Sales Lead

Title:

Sales Lead

Company:

IPSEN K.K.

 

About Ipsen:

Ipsen is a mid-sized global biopharmaceutical company with a focus on transformative medicines in three therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience. Supported by nearly 100 years of development experience, with global hubs in the U.S., France and the U.K, we tackle areas of high unmet medical need through research and innovation.

 Our passionate teams in more than 40 countries are focused on what matters and endeavor every day to bring medicines to patients in 88 countries. We build a workplace that champions human-centric leadership and fosters a culture of collaboration, excellence and impact. At Ipsen, every individual is empowered to be their true selves, grow and thrive alongside the company’s success. Join us on our journey towards sustainable growth, creating real impact on patients and society!

For more information, visit us at https://www.ipsen.com/ and follow our latest news on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Job Description:

The Sales Lead is responsible for driving national sales performance and profitable growth across Japan by leading the field sales execution, translating brand strategy into high-quality customer engagement, and ensuring rigorous planning, forecasting and performance management.

As a people manager, the role leads, coaches and develops a team of sales professionals (e.g. Sr.KAMs / KAMs) to deliver against targets, including setting objectives, delivering a structured coaching cadence (e.g., field coaching/ride-alongs) and managing the full performance cycle.

The Sales Lead is accountable for building a high-performing, compliant sales culture, proactively managing talent (e.g., onboarding, capability development and succession planning), identifying business opportunities and risks, and providing clear, data-driven reporting to support decision making. Reports to the Head of Commercial.

Sales Strategy Execution & Business Delivery

• Deliver national sales targets, KPIs and commercial objectives through disciplined execution and effective field force leadership.
• Translate brand strategy into nationwide sales priorities across Japan, enabling high-impact customer engagement plans.
• Monitor national and territory-/hospital-level performance drivers, identify gaps/opportunities, and implement corrective actions to improve results.

Team Leadership, Coaching & Performance Management

• Lead, coach and develop a team to ensure strong capability in selling skills, account management and compliant customer engagement; provide clear direction and role model Ipsen values and the Ipsen Way of Being.
• Set clear objectives, implement a structured coaching cadence (e.g., field coaching/ride-alongs), provide timely feedback, and manage performance through the full performance cycle (reviews, development plans and performance improvement where needed).
• Drive talent management activities including recruitment support, onboarding, capability building and succession planning; foster an inclusive, high-performing team culture with strong collaboration and accountability.

Territory & Account Planning

• Drive robust nationwide territory and account planning cycles; prioritize customers, channels and resources across Japan to maximize impact.
• Ensure plans are aligned nationally across functions and are executed consistently by the field team across regions.

Customer & Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain relationships with national key customers and decision makers; support the team on complex negotiations and escalations across Japan.
• Partner with Marketing, Medical, Value & Access and other stakeholders to coordinate nationwide initiatives and ensure compliant execution across Japan.
• Serve as the primary commercial interface with wholesalers; collaborate closely with Supply Chain and Commercial Operations teams to drive stable product supply, anticipate risks and resolve supply issues.

 

Forecasting, Reporting & Insight Generation

• Own national sales forecasting and pipeline accuracy; provide timely, high-quality reporting and business updates.
• Leverage national market, customer and competitor insights to refine execution plans and inform cross-functional decisions.

Knowledge & Experience:

• Min. 8 years of experience in Pharma Sales (e.g., Medical Representative, KAM or similar), with a proven record of achieving or exceeding sales targets.
• People management experience as an Area Manager (営業所長) and/or Sales Manager / Sales Director (営業部長) is necessary.
• Strong capability in territory/account planning, forecasting and data-driven business management; able to translate insights into clear actions and results
• Proven experience leading, coaching and developing sales teams; comfortable with field coaching, ride-alongs and performance management processes.
• Strong stakeholder management skills: builds and maintains relationships with key customers and supports the team on negotiations, issue resolution and escalations.
• Demonstrated ability to lead execution in complex specialty/hospital environments, including customer segmentation, channel optimization and key account prioritization.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in matrix teams and drive cross-functional execution with Marketing, Medical, Value & Access and other functions in a compliant manner.
• Prior experience with specialty portfolios, rare diseases, orphan drugs and/or rare oncology is an advantage.

Education / Certifications:

•  Bachelor of degree in a business, science, medicine or pharmacy or similar degree

Language(s):

• Fluent in Japanese
• Business level written and spoken English

#LI-Hybrid

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We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels heard, valued, and supported; where we embrace “The Real Us”. The value we place on different perspectives and experiences drives our commitment to inclusion and equal opportunities. When we include diverse ways of thinking, we make more thoughtful decisions and discover more innovative solutions. Together we strive to better understand the communities we serve. This means we also want to help you perform at your best when applying for a role with us. If you require any adjustments or support during the application process, please let the recruitment team know. This information will be handled with care and will not affect the outcome of your application.

Global specialty-driven biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology, rare disease, and neuroscience. Headquartered in Paris, France.

ipsen.com