impact.
  • Opportunity to lead and shape marketing strategies in a collaborative environment.
  • Access to a talented marketing team and involvement with cross-functional leaders.
  • Ability to engage with KOLs and patient advocates, enhancing professional network.
  • A role within a growing company focused on innovative solutions for rare diseases.
Full Job Description
Application deadline:
Location: Madison 07940, New Jersey, United States
Contract type: Permanent
Job ID: 4827

Role Description

Lead a landmark rare disease launch and help redefine what's possible for patients.

Your Role:

You will build and lead the US marketing strategy and launch readiness for a rare disease brand in the pre-launch phase, with anticipated launch next year. The role leads assigned marketing priorities and collaborates with cross-functional partners to support coordinated planning and execution, consistent with established roles and decision rights. The individual will develop financial and operational objectives, is recognized as an expert for the brand and disease area, and provides leadership, mentoring and guidance to the brand team and cross-functional partners - including medical affairs and market access - to ensure a best-in-class rare disease launch.

Your Responsibilities:

  • Own and lead development of the US brand strategy and integrated pre-launch marketing plan for a rare disease brand, including customer insight discovery, positioning, segmentation and targeting, messaging platform, and creative campaign development and testing, ahead of anticipated launch next year.

  • Lead, coach and develop direct reports : set clear objectives and job expectations, provide regular feedback, conduct timely performance and development reviews, and build a high-performing, accountable and launch-ready marketing team.

  • Drive disease education and market-shaping strategy to build disease awareness, shorten the diagnostic journey and support appropriate patient identification in a rare disease population, in close partnership with medical affairs and patient advocacy.

  • Oversee development of the HCP marketing strategy and omnichannel engagement plan, including journey orchestration and coordinated personal and non-personal promotion, delivered across an integrated network of digital, remote and in-person channels.

  • Collaborate with relevant functional partners to incorporate customer and stakeholder insights and support alignment with the overall brand strategy, consistent with established roles and decision rights.

  • Lead US launch readiness planning: define the launch roadmap, milestones and KPIs; spearhead development of day-1 launch materials; and serve as primary marketing liaison to Sales and Training in support of the launch.

  • Establish strong relationships with US and global opinion leaders and patient advocacy organizations; lead advisory boards, congress planning and KOL/stakeholder engagement to establish LEO as an important partner in the disease area and to obtain disease, clinical and market insights.

  • Develop and manage the brand marketing budget; own agency-of-record and key vendor relationships, managing budgets, SOWs and performance.

  • Develop presentations for senior management and internal stakeholders on brand priorities, launch readiness, brand plans and performance.


Your Qualifications:

  • Bachelor's degree required; MBA or other advanced degree preferred.

  • 12 plus years of experience in the US pharmaceutical/biotech industry, including 8 plus years of marketing experience; rare disease, orphan drug or specialty marketing experience strongly preferred.

  • Previous US product launch experience required; experience leading pre-launch/launch readiness for a rare disease or specialty brand strongly preferred.

  • Agency and vendor management experience required; demonstrated ability to manage budgets and resources.

  • Previous people management experience required, with demonstrated ability to recruit, coach, develop and retain high-performing marketers.

  • Experience across both HCP and patient/consumer marketing preferred, as well as experience with disease education and market development in low-prevalence patient populations preferred.

  • Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and achieve results in a highly matrixed organization.

  • Experience partnering with medical affairs, market access and patient services on integrated launch planning.

  • Demonstrated analytical skills, including experience guiding market research and driving metrics-based optimization.

  • The ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required (up to 25%).


What Will Help You Succeed:

Success in this role requires a highly collaborative leader who can balance strategic vision with flawless execution in a complex, matrixed environment. You are energized by building high-performing teams, navigating ambiguity, and influencing diverse stakeholders around a shared goal. You demonstrate agility, accountability, and intrapreneurship, bringing an entrepreneurial mindset, a strong sense of ownership, and the ability to adapt quickly in a dynamic pre-launch environment. You are self-aware, results-oriented, and passionate about making a meaningful impact for patients and caregivers.

Your New Team:

Reporting to the VP, Rare Disease, you will lead a talented marketing team and serve as a key member of the Rare Disease leadership team. You'll collaborate closely with cross-functional partners across Medical Affairs, Market Access, Patient Services, Sales, Analytics & Insights, Regulatory, Legal, and Compliance, co-leading the Product Team with Medical to shape brand strategy and deliver a successful launch. You will also partner with key opinion leaders, patient advocacy organizations, professional societies, agencies, and external vendors to generate insights and help establish LEO Pharma as an important partner in the rare disease community.

Compensation:

The base salary range for this position is $230,000-320,000 per year.The base salary range represents the anticipated low and high of the LEO Pharma range for this position. Salary will vary based on various factors such as the candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role. In addition, some positions may include eligibility to earn commissions/bonus based on company and / or individual performance.

About LEO Pharma

LEO Pharma is a Danish pharmaceutical company that specializes in dermatology and thrombosis. The company was founded in 1908 by pharmacists August Kongsted and Anton Antons. LEO Pharma is headquartered in Ballerup, Denmark and has operations in more than 100 countries. The company's products are used to treat a variety of skin conditions, including psoriasis, eczema, and acne. LEO Pharma is committed to sustainability and has set ambitious goals to reduce its environmental impact and improve the health and well-being of its employees and the communities where it operates.
Learn more about LEO Pharma
Size
5,600 employees
Industry
Founded
1908

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