Join our dynamic team where innovation and care converge in a culture that values continuous learning, diversity and transformative career development. Underpinned by THRIVE with Zuellig Pharma, our commitment to transforming the way we grow, care and succeed together as one organization, we are dedicated to helping our people make a meaningful impact in healthcare.
Alliance Manager
Malaysia
Zuellig Pharma is a leading healthcare solutions company in Asia, and our purpose is to make healthcare more accessible to the communities we serve. We provide world-class distribution, digital, and commercial services to support the growing healthcare needs in this region. The company was started a hundred years ago and has grown to become a multibillion-dollar business covering 17 markets with over 12,000 employees. Our people serve more than 200,000 medical facilities and work with over 450 clients, including the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the world.
Purpose of the Role
The Alliance Lead serves as the strategic bridge and primary orchestrator between Zuellig Pharma’s internal cross-functional matrix and our key external pharmaceutical partners.
This role oversees all aspects of strategic partnerships, ensuring mutual value creation, contractual compliance, operational excellence, and alignment across regional and country teams. The Alliance Lead proactively champions partner objectives internally, translates commercial strategies into actionable deliverables, manages joint governance, and drives conflict resolution and escalation pathways to ensure long-term, high-trust partnerships.
Key Responsibilities
- Alliance Management & Strategic Bridging
- Primary Point of Contact: Serve as the trusted, central liaison for partner leadership and key external counterparts, driving transparent, proactive, and two-way communication.
- Internal Advocacy & Alignment: Champion the partner's strategic priorities, culture, and operational expectations within Zuellig Pharma; conversely, represent Zuellig’s capabilities and operating realities transparently to partners.
- Joint Business Planning (JBP): Collaborate with external partners and commercial leaders to co-create annual strategic roadmaps, shared goals, performance KPIs, and joint value-creation initiatives.
- Alliance Governance: Establish, organize, and facilitate multi-tiered governance meetings (Steering Committees, Executive Reviews, and Operational Working Groups) at monthly, quarterly, and annual intervals.
- Executive Narration: Partner with regional and country commercial teams to synthesize business performance, market dynamics, and operational realities into clear, insight-driven presentations for joint reviews.
- Operational Excellence & Execution
- Cross-Functional Orchestration: Lead matrix collaboration across sales, marketing, supply chain, regulatory affairs, quality, IT, and finance to ensure seamless delivery of joint commitments.
- Process Optimization & Best Practices: Design, implement, and continuously refine joint operating SOPs and workflows to eliminate friction and elevate service delivery.
- Business Transfers & Transitions: Project manage end-to-end portfolio on-boarding, divested brand integrations, and business transfers into and out of Zuellig Pharma across relevant country clusters.
- Performance Tracking & Continuous Improvement: Monitor operational SLA/KPI scorecards, diagnose performance bottlenecks, and execute structured corrective and preventive action (CAPA) plans with internal and external teams.
- Issue Escalation & Conflict Resolution
- Proactive Dispute Mediation: Anticipate emerging misalignments, conflicting priorities, or scope friction between Zuellig and partner stakeholders; actively mediate solutions that preserve mutual trust and commercial viability.
- Governance & Escalation Framework: Define and enforce clear escalation protocols and decision-making matrices (e.g., RACI) so that operational deadlocks or commercial risks are resolved swiftly at appropriate executive tiers.
- Change Management: Lead change communication and transition management internally and externally when operational, organizational, or market shifts occur.
- Strategy, Commercial Growth & Market Insights
- Strategic Value Expansion: Identify organic business expansion opportunities, new distribution models, or digital commercial service offerings that create incremental value for both parties.
- Market Intelligence: Monitor pharmaceutical industry trends, regulatory changes, and competitive dynamics across target markets to inform partnership strategy and drive mutual competitive advantage.
- Operational Feasibility Assessments: Evaluate partner requests and strategic business cases against internal capabilities, capacity, and profitability thresholds.
- Risk Management & Compliance
- Contract Compliance & Integrity: Monitor adherence to contractual commitments, service level agreements (SLAs), and internal/external policies (including healthcare compliance and anti-bribery standards).
- Risk Identification & Mitigation: Systematically evaluate partnership, regulatory, and supply chain risks, establishing early-warning indicators and robust mitigation plans.
Management Reporting: Provide timely, high-fidelity risk dashboards and executive summaries to senior leadership highlighting foreseen commercial, operational, or partner-relationship challenges.
- Financial Stewardship & Commercial Governance
- Commercial Deal Structuring: Partner with finance and commercial teams on deal models, pricing structures, fee-for-service frameworks, and margin reconciliation.
- Financial Review & Performance Tracking: Deliver robust commercial analytics and financial performance insights during quarterly and annual business reviews (QBRs/ABRs).
- Financial Obligation Monitoring: Ensure mutual transparency and timely settlement of fee schedules, rebates, chargebacks, and commercial incentives.
What Will Make You Successful
Must-Have Qualifications
- Experience: Minimum 8+ years of commercial, business development, key account management, or alliance management experience. Experience within the pharmaceutical industry is an added advantage.
- Matrix Leadership: Proven track record of influencing cross-functional stakeholders and country leadership without direct authority in complex regional matrix organizations.
- Healthcare & Commercial Acumen: In-depth understanding of pharmaceutical commercial models, mature brands, distribution networks, regulatory frameworks, and partner relationship dynamics in Asia.
- Governance & JBP Track Record: Direct experience establishing partnership governance frameworks, leading Joint Business Planning, and managing contractual SLAs.
Advantageous Competencies
- Advanced Negotiation & Conflict Resolution: High emotional intelligence (EQ) with demonstrated ability to navigate tense commercial discussions, manage divergent interests, and build win-win outcomes.
- Executive Presence & Communication: Superior storytelling, presentation, and cross-cultural communication skills suited for senior C-suite and partner executive engagements.
- Analytical & Strategic Thinking: Strong quantitative acumen to evaluate complex P&L dynamics, margin reconciliations, and market share metrics.
- Project & Change Management: Formal project management (e.g., PMP) or operational excellence certification, with experience managing multi-country product launches or portfolio transfers.
What We Offer
- Purpose-Driven Culture: Join a purpose-led team dedicated to making healthcare more accessible across Asia.
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Work in an inclusive, collaborative environment where every individual is valued, respected, and empowered.
- Regional Exposure: Gain cross-market visibility and deepen your expertise across dynamic healthcare landscapes covering 17 Asian markets.
- Empowering Growth: Take charge of your career trajectory through leadership development, functional rotations, and continuous learning programs.
- Total Rewards: A competitive compensation and holistic benefits package designed to support your personal, physical, and financial well-being.