Global Launch Planning Lead

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Global Launch Planning Lead to support the development of an enterprise Global Launch Plan (GLP) for a high-priority pharmaceutical product. This individual will operate at the intersection of strategy, program management, and cross-functional leadership, helping drive alignment across Commercial, Medical, Market Access, Evidence Generation, Regulatory, and Regional stakeholders.

This is not a traditional task-oriented project management role. The ideal candidate will facilitate strategic planning, assess the current launch landscape, identify gaps, establish governance, and lead the development of a comprehensive, cross-functional Global Launch Plan that aligns teams around a shared launch strategy.

The individual will partner closely with senior leadership, functional SMEs, regional stakeholders, and external strategy partners to ensure the organization has a coordinated roadmap for launch readiness.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of the Global Launch Plan (GLP), integrating cross-functional strategies into a single coordinated launch roadmap.
• Assess existing launch planning materials, identify gaps, and recommend improvements.
• Partner with Commercial, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Clinical Development, Evidence Generation, Regulatory, Operations, and regional teams to gather inputs and align priorities.
• Build and maintain integrated launch timelines, milestones, critical path activities, and launch dependencies.
• Develop governance structures and establish effective ways of working across global and regional organizations.
• Facilitate strategic planning sessions and cross-functional workshops to drive alignment and decision making.
• Create executive-ready materials including pre-read documents, workshop content, decision logs, and executive summaries.
• Partner with external consulting teams to validate launch strategy and incorporate recommendations into the Global Launch Plan.
• Establish launch governance, meeting cadence, stakeholder communications, and decision-making processes.
• Develop KPI frameworks and launch readiness scorecards to monitor progress toward commercialization.
• Track risks, dependencies, assumptions, and critical launch decisions while driving accountability across stakeholders.
• Ensure all functional workstreams remain aligned to overall launch objectives and timelines.
• Deliverables

The consultant will support development of:

• Governance Framework & Ways of Working
• Current-State Launch Assessment
• Global Launch Plan Scope & Content Framework
• Integrated Launch Roadmap & Milestones
• Strategic Workshop Agendas, Facilitation Materials, and Executive Summaries
• Cross-functional Global Launch Plan
• Launch Governance Model
• Launch Readiness KPI Framework
• Launch Readiness Scorecard
• Executive presentations and ongoing status reporting
• Required Experience
• 8 years of project, program, or launch management experience within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry.
• Experience supporting global product launches or launch readiness initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to lead highly cross-functional programs involving Commercial, Medical, Market Access, Clinical, Regulatory, and Operations organizations.
• Experience building integrated launch plans and managing complex strategic initiatives.
• Strong workshop facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Experience developing executive presentations and strategic planning materials.
• Proven ability to influence senior leaders without direct authority.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and executive presence.
• Preferred Experience
• Global commercialization or launch excellence experience.
• Experience working with launch consulting firms (Putnam, ZS, Trinity, IQVIA, Lumanity, etc.).
• Launch governance and operating model development.
• Experience developing launch readiness metrics and scorecards.
• Familiarity with Stage Gate or structured pharmaceutical launch methodologies.
• Experience supporting first-in-class or specialty product launches.

Must-Haves

• Global pharmaceutical launch planning experience.
• Cross-functional leadership across Commercial, Medical, Market Access, and Clinical.
• Strong program/project management of strategic initiatives.
• Executive facilitation and workshop leadership.
• Governance model development.
• Executive presentation and communication skills.
• Experience building integrated roadmaps and launch plans.

Nice-to-Haves

• Launch Excellence experience.
• Management consulting background (Putnam, ZS, Trinity, IQVIA, Lumanity, etc.).
• Experience with global operating model design.
• KPI and launch readiness scorecard development.
• Experience supporting oncology, specialty, or rare disease launches.