Senior Director, Rare Disease Marketing

Location: Madison, New Jersey, United States | Permanent, full-time position

About the Role

Build and lead the US marketing strategy and launch readiness for a rare disease brand in the pre-launch phase, with anticipated launch next year. This role drives assigned marketing priorities and collaborates with cross-functional partners to support coordinated planning and execution. You will develop financial and operational objectives, serve as the brand and disease area expert, and provide leadership, mentoring, and guidance to the brand team and cross-functional partners—including medical affairs and market access—to ensure a best-in-class rare disease launch.

Responsibilities

• Own and lead development of the US brand strategy and integrated pre-launch marketing plan, including customer insight discovery, positioning, segmentation and targeting, messaging platform, and creative campaign development and testing.
• Lead, coach, and develop direct reports by setting clear objectives, providing regular feedback, conducting performance and development reviews, and building a high-performing, accountable, and launch-ready marketing team.
• Drive disease education and market-shaping strategy to build awareness, shorten the diagnostic journey, and support appropriate patient identification in a rare disease population, in close partnership with medical affairs and patient advocacy.
• Oversee development of the HCP marketing strategy and omnichannel engagement plan, including journey orchestration and coordinated personal and non-personal promotion across digital, remote, and in-person channels.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to incorporate customer and stakeholder insights and align with the overall brand strategy.
• Lead US launch readiness planning: define the launch roadmap, milestones, and KPIs; spearhead development of day-1 launch materials; and serve as the primary marketing liaison to Sales and Training.
• Establish strong relationships with US and global opinion leaders and patient advocacy organizations; lead advisory boards, congress planning, and KOL/stakeholder engagement to position the company as a key partner in the disease area.
• Develop and manage the brand marketing budget; own agency-of-record and key vendor relationships, including managing budgets, statements of work, and performance.
• Develop presentations for senior management and internal stakeholders on brand priorities, launch readiness, brand plans, and performance.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or other advanced degree preferred.
• 12+ years of experience in the US pharmaceutical/biotech industry, including 8+ years of marketing experience; rare disease, orphan drug, or specialty marketing experience strongly preferred.
• Previous US product launch experience required; experience leading pre-launch/launch readiness for a rare disease or specialty brand strongly preferred.
• Agency and vendor management experience required; demonstrated ability to manage budgets and resources.
• Previous people management experience required, with a track record of recruiting, coaching, developing, and retaining high-performing marketers.
• Experience across both HCP and patient/consumer marketing preferred, as well as experience with disease education and market development in low-prevalence patient populations.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and achieve results in a highly matrixed organization.
• Experience partnering with medical affairs, market access, and patient services on integrated launch planning.
• Strong analytical skills, including experience guiding market research and driving metrics-based optimization.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required (up to 25%).

What Will Help You Succeed

Success in this role requires a highly collaborative leader who balances strategic vision with flawless execution in a complex, matrixed environment. You thrive in building high-performing teams, navigating ambiguity, and influencing diverse stakeholders toward a shared goal. You demonstrate agility, accountability, and an entrepreneurial mindset, bringing strong ownership and adaptability in a dynamic pre-launch setting. Self-awareness, results-orientation, and a passion for making a meaningful impact for patients and caregivers are key.

Your Team

Reporting to the VP, Rare Disease, you will lead a talented marketing team and serve as a key member of the Rare Disease leadership team. You’ll collaborate closely with cross-functional partners across Medical Affairs, Market Access, Patient Services, Sales, Analytics & Insights, Regulatory, Legal, and Compliance, co-leading the Product Team with Medical to shape brand strategy and deliver a successful launch. You will also partner with key opinion leaders, patient advocacy organizations, professional societies, agencies, and external vendors to generate insights and establish the company as a trusted partner in the rare disease community.

Pay

The base salary range for this position is $230,000–$320,000 per year. The range represents the anticipated low and high end for this role, with salary determined by candidate qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency. Eligibility for commissions or bonus may apply based on company and individual performance.