About this position
We are seeking a senior Pharma Sales Head – US to drive business development and growth across our Pharma Services portfolio in the North America market.
The primary charter of this role is new-logo acquisition and business development, with responsibility for identifying, developing, and closing strategic opportunities with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and life sciences organizations. The role will drive opportunities across Clinical Development Services, Regulatory Affairs, Medical Writing, Pharmacovigilance, Medical Affairs, and other Pharma Business Process Services (BPS).
The ideal candidate will have significant experience in a similar sale’s/business development leadership role within a CRO, Pharma BPS organization, Life Sciences services company, or Clinical/Regulatory services provider, combined with strong relationships across the pharmaceutical ecosystem.
A highly networked Pharma services sales leader with a strong hunter mindset, capable of opening doors at major North American pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations and converting senior relationships into strategic opportunities.
The candidate should combine Pharma domain understanding, executive relationship management, consultative selling, commercial acumen, and strong deal-closing capabilities, with demonstrated experience selling Life Sciences Clinical, Regulatory, Medical Writing, Pharmacovigilance, Medical Affairs and broader Pharma BPS services.
Experience working in a CRO or Pharma/Life Sciences BPS and services organization and an established network of senior Pharma executives across North America will be particularly valuable.
Key Responsibilities
1. Business Development & New Account Acquisition
• Lead the new-logo acquisition charter for Life Sciences (Pharma and MedTech) clinical services across North America
• Identify, qualify, develop, and close strategic opportunities with pharmaceutical, biotech, MedTech, and other life sciences organizations.
• Develop a strong pipeline through proactive demand creation, executive networking, industry relationships, referrals, partnerships, and targeted account development.
• Build account-entry strategies for priority Life Sciences clients and establish relationships with relevant business and functional stakeholders.
• Lead the complete sales lifecycle from opportunity identification and qualification through solution development, proposal, commercial negotiation, contracting, and closure.
• Drive large, strategic, multi-service opportunities across Clinical, Regulatory, Medical Writing, Safety, Medical Affairs, and other Pharma BPS services.
2. Client & Executive Relationship Management
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key customer executives and decision makers, including Pharmacovigilance Heads, Regulatory Affairs Heads, Clinical Development Functional Heads, Therapeutic Area Heads, Medical Affairs leadership, Procurement leadership, External Alliances teams, and R&D executives.
• Establish trusted-advisor relationships with senior client stakeholders and develop a strong understanding of their strategic priorities, transformation agenda, sourcing strategy, and operating challenges.
• Engage clients proactively to identify emerging requirements and create new business opportunities.
3. Account Growth & Cross-Selling
• Identify opportunities to cross-sell and up-sell additional Pharma and MedTech business services within newly acquired and strategic accounts.
• Expand relationships across different functions, therapeutic areas, business units, and geographies.
• Partner with account and delivery leadership to increase wallet share and establish long-term strategic relationships.
4. Strategic & Consultative Selling
Understand clients' R&D, clinical, regulatory, safety, medical, data, and technology priorities and translate them into differentiated business propositions.
• Position services and solutions based on measurable business outcomes such as speed-to-market, quality, compliance, productivity, cost optimization, scalability, and transformation.
• Develop propositions combining Pharma domain expertise, global delivery, process transformation, GenAI/AI, and analytics.
• Lead complex pursuits involving multiple stakeholders, services, geographies, and commercial models.
• Develop compelling executive presentations, proposals, business cases, and commercial propositions.
5. Revenue, Pipeline & Commercial Management
• Own and deliver agreed revenue, bookings, TCV, profitability, new-logo, and pipeline targets.
• Drive pipeline targets through proactive demand creation and systematic opportunity development.
• Maintain strong pipeline discipline, opportunity qualification, and sales forecasting.
• Manage commercial negotiations and contribute to pricing, deal structuring, contracting, and risk assessment.
• Maintain focus on both revenue growth and profitable business.
6. Planning & Forecasting
• Lead sales forecasting and business planning for the assigned North America market/accounts.
• Provide inputs into strategic account planning, market planning, investment priorities, and annual operating plans.
• Review sales pipeline, delivery readiness, account plans, revenue projections, and budgets on a regular basis.
7. Collaboration & Networking
• Collaborate closely with Clinical, Regulatory, Pharmacovigilance, Medical Writing, Medical Affairs, Data, Technology, Solution, Delivery, Marketing, Finance, Legal, and Commercial teams to develop winning propositions.
• Mobilize cross-functional teams for strategic pursuits and ensure alignment between client requirements, solution design, commercial models, and delivery capabilities.
• Represent the organization at relevant Pharma conferences, industry forums, executive roundtables, and client events.
• Build relationships with ecosystem partners and alliances where these can generate new opportunities.
Experience & Qualifications
• Typically, 13+ years of relevant experience, including substantial experience in Pharma/Life Sciences business development, sales, and client management.
• Demonstrated success in a hunter/new-logo acquisition role, with a strong record of originating and closing complex enterprise services deals.
• Prior experience with a CRO, Pharma BPS provider, Life Sciences services organization, Clinical Services company, Regulatory Services organization, or similar provider is strongly preferred.
• Strong experience selling one or more of the following:
o Clinical Development / Clinical Operations Services
o Regulatory Affairs & Regulatory Operations
o Medical Writing
o Pharmacovigilance / Drug Safety
o Medical Affairs
o Clinical Data Management / Biostatistics
o Clinical Technology & Data Services
o Pharma BPS / Knowledge Process Services
• Strong understanding of the US pharmaceutical and biotechnology market and Pharma outsourcing ecosystem.
• Demonstrated experience developing relationships with senior Pharma functional and procurement executives.
• Experience managing complex sales pursuits, RFPs, commercial negotiations, and executive presentations.
Key Success Measures
• New Pharma/Life Sciences logos acquired in North America
• Qualified pipeline and demand generated
• Bookings / Total Contract Value (TCV)
• Revenue and profitable growth
• Pipeline-to-win conversion
• Cross-sell and up-sell growth
• Number and quality of senior client relationships
Location and commute
New York, NY 10261.
Plan your route with Google Maps. Travel times and transportation options vary; confirm the work location with the employer before commuting.
How to apply
Review the vacancy and complete the application on the employer or recruitment partner’s website. Requisition ID: WJ-3188471173.