Head of Commercial Affairs

Reporting to: Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)

Location: Home-based (EU or East Coast US) or office-based in Chiswick, London, or Dublin, Ireland

Core Responsibilities:

The Head of Commercial Affairs will be responsible for managing and optimizing STEM's established pricing processes and commercial analysis functions. This individual will focus on delivering high-quality pricing for opportunities aligned with agreed commercial terms, ensuring compliance with pricing processes and approval protocols. Additionally, they will oversee key commercial analysis functions, including pipeline management, forecasting, and opportunity assessment, ensuring alignment with STEM's business objectives.

The Head of Commercial Affairs will collaborate with the CCO and STEM Executive Team to maintain commercial standards, provide strategic insights, and ensure the organization adheres to established guidelines.

This role includes managing the Commercial Analytics and Pricing Teams to deliver consistent commercial excellence, and it involves overseeing all commercial reporting and analytics to support STEM's global performance objectives.

Job Role:

• Cross-Business Collaboration: Serve as the key point of contact between STEM and INIZIO (parent company) and INIZIO Advisory (Business Unit STEM sits under), working with the broader INIZIO network on pricing for cross-business and enterprise-level opportunities. Engage with INIZIO's Commercial Affairs and Legal teams to optimize contracting processes, including the use of affiliate Master Service Agreements (MSAs).
• Line Management: Lead the global pricing and commercial analytics teams to ensure revenue and margin targets are achieved.
• Pricing Management: Oversee all pricing activities, ensuring adherence to established processes and alignment with agreed commercial terms.
• Commercial Compliance: Maintain and enforce global commercial standards, ensuring organizational compliance with policies and procedures.
• Commercial Analytics: Own the commercial analysis function, delivering actionable insights into pipeline management, forecasting, and key opportunity assessments.
• Team Development: Enhance the skills and competencies of the pricing and analytics teams through coaching, mentoring, and collaboration with Global Capabilities to deliver tailored training programs.
• Strategic Negotiation Support: Support key customer contract negotiations in coordination with INIZIO's Commercial Affairs & Legal functions, ensuring adherence to corporate guidelines.

Essential skills:

• Proven experience in managing established commercial or financial functions.
• Expertise in pricing processes and commercial approvals.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with an ability to manage complex commercial data.
• Effective leadership experience in both direct and matrixed team environments.
• Self-driven and adaptable, with a results-oriented approach to managing processes.
• Collaborative, with strong interpersonal skills to influence and work effectively across teams and cultural contexts.
• Strong organizational and time management skills to ensure timely delivery of commercial objectives.
• Ability to communicate complex commercial insights clearly to senior stakeholders.
• Practical, commercially astute, and responsive to different viewpoints.

Experience and knowledge required:

• Comprehensive understanding of the pharmaceutical market, including client developments, key launches, and industry trends.
• In-depth knowledge of STEM's services and their value proposition for clients.
• Demonstrated success in managing senior-level stakeholder relationships in a multinational service environment.
• Extensive experience in pricing and commercial analysis, including forecasting and pipeline management.
• Experience negotiating service/vendor contracts with multinational clients.
• Previous leadership of a financial or commercial function within a professional services organization.
• Proven track record in managing established global pricing and commercial processes.
• Strong experience in leading and managing cross-functional teams across departments.