Director, Shopper Insights - Rx to OTC Switch

Director, Shopper Insights – Rx to OTC Switch

Location: Morristown, NJ

About the Job

The Director Shopper Insights will be an integral member of a cross-functional agile team that drives the development and commercialization of a pipeline of Rx-to-OTC switch candidates across multiple product categories. This role will be responsible for representing the voice of the shopper in all commercial decisions and strategies, designing and execute custom research, synthesizing data sources, and shopper trends and developing a deep understanding of shopper behavioral science. The Shopper Insights Director will be the principal subject matter expert in shopper insights, both internally and externally, to the Organization.

Opella, the Consumer Healthcare business unit of Sanofi, is the purest and third-largest player globally in the Over-The-Counter (OTC) & Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements (VMS) market.

We have an unshakable belief in the power of self-care and the role it can play in creating a healthier society and a healthier planet. That’s why we want to make self-care as simple as it should be by being consumer-led always, with science at our core. Through our unique and balanced portfolio of more than 100 loved brands, including 15 global and local high-growth challengers such as Allegra, Dulcolax and Buscopan, we deliver our mission: helping more than half a billion consumers worldwide take their health in their hands.

This mission is brought to life by an 11,000-strong team, 13 best-in-class manufacturing sites, and 4 specialized science and innovation development centers. We are also proud to be the first major fast-moving consumer healthcare company to achieve B Corp certification.

Join us on our mission. Health. In your hands.

Main Responsibilities:

• Lead all aspects of the Shopper Insights effort for the Rx to OTC switch team with responsibility for all channels and customers.
• Develop a deep understanding of shopper behaviors. Leverage key external experts and agency partners to drive insights and commercial solutions.
• Be a trusted and close partner of the multifunctional team, including Marketing, Sales, Sales Strategy, Consumer & Marketing Insights (CMI), and R & D.
• Collaborate with brand marketing, sales strategy, and cross-functional partners to create a learning plan/research roadmap that identifies and addresses critical knowledge gaps and uncovers business opportunities.
• Create an Innovation Engagement Strategy to contribute to Opella’s intention of being a Partner of Choice to our Strategic Growth Customers.
• Create a long-term vision for innovation planning, and a roadmap to bring that vision to life
• Develop and deliver long lead time Innovation Planning Sessions with our top customers, designed to support senior-level engagement and cross-functional collaboration.
• Align and coordinate efforts across the Category Leaders, Sales and Commercial Strategy Teams.
• Develop an annual plan, secure funding & resources to execute the plan.
• Develop organizational competencies in long lead-time planning strategic and collaboration tools and skill sets.
• Design, develop, lead & facilitate workshops for key initiatives such as Category Leadership Platforms
• Deliver customized insights and solutions for crucial retailers while scaling insights to meet the balance of our retail partnerships.
• Develop a feedback loop to ensure that insights travel from innovation to shopper connection points and back.
• Significantly impact strategy developed by Sales, Sales Strategy, Marketing, Shopper Marketing and Digital Transformation, through deep shopper insights and understanding.
• Synthesize multiple sources of data and information such as syndicated sales, household panel, loyalty, POS, and digital /eCommerce data to generate insight and make meaningful recommendations.
• Create insights led platforms upon which our Customers will develop merchandising and marketing strategies to drive optimized shopping experiences and category sales development.
• Develop a clear and actionable path to purchase roadmap for product categories relevant to the switch pipeline.
• Provide thought leadership of the future-forward category growth, the shelf of the future, and the shopper journey.
• Ensure the research roadmap and budget align with top priorities for successful commercialization.
• Manage research projects to ensure delivery on time, cost-effectiveness, and quality.

About You

• Bachelor's Degree is required, MBA preferred.
• 10+ years of professional experience with relevant shopper research and insight background.
• Executive presence a must have
• Knowledge and understanding of Customer long lead time planning processes and business practices.
• Experience in OTC categories preferred, Rx to OTC switch desired. Must have experience and the ability to engage with the sales organization and directly with key customers to present research and insights findings and make strategic recommendations.
• Ability to facilitate workshops with large groups of people from differing functions and levels within organizations.
• Strong passion and empathy for shoppers & consumers.
• Deep knowledge of omnichannel retail.
• Strategic, decisive, and inspiring shopper advocate as well as a visionary thinker.
• High bias for action, driving strategic outcomes through influence, collaboration & organizational savviness.
• Ability to thrive in an agile team environment, comfortable with research methodologies for faster decision-making.
• Proficient in best-in-class digital insights tools/practices and can successfully deploy in the commercial process.
• Ability to be strategic and see the big picture.
• Team player, extraordinarily collaborative and inclusive.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills to influence senior leaders and customers in a fast-moving environment.
• Exemplary storytelling skills and business acumen to simplify large and complex data into compelling recommendations.

Why choose us?

• Bring the miracles of science to life alongside a supportive, future-focused team.
• Discover endless opportunities to grow your talent and drive your career, whether it’s through a promotion or lateral move, at home or internationally.
• Enjoy a thoughtful, well-crafted rewards package that recognizes your contribution and amplifies your impact.
• Take good care of yourself and your family, with a wide range of health and wellbeing benefits including high-quality healthcare, prevention, and wellness programs and at least 14 weeks’ gender-neutral parental leave.

Sanofi Inc. and its U.S. affiliates are Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employers committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender, gender identity or expression; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or liability for military status; domestic violence victim status; atypical cellular or blood trait; genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing) or any other characteristic protected by law.

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