Director, Market Research and Competitive Insights

The Director of Market Research and Competitive Insights is responsible for delivering deep customer insights that drive business decision making across the ARS Pharma product portfolio.  This individual is also responsible for leading the competitive intelligence efforts to support the commercial information and insights needs to enable the organization to monitor and react to competitive activity.  This individual will guide and manage ARS Pharma’s overall market research and competitive intelligence effort and is expected to develop and leverage partnerships with research agencies to deliver consistent, compelling and actionable results.

 ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Deliver deep customer insights that drive business decision making across the ARS product portfolio
• Develop and lead a comprehensive market intelligence-gathering process for ARS
• Share current market insights and performance updates and enhance collaborative insights sharing across the franchise; formulate agenda, solicit feedback/input from team on topic areas of interest, set and communicate meeting dates, facilitate meeting discussion and produce follow-up notes/key takeaways, etc.
• Contribute market and brand insights to the ARS executive team in periodic review meetings in collaboration with marketing and sales leadership
• Provide strategic insights to brand and portfolio management regarding analysis of the product, market and potential competition
• Initiate and facilitate activities that create a base of knowledge regarding brand attitudes and usage, market dynamics and competition
• Design qualitative and quantitative research plans for existing brands and products in development
• Communicate and align key internal stakeholders around market research objectives and outputs
• Select appropriate research methodology to address business objectives
• Design and/or provide guidance on research questionnaires, web surveys, screening criteria
• Develop and present final reports and actionable recommendations to key stakeholders, focusing on key findings and implications
• Develop and manage budget to support the Market Research function; propose yearly market research budgets based on collaborative input from cross functional partners
• Recruit/hire/manage personnel as required
• Manage vendor relationships as required to ensure adherence to objectives, budgets, and timelines, as well as delivery of quality and actionable insights
• Utilize secondary data resources (e.g., IQVIA, Symphony, etc.) to respond to business questions
• Work with forecasting function to provide input on key forecast variables
• Support marketing mix process and manage commercial inputs into annual budgeting and planning processes

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree in business or life science discipline; MBA or similar management graduate degree preferred
• 8+ years of experience in pharmaceutical market research (primary and secondary) is required
• Proven track record of applying appropriate market research tools and techniques to positively influence business decision making and brand performance

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Broad knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative market research tools and techniques
• Experience selecting, managing and developing market research agencies to become trusted business partners, to provide exceptional insights, and to communicate clear and comprehensive insights that drive business value
• Experience in leveraging secondary data including Rx data, patient-level claims data, and payer data to derive key insights
• Exceptional project management skills and experience in independently leading the market research function
• Exceptional leadership skills and commitment to teamwork and collaboration within and across functions
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, including active listening
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with marketing/sales partners and to influence decision making
• Experience and confidence in working with and influencing senior and executive management
• Adept at working in a dynamic and fast-paced environment
• Ability to think creatively and innovatively in solving complex business problems and to apply solutions to drive actionable results
• Proficient with Microsoft Office applications including Excel, PowerPoint and Word to develop various analyses, presentations, reports, and documents for a variety of constituencies at ARS Pharma