Business Unit Director - Pharma

Job Description

The Business Unit Director (BUD), Pharma & New Products, is a pivotal senior leadership position responsible for steering the strategic direction, commercial performance, and organizational readiness of our Pharma and New Products business in Romania. Reporting directly to the Managing Director, this role encompasses full accountability for the business unit’s growth, profitability, and market impact, including managing the upcoming launches within pharma, such as cardiovascular, rare diseases, immunology. The BUD serves as a key member of the Romanian leadership team, driving innovation, shaping the external environment, and fostering a culture of excellence across the organization. 

Scope of the Role 

The Business Unit Director oversees all aspects of the Pharma business (PAH, cardiovascular and other areas), including marketing, sales, with collaboration in the areas of market access, pricing, policy engagement, and stakeholder relations. This leader is charged with evolving the go-to-market model, ensuring launch excellence for new products and indications, and optimizing the performance of the existing portfolio.  

We are seeking a resilient, strategic leader who thrives under pressure and inspires positive energy across the team. The ideal candidate maintains a broad perspective on the cardiovascular ecosystem, anticipates trends, and guides strategic choices. They navigate cross-functional tensions, align stakeholders, and challenge the status quo constructively - fostering growth among cross functional and  Leadership Team members. With an entrepreneurial mindset, they shape the external environment, empower others while staying hands-on, and collaborate effectively to drive business success.  

Key Responsibilities 

• Strategic Leadership & Vision: Defines and executes the long-term strategy for the Vaccines business, anticipating market trends and guiding the organization through complex challenges, enabling networks to simplify, as well as to ensure commercial excellence and strong collaboration cross-functionally within and above country, in order to enable future growth and expansion of the Pharma & New Products BU. 

• Commercial Excellence: Holds full P&L responsibility, delivering strong financial results, market share growth, and operational milestones. Oversees annual planning, forecasting, and execution. 

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Builds and nurtures relationships with internal stakeholders (Policy, Medical, Market Access) and external partners, ensuring alignment and support for business objectives.  

• Team Development & Empowerment: Leads, motivates, and develops a high-performing sales and marketing organization. Champions a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement. 

• Market Shaping & External Engagement: Identifies growth opportunities, shapes strategies to address evolving customer needs, and drives access to innovative vaccines. Engages with key customers, scientific leaders, and stakeholders to enhance patient outcomes.  Identifies brand growth opportunities, setting portfolio priorities and securing appropriate business plans within the country.   

• Launch Excellence: Prepares for and executes successful launches of new products and indications, while maintaining focus on optimizing existing business performance.   

• Stakeholder Management: Represents the Pharma & New Products business at national and international levels, requiring approximately 50% travel to engage with top customers and partners. 

Duties, responsibilities, activities 

Perform 

• Execution by assuming responsibility for the P&L within a multifunctional organization and achieving annual budget targets, in a highly strategic and competitive therapeutic area 

• Achieve targets and secure strong financial performance and successfully deliver on operational commitments including top line revenue growth, market share improvement and increased profits 

• Develops in collaboration with the cross functional team the Brand Plan for Romania and follows up execution, based on specific KPIs 

• Develops sales and expenses forecasting and follows up implementation of approved action plan. 

• Develops relevant promotional and non-promotional material and programs, customizes global and regional materials to be appropriate to local market  

• Integrates MCM activities, customer solutions projects, communication plans and other customer related activities and ensures accomplishment of strategic objectives 

• Collaborates with support functions to conduct market research/analysis. 

• Conducts frequent field visits to liaise with SLs and other physicians, gaining deeper market understanding and customer insights. 

Transform 

• Develop imaginative, broad based and non-traditional approaches to develop Vaccines business opportunities, using a customer driven, end-to-end approach. Flex and adapt rapidly to new situations, develop and implement solutions addressing the customers’ needs and requirements, and continually seek for new opportunities 

• Evaluate alternatives, have the constitution for change, and the skills to drive it. Encourage others to generate new ideas 

Inspire & Develop 

• Lead, engage, motivate and inspire the sales and marketing organizations. Set direction for the business and align the team to enthusiastically execute on Vaccines strategy. Demonstrate ability to lead and influence people and team who are not reporting directly to her/him 

• Set the winning mindset approach and unleash aspirations to achieve success 

• Attract, retain and develop strong and diverse talents inclusive of succession planning 

Collaborate 

• Liaise and build strong rapport with the local and cluster organization by integrating the broader organization’s expertise and know-how into the operations and take guidance effectively from and contribute to corporate knowledge resources 

• Collaborate extensively and successfully with Managing Director, and Romanian peers, cross-Business-Unit resources, local and regional colleagues. 

Additional location(s) Compensation Information:

Required Skills:

Accountability, Accountability, Agile Methodology, Animal Health Care, Continuous Improvement Techniques, Data Analysis, Digital Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Forecasting Models, Go-to-Market Strategies, Innovation, Leadership, Market Access Strategies, Marketing, Market Research, Multidisciplinary Teamwork, Oncology Marketing, People Leadership, Product Rollouts, Profit and Loss (P&L) Management, Relationship Building, Results-Oriented, Revenue Growth, Sales, Stakeholder Management {+ 8 more}

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

11/18/2026

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