🌍 Senior Manager / Consultant – Distributor Markets (APAC & Selected Markets)
📍 Location: Remote in Europe (with periodic travel to HQ in Switzerland)
🕒 Engagement: 12‑month freelance/interim contract
🧬 Sector: Pharmaceuticals
📊 Function: Commercial | Partner Strategy | Contract Negotiation
🏢 Company & Context
We are supporting a specialty pharmaceutical company with a lean, agile structure and a strong international footprint across distributor‑led markets.
They are looking to engage a senior external consultant to own and deliver a business‑critical programme for APAC and distributor markets.
This is a hands‑on, senior commercial role with substantial ownership of distributor selection, contract negotiation and ongoing commercial execution.
🌏 Scope of Role
You will own distributor markets across:
- Asia Pacific & Southeast Asia (Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand + 2–3 additional SEA markets)
- Selected Eastern European markets
- South Africa
🧩 Key Responsibilities
🔎 Distributor Scouting & Selection (primary initial focus)
- Identify, assess and shortlist potential distributors by market
- Lead structured distributor interviews and capability assessments
- Co‑develop robust commercial business cases with shortlisted partners
- Present clear recommendations internally and drive partner selection decisions
🧾 Contracting & Negotiation
- Lead negotiations of complex international distribution agreements
- Own negotiations from first draft through to signature
- Manage negotiations with both new and existing partners
- Operate in long‑cycle, influence‑driven negotiations without direct authority
📈 Commercial Operations & Partner Management
- Act as the day‑to‑day commercial interface for assigned distributor markets
- Own sales performance oversight, budgets and forecasts
- Coordinate supply, pricing, incentives, regulatory, QA and legal topics
- Support launch readiness and ongoing marketing execution with distributors
✅ What We’re Looking For
Must‑have experience
- Hands‑on experience negotiating and managing pharmaceutical distribution agreements
- Proven success leading complex, multi‑stakeholder international negotiations
- Direct distributor partner management experience
- Background in mid‑size or smaller pharma/biotech environments
- Strong commercial operations capability across budgets, forecasting and incentives
✈️ Location & Travel
- Europe‑based, remote working
- Periodic travel to Switzerland for key workshops
- Occasional international travel for partner meetings and negotiations
🚀 Start & Process
- Start: ASAP
- Process: 2 x Video interview
- Panel interview, including a short case study on distributor selection and negotiation approach