Executive Director, Specialty & Rare Disease Marketing
Role Level: Senior marketing leadership
Scope: U.S. specialty and rare disease portfolio
Focus: Portfolio strategy, brand planning, launch readiness, competitive positioning, and cross-functional execution
The Opportunity
Purpose of the Position
Korn ferry has partnered with a leading biopharma company to help hire the Executive Director, Specialty & Rare Disease Marketing, a senior commercial leader responsible for shaping and executing U.S. marketing strategy across a portfolio of marketed and pipeline specialty therapies. This individual will oversee portfolio strategy, brand leadership, launch readiness, competitive positioning, and cross-functional execution across multiple therapeutic programs.
This role is well-suited for a leader who has experience navigating complex specialty markets and balancing the needs of established products, growth-stage brands, and future launch opportunities. The successful candidate will help drive portfolio performance, ensure strong brand planning, support future commercialization efforts, and foster alignment across key internal stakeholders.
The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in specialty and rare disease commercialization, including experience with complex treatment pathways, physician-administered therapies, specialty distribution models, reimbursement dynamics, and high-cost therapeutic products. They will have demonstrated success building differentiated market positions in competitive therapeutic categories and leading organizations through periods of growth and transformation.
This is not a traditional mass-market or consumer-focused marketing role. Rather, it requires a sophisticated specialty marketing leader who understands complex stakeholder ecosystems, patient and provider journeys, market access considerations, and the integration of multiple cross-functional disciplines to deliver business results.
Business Context
The organization maintains a strong presence in specialty therapeutics and is entering a period of continued growth and portfolio evolution. The commercial portfolio includes established products, launched therapies, and future pipeline opportunities that require thoughtful strategic planning and execution.
The Executive Director will play a key role in driving both near-term performance and longer-term portfolio success through brand strategy development, commercial planning, launch preparedness, organizational alignment, and operational excellence.
The position oversees a team of marketing professionals supporting multiple brands and therapeutic areas while partnering closely with leadership across commercial and corporate functions.
Key Responsibilities
Portfolio & Brand Strategy
- Lead end-to-end U.S. marketing strategy across a portfolio of specialty and rare disease therapies.
- Develop and execute strategic brand plans, positioning strategies, messaging frameworks, and performance objectives.
- Create differentiated value propositions for healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers, and other key stakeholders.
- Balance strategic priorities across established products, growth brands, and future launch opportunities.
- Drive annual planning processes, operating plans, and long-range strategic planning initiatives.
Launch Readiness & Future Growth
- Lead commercialization planning and launch readiness efforts for future pipeline opportunities.
- Develop launch strategies, operating models, and cross-functional execution plans.
- Ensure organizational readiness across field teams, market access, patient services, customer engagement, analytics, and operations.
- Apply disciplined launch excellence frameworks to support portfolio expansion and sustained growth.
Competitive Strategy & Market Leadership
- Lead competitive strategy and market positioning efforts across the portfolio.
- Develop and maintain differentiated brand positions in markets with multiple treatment options and evolving competitive dynamics.
- Monitor market trends, competitor activity, customer needs, and performance metrics.
- Translate insights and analytics into actionable commercial strategies.
Customer, Patient & Market Insights
- Translate stakeholder insights into integrated marketing and business plans.
- Develop a deep understanding of patient journeys, treatment pathways, referral patterns, and market dynamics.
- Partner with cross-functional teams to ensure aligned customer and patient strategies.
- Enhance customer experiences through targeted and insight-driven engagement initiatives.
Promotional Strategy & Execution
- Provide leadership across promotional strategy, messaging, campaign development, review processes, and execution.
- Ensure tactical excellence across channels and customer segments.
- Deliver compliant, data-driven, and high-impact promotional materials.
- Focus on highly targeted specialty marketing approaches.
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Operate effectively in a complex, matrixed environment.
- Build strong partnerships with Medical Affairs, Market Access, Patient Services, Sales, Finance, Analytics, Regulatory, Legal, and other key stakeholders.
- Foster collaboration, alignment, and shared accountability across functions.
Financial & Operational Leadership
- Manage marketing budgets and operating expenditures.
- Allocate resources effectively across portfolio priorities.
- Drive operational rigor and execution excellence across planning cycles.
- Ensure alignment between investment decisions and strategic objectives.
Team Leadership
- Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing marketing organization.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Build organizational capabilities to support current and future business needs.
The Candidate
Who You Are
You are a strategic, collaborative, and execution-oriented marketing leader with significant experience in specialty biopharmaceutical markets. You have a proven ability to build brands, lead high-performing teams, navigate complex commercial environments, and deliver results through strong cross-functional leadership.
You are highly analytical, commercially minded, and comfortable operating in fast-paced and evolving organizations. You bring a team-first mindset and a track record of influencing across functions and organizational levels.
Experience, Qualifications & Capabilities
- Bachelor's degree required.
- 15+ years of progressive biopharmaceutical marketing or commercial leadership experience.
- Significant expertise within specialty pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and/or rare disease markets.
- Demonstrated success leading brand strategy, positioning, lifecycle management, and commercial execution.
- Experience operating in competitive markets with multiple treatment approaches and stakeholder groups.
- Strong understanding of specialty commercialization models, reimbursement, distribution, and patient support ecosystems.
- Experience launching products in specialty therapeutic categories.
- Deep understanding of healthcare provider, patient, and caregiver decision-making processes.
- Strong analytical capabilities and ability to translate insights into commercial action.
- Proven financial management and budgeting experience.
- Demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing teams.
- Ability to thrive in fast-paced, highly collaborative environments.
Preferred Qualifications
- MBA or other advanced degree preferred.
- Experience within specialty biotechnology, pharmaceutical, or rare disease-focused organizations.
- Background in highly specialized therapeutic areas, rare diseases, precision medicine, genetic medicine, neuroscience, oncology, immunology, or other complex specialty categories.
- Experience supporting multiple products across different stages of the product lifecycle, including launch, growth, and mature brands.
- Track record of leading organizations through significant growth, change, and portfolio expansion.