Director of Sales – Pharma

We are seeking a high-impact Director of Sales to lead and scale commercial pharmaceutical sales and operations of one of our key clients in India. This role is central to driving revenue growth, expanding treatment access, and building a future-ready sales organisation.

Key Responsibilities

1. Define and execute the national sales and commercial strategy aligned with organisational growth objectives and healthcare access goals, translating business priorities into actionable regional and field-level plans.

2. Own revenue growth, market expansion, and the long-term sustainability of commercial operations through disciplined sales planning, forecasting, and performance tracking across geographies.

3. Hold end-to-end responsibility for national P&L performance, ensuring delivery of annual revenue, margin, and profitability targets.

4. Identify and activate growth levers through pricing strategies, portfolio mix optimisation, partnerships, and market prioritisation while proactively assessing risks and opportunities driven by market and regulatory changes.

5. Own, optimise, and expand the national product portfolio across therapy and treatment areas, including entry into new segments, geographies, and business lines.

6. Drive product substitution, portfolio rationalisation, and affordability-led initiatives to improve access while maintaining commercial viability.

7. Identify, evaluate, and onboard suppliers, manufacturers, and partners to ensure reliable supply, competitive pricing, and high-quality execution of product launches and scale-up initiatives.

8. Build, scale, and lead a national field sales organisation by designing optimal sales structures, territory allocation, and coverage models.

9. Recruit, coach, and develop high-performing sales leaders and frontline teams to drive execution excellence and sustained performance.

10. Provide strategic direction to marketing and brand teams while shaping integrated go-to-market strategies across channels and geographies.

11. Drive adoption of innovative, non-traditional sales and engagement models and partner closely with Campaigns and Impact teams to align commercial growth with mission outcomes.

12. Ensure continuity and efficiency of commercial and social operations by working closely with Quality, Pharmacovigilance, Supply Chain, Logistics, and Technology teams, while strengthening systems, processes, and partner ecosystems.

13. Lead governance, reporting, and stakeholder engagement by presenting performance insights to senior leadership, building strong relationships with distributors and partners, engaging external stakeholders as required, and upholding compliance, governance, and ethical commercial practices.

Qualifications & Experience

1. Bachelors in Pharmacy, Life Sciences, Business, or a related field; MBA or Postgraduate qualification in Sales, Marketing, or Strategy.

2. Minimum 8 - 15 years of experience in pharmaceutical sales and commercial leadership, including at least 5 years in senior roles.

3. Proven experience building and managing large national field sales teams across multiple geographies.

4. Demonstrated success in driving annual revenue, with hands-on experience in product launches, portfolio management, and market expansion.

5. Strong understanding of pharmaceutical commercial operations, regulatory compliance, and distribution models, with exposure to multiple therapy areas.

6. Exposure to rural and semi-urban healthcare markets and familiarity with affordability-led, access-driven pharma models, within fast-scaling organisational environments.

7. Builders mindset with strong people leadership and talent development capabilities, willingness to challenge conventional pharma sales approaches, and alignment with mission-driven, impact-focused organisations.