Director, Business Development, Pharma

Overview

We are seeking a Director/Vice President of Business Development to prospect, negotiate, and close new business with pharmaceutical manufacturers and occasionally media agencies. This quota-carrying executive individual contributor role requires you to own relationships with our most strategic targets and personally drive complex deals to close.

Who Will Love This Role

• A relentless hunter who is energized, not drained, by a blank territory and builds pipeline proactively before anyone asks.
• A closer with a reputation for finding a way in when others conclude an account is locked, who treats “no” as a timing issue, not a verdict.
• A student of the buyer who knows their brand priorities, agency roster, and fiscal calendar before the first call.
• A builder who enjoys establishing new relationships and market presence, not just maintaining what was handed to them.
• A strategic operationalist who pairs hustle with discipline through rigorous pipeline management, accurate forecasting, and data-driven account prioritization.

Responsibilities

New Business Acquisition and Pipeline Development

• Identify and penetrate net-new pharmaceutical manufacturer accounts and agency holding companies with no prior DrFirst relationship.
• Build and maintain a prioritized target account list with a clear thesis, entry point, and timing for each named account.
• Compress sales cycles by building urgency and multi-threading across stakeholder levels simultaneously.

Deal Execution and Revenue Attainment

• Own the full sales cycle from first contact through executed MSA, covering pricing, proposal, negotiation, and signature, on complex, multi-six-figure digital media and data programs aligned to annual and campaign-based budget cycles.
• Navigate to C-suite and VP-level buyers across brand, media, market access, and digital functions, building relationships across multiple levels through a consultative approach that connects client business needs to a compelling DrFirst value proposition.
• Engage solutions, product, and legal at the right moments without losing deal momentum, and coordinate cross-brand solutions with other DrFirst teams when appropriate.
• Maintain current, credible pipeline and revenue forecasts in Salesforce. Own your number and call it accurately.

Market Intelligence and Strategic Contribution

• Serve as the internal authority on pharma digital media budgets, competitor positioning, agency relationships, and buying cycles.
• Gather and synthesize market intelligence to inform go-to-market strategy and contribute to the Consumer Solutions product roadmap.
• Identify emerging revenue opportunities from shifts in pharma marketing spend, regulatory changes, or new digital health channels.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Coordinate with the Consumer Solutions team and other DrFirst business units to present larger, cross-brand solutions.
• Partner with Marketing on co-marketing programs, thought leadership, and conference presence targeting pharma brand and agency audiences.
• Engage Legal and Finance on complex contract structures, pricing models, and deal economics.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of quota-carrying enterprise sales or business development in healthcare technology, digital health, or pharma media and marketing.
• Demonstrated, verifiable history of hunting and closing net-new logos, with references who will speak specifically to the ability to build from zero.
• Consistent quota overachievement, weighted toward new logo metrics rather than total book growth.
• Deep familiarity with pharmaceutical manufacturer buying processes, brand budget cycles, and the agency ecosystem (AOR, media agencies, specialty pharma agencies).
• Prior relationships with pharma brand teams or agency media buyers that could accelerate early pipeline (strongly preferred).
• Familiarity with e-prescribing, pharmacy benefit, or point-of-care media environments (strongly preferred).
• Proven track record of closing deals valued at $1M+ annually.
• Consistent quota attainment at 120%+ in enterprise sales or strategic partnerships.
• Experience negotiating complex, multi-stakeholder agreements with C-suite executives.
• Proven ability to influence without authority and drive cross-functional alignment.
• Access, Affordability, and Adherence experience (strongly preferred).

Skills and Competencies

• Exceptional executive presence and communication skills for C-suite audiences.
• Outstanding negotiation skills with experience structuring enterprise-scale agreements including pricing, contract terms, and performance guarantees.
• Expert-level consultative selling skills: ability to translate a patient engagement platform into a compelling ROI story for pharma brand marketers.
• Strong business acumen including financial modeling, ROI analysis, and P&L understanding.
• Analytical mindset with experience using data and metrics to inform strategic recommendations.
• Excellent relationship-building skills with ability to cultivate trust at executive levels.
• Strong command of digital marketing including mobile, programmatic, point-of-care, and HCP and patient marketing.
• Deep understanding of pharma marketing channel economics and indirect go-to-market strategies.
• Hunter mentality combined with strategic thinking capabilities and disciplined pipeline management.
• Resilience and persistence in managing complex, long-cycle enterprise deals.
• Strong collaboration skills across all organizational levels, with a preference for an individual contributor role over people management.
• Experience with CRM systems (Salesforce preferred) and enterprise sales methodologies.

Education and Certifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or related field required.
• MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred.