Customer Development Manager, KSA

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Location

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Reports To

Commercial Strategy Director – CMH

Department

Cardiometabolic Business Unit – Commercial

We are seeking a strategic and commercially driven Customer Development Manager to serve as the growth architect for our top cardiometabolic accounts in Saudi Arabia. This newly created role sits at the heart of the new B2B organizational structure, designed to separate strategic customer development from day-to-day commercial operations, enabling sharper focus on sustainable growth drivers and B2B2C patient-centric value creation.

The Customer Development Manager will own the end-to-end commercial relationship with Tier 1 accounts, driving Joint Business Plans (JBPs), negotiating commercial deals, and translating brand strategies into customer-specific value propositions. This role is the “CEO of the customer’s growth agenda” – focused on uncovering deep customer insights, identifying white-space opportunities, and creating joint value across the cardiometabolic portfolio including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular therapies.

Inspired by the Commercial Development Manager role in the Gulf region and tailored to the evolving Saudi commercial landscape, this position requires a strong blend of strategic thinking, commercial acumen, and stakeholder management in the private healthcare ecosystem.

Customer Strategy & Development:

• Joint Business Plan Leadership: Lead the development and negotiation of Joint Business Plans (JBPs) with Top 10 strategic accounts, defining consumption KPIs, value metrics, and year-on-year growth ambitions for the cardiometabolic portfolio.

• Customer Segmentation & Prioritization: Develop and maintain a customer segmentation framework to identify high-potential accounts and prioritize resource allocation for maximum commercial impact.

• Growth Planning: Create customer-specific growth plans encompassing portfolio management, patient journey gap analysis, access and loyalty programs, and category leadership strategies.

• White-Space Identification: Identify and pursue untapped opportunities including patient adherence, refill optimization, switching programs, and obesity clinic partnerships.

Commercial Deal Management:

• End-to-End Deal Ownership: Own the full commercial deal lifecycle for Top 10 accounts – structuring, negotiation, implementation, performance management, and reporting.

• Commercial Objectives Negotiation: Negotiate commercial deal objectives including volume targets, sell-in/sell-out alignment, stock-on-hand management, SKU mix optimization, and direct supply arrangements.

• Business Case Development: Build robust business cases for new commercial initiatives, partnerships, and investment decisions with clear ROI expectations.

• Governance & Compliance: Establish and enforce governance frameworks to ensure commercial deal compliance and alignment with company policies and pharmaceutical regulations.

Value Creation & Patient-Centric Initiatives:

• Brand-to-Customer Translation: Translate Lilly brand strategies into compelling customer-specific value propositions that resonate with key account decision-makers.

• Initiative Design: Design value creation initiatives including patient education and activation programs (B2B2C), pharmacist capability development, and category insights sharing.

• New Launch Planning: Coordinate customer-level launch planning for new cardiometabolic products, ensuring readiness across commercial, operational, and marketing dimensions.

• Consumer & Customer Insights: Develop deep customer and consumer insights to inform joint business strategies, leveraging market intelligence and competitive analysis.

Performance Management & Analytics:

• Consumption KPI Tracking: Track and analyze consumption KPIs including sell-out performance, refill rates, and patient persistence across strategic accounts.

• Gap Diagnosis: Diagnose performance gaps and develop corrective action plans in collaboration with B2B Operations and Trade Marketing teams.

• Strategic Account Reviews: Lead strategic customer reviews, presenting performance insights, growth opportunities, and forward-looking plans to senior leadership.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• B2B Operations Alignment: Partner closely with the B2B Operations Leader to ensure seamless translation of strategic plans into executable targets by region and store.

• Trade Marketing Coordination: Collaborate with Trade Marketing to align shopper-centric activation strategies with customer growth plans and brand priorities.

• Internal Stakeholder Engagement: Work closely with marketing, regulatory affairs, supply chain, medical affairs, and finance teams to maximize product uptake and ensure strategic alignment.

• Regional Collaboration: Collaborate with IBU/ICH teams to position KSA opportunities and secure initiative support from the broader regional ecosystem.

Strategic Partnership & Innovation:

• Strategic Partnership Development: Identify and develop strategic partnerships with pharmacy chains, healthcare providers, and new ecosystem players to drive market expansion.

• New & Emerging Players: Incubate relationships with new and emerging players in the Saudi healthcare space, assessing partnership potential and co-creating growth models.

• Business Model Innovation: Explore innovative commercial and distribution models including telehealth solutions, digital health partnerships, and consumer-centric engagement platforms.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Business, Pharmacy, or a related field.

• Master’s degree or MBA is preferred.

• Specialized knowledge in cardiometabolic diseases (cardiovascular, diabetes, obesity) is a plus.

Experience

• Minimum of 7–10 years of experience in pharmaceutical commercial development, key account management, or strategic sales roles.

• Proven track record in managing high-value customer relationships and negotiating complex commercial agreements.

• Experience in the Saudi and/or Gulf pharmaceutical market is strongly preferred.

• Cardiometabolic therapeutic area experience is a significant advantage.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to develop customer growth strategies and Joint Business Plans.

• Deep understanding of pharmaceutical distribution channels and commercial strategy within private markets in Saudi Arabia.

• Excellent negotiation, communication, and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence senior internal and external stakeholders.

• Strong analytical and financial acumen with experience building business cases and tracking commercial KPIs.

• Patient-centric mindset with the ability to design B2B2C value creation initiatives.

• Knowledge of regulatory and compliance requirements specific to pharmaceutical distribution in Saudi Arabia.

• Ability to collaborate effectively across marketing, sales, regulatory, supply chain, and medical affairs functions.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite; experience with ERP and CRM systems is a plus.

• Travel: Regular travel within Saudi Arabia for meetings with strategic account stakeholders, healthcare professionals, and participation in industry events.

• Environment: Primarily office-based with frequent field engagement at key customer sites.

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