Trade Marketing Lead

JobsCloseBy Editorial Insights

Novo Nordisk is seeking a commercially sharp Trade Marketing Lead in Dubai to own channel strategy across retail pharmacy, clinics and hospitals in the UAE and Gulf markets, leading a team of three. The role blends brand work with channel activation, with a strong focus on obesity, owning the Trade Marketing budget (TTS) and ROI, and driving data led activation using IQVIA, sell-out data and audits. You will partner with Brand, Medical Affairs, Sales and Regulatory to ensure aligned go to market and successful product launches, with 25-35% travel. Ideal candidate: 8-12 years in Trade Marketing with 3+ years leading teams, GCC/regulatory knowledge, budget management, and pharmacy activation experience. Tips: tailor CV to show cross-market impact, quantify ROI, highlight cross-functional leadership and Gulf experience; demonstrate familiarity with obesity or chronic disease areas; show willingness to travel and align with Novo Nordisk purpose.

Trade Marketing Lead

International Operations
Dubai, UAE

Shape how millions of people across the Gulf experience our cardiometabolic portfolio – from the pharmacy counter to the clinic chair. This is your chance to lead trade marketing at a defining moment of commercial growth, where bold channel thinking translates directly into better patient outcomes.

Your new role
As Head of Channel & Trade Marketing, you will sit at the intersection of brand strategy and channel execution, owning how Novo Nordisk shows up across retail pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals throughout the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen. Leading a team of three Trade Marketing Managers, you will shape the experience of our portfolio – with a strong focus on obesity – at every point of dispensing and point of care.

Day-to-day your responsibilities will include:

• Developing and owning the annual trade marketing strategy across retail pharmacy (and e-commerce), obesity-focused and aesthetic clinics, and hospital systems, translating regional brand campaigns into channel-adapted activation plans.
• Leading differentiated activation programmes for each trade setting – from pharmacy merchandising and shopper activations to clinical waiting-room materials and hospital formulary engagement assets.
• Owning the Trade Marketing A&P and TTS budget across all Gulf markets, ensuring efficient allocation, ROI tracking and full compliance with Novo Nordisk's global ethical standards and local MOH regulations.
• Championing a data- and insight-led approach, drawing on IQVIA, pharmacy audits, sell-out data and HCP listening programmes to optimise activation investment and channel mix.
• Acting as the primary commercial interface between Brand, Medical Affairs, Sales, Regulatory and Market Access to ensure aligned go-to-market execution and best-in-class new product trade launches.
• Leading, coaching and developing a team of three across channel specialism and geographic coverage, building capability in shopper marketing, channel analytics and HCP engagement.

Your new department
As part of International Operations, you will join our largest operational unit. Covering 194 countries and 95% of the world's population, more than 18,000 of us work passionately to serve 35 million patients each day. With a promise to outperform the competition, we continue to be the growth driver for Novo Nordisk, and to improve health at scale across the globe.

Within International Operations, you will join the Gulf affiliate at a pivotal moment of commercial expansion, reporting into the Head of Marketing, Gulf. The Gulf is a rapidly evolving region with growing healthcare infrastructure and rising demand for chronic disease management – and trade marketing is central to how we translate brand strategy into meaningful experiences for HCPs, pharmacists and patients across every market.

Your skills & qualifications
We are looking for a commercially sharp, hands-on leader who thrives in a fast-moving affiliate environment and can pioneer new channel approaches with confidence. You will bring with you:

• A Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Pharmacy or a related discipline (MBA advantageous), supported by 8-12 years of progressive experience in Trade Marketing, Commercial Excellence or Channel Marketing, including at least 3 years leading people.
• A proven track record of developing and executing channel-specific brand activation across multiple trade environments, ideally with FMCG and pharmaceutical adjacency (e.g. consumer health, OTC).
• Hands-on experience managing Trade Term Spending (TTS) and promotional budgets at a regional or multi-market level, with strong analytical fluency across sell-out data, IQVIA/IMS data, pharmacy audits and channel dashboards.
• Solid experience working in the Gulf / Middle East region, with a strong understanding of GCC regulatory, cultural and market dynamics; retail pharmacy channel activation experience in UAE, KSA or Kuwait is a plus.
• Familiarity with obesity or chronic disease therapy areas is desirable, alongside the ability to influence without full authority across diverse cross-functional stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel 25-35% across Gulf markets.

Working at Novo Nordisk
Every day we seek the solutions that defeat serious chronic diseases. To do this, we approach our work with determination, constant curiosity and a commitment to finding better ways forward. For over 100 years, this dedication has driven us to build a company focused on lasting change for long-term health. One where diverse thinking, shared purpose and mutual respect come together to create extraordinary results. When you join us, you're not just starting a job – you're becoming part of a story that spans generations.

What we offer
There is, of course, more on offer here than the uniqueness of our culture and the extraordinary results we produce. Being part of a global healthcare company means opportunities to learn and develop are all around us, while our benefits are designed with your career and life stage in mind.

Deadline
14 July 2026. (Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis).

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.

At Novo Nordisk, we're not chasing quick fixes – we're creating lasting change for long-term health. For over 100 years, we've been driven by a single purpose: to defeat serious chronic diseases and help millions of people live healthier lives. This dedication fuels our constant curiosity and inspires us to push the boundaries of what's possible in healthcare. We embrace diverse perspectives, seek out bold ideas, and build partnerships rooted in shared purpose. Together, we're making healthcare more accessible, treating and preventing diseases, and pioneering solutions that create change spanning generations. When you join us, you become part of something bigger – a legacy of impact that reaches far beyond today.