Novartis Posted October 27, 2026

Head of Strategy & New Products, Japan

Toranomon (NPKK Head Office), Japan FULL_TIME
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Novartis is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

The Strategy & New Products Head is responsible for driving country-level strategic planning and growth initiatives, collaborating on early phase launch activities, and shaping the portfolio and pipeline, driving faster decisions and clearer accountability. This role ensures alignment with global and local stakeholders, supports the implementation of the overall growth strategy, and builds organizational capability for long-term portfolio success.

1. Country Strategy, Strategic Planning & Growth Drive key initiatives and strategic projects to support the implementation of the overall growth strategy for the country Identify and evaluate strategic opportunities and revenue potential for continued future growth Coordinate yearly strategic planning processes, ensuring cross-functional and operational priority alignment Periodically assess organizational capability in line with overall strategy and market dynamics, proposing actions for improvement  2. New Products (Early Launch, Portfolio & Pipeline) Co-evaluate and co-plan early launch product strategies aligned with key global and local stakeholders Collaborate with global and local cross-unit and cross-functional teams to drive early launch activities Co-develop commercialization strategies with BUs; support rollout of ONE Brand Plan approaches for key pipeline products Build and strengthen organizational capability for launch excellence across the country Provide input to the internal pipeline in alignment with the International operating model (e.g., IMB milestones) Supports & partner with global team in the evaluation of global external Corporate & Business Development (C&BD) opportunities by providing country-level perspective Contribute to long-term BU portfolio strategy development (5+ years) by providing country-focused input and integrating cross-functional insights  Leadership & Culture Lead and coordinate cross-functional teams to drive the strategic priorities Build a high-performance culture, manage recruiting, performance, and coaching; develop critical capabilities and talent pipelines. Attract, develop, and retain top talent; strengthen succession plans and capabilities across the country organization. Role-model Novartis Leadership Expectations & Behaviours, inspire transformation and performance, and demonstrate self-awareness with a growth mindset. Key Performance Indicators :Strategic Planning Timeliness and quality of strategic plans; Partnership with global & local stakeholders Early Launch Success of early launch initiatives; launch readiness metrics; Collaboration/partnerships across functions/units to drive joint outcomes Portfolio & Pipeline Quality and impact of pipeline input; successful integration of country insights into global plan Languages: English JapaneseExperience/Professional Requirement:  Extensive (>10) years’ experience in leadership positions within the pharmaceutical or life science industry and/or consulting. Ideally should have both Pharma and Consulting experience Proven track record in strategic planning, portfolio management, or new product launches in the pharmaceutical or life sciences industry Experience in early launch planning, commercialization strategy, and/or business development Strategic thinking and analytical skills: ability to synthesize complex data and market dynamics into actionable strategies Strong business acumen and understanding of the pharmaceutical market and product lifecycle Proven track record of leading cross-functional projects and collaborating with global and local stakeholders Project management: ability to drive multiple initiatives simultaneously and deliver results in a fast-paced environment Stakeholder management: strong communication, negotiation, and influencing skills across diverse groups (global, country) Matrix leadership and talent development: building high-performance, diverse teams; coaching, succession planning, and influencing across complex cross-functional and regional interfaces Experience in change management and organizational development is a plus

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
BD&L & Strategic Planning
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Toranomon (NPKK Head Office), Japan
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active BD&L & Strategic Planning role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 383 comparable BD&L & Strategic Planning roles across 85 biopharma companies.

383Comparable roles tracked
359Currently active
85Companies hiring similar roles
38Countries represented

Salary context

106 of 383 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Senior Inside Business Development Manager · AbbVie $27/hr – $48/hr (≈ $56,160–$99,840/yr)
Peer group range $78,000 – $380,750 (median $205,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 383 comparable roles

United States182
China55
India15
Switzerland14
Germany14
Japan13

+ 32 more countries

Seniority mix

282 of 383 peers have a known seniority level

Director82
Manager82
Associate Director46
Senior Director26
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc17
Senior11
Principal7
Associate6
Executive/VP5

Therapeutic area mix

58 of 383 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology26
Immunology9
Neuroscience8
Dermatology & Aesthetics5
Respiratory3
Cardiovascular / CVRM3
Ophthalmology2
Rare Disease1
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

40%similar
UCB Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Manager
Same function Same country
40%similar
Johnson & Johnson Chiyoda, Japan Senior
Same function Same country
40%similar
Amgen K.K. Tokyo, Japan Manager
Same function Same country
40%similar
Merck KGaA Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Director
Same function Same country
40%similar
AstraZeneca Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan Manager
Same function Same country
40%similar
Servier Tokyo, Japan Director
Same function Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

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How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

40%
Business Development & Alliance Manager
UCB · Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Business Development Director _ Life Science
Merck KGaA · Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
[A&V] Senior Manager, Business Development
Pfizer Japan Inc. · Tokyo, Japan · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Principal, Strategy Consulting, Patient Centered Solutions
IQVIA · Tokyo, Japan · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.