Head of Commercial Sales_ Life Science

Merck KGaA vibrantm.com Open · verified Sep 25, 2026

Tokyo Director Sales Leadership

At a glance

Leadership Sales Leadership role at Merck KGaA. Tokyo.

Pay not stated

RoleSales Leadership

SeniorityDirector

LocationTokyo

Role brief

Growth Roles summary, based on the employer's posting.

What you'll do

Lead Sales Development and Territory Sales across Japan’s Life Science Discovery Solutions portfolio
Build demand, improve territory coverage, mature pipelines, and expand revenue through multiple channels
Validate new applications with customers, academic partners, key opinion leaders, and ecosystem collaborators
Join important customer meetings, shape deals, and close priority opportunities when pipeline gaps appear
Set outbound targets and use performance data to guide market responses, forecasts, and team change

What you bring

You have led sales development and field sales teams in Japan’s life science or related B2B market
You bring substantial B2B life science or adjacent-sector experience spanning applications, partnerships, and channel strategy
You can manage complex partners, turn market insight into commercial plans, and execute directly with customers
You communicate confidently in business-level Japanese and English across regional stakeholders

Who this fits

This suits a senior commercial leader who can combine strategic direction with direct field involvement. You will manage twelve people, including seven direct reports, and coordinate with sales, global marketing, and product management across regions. The role is based in Tokyo and requires business-level Japanese and English.

From the employer

メルクと一緒に、あなたの力を発揮しよう！

冒険、限界への挑戦、そして発見に焦がれるあなたへ。あなたの大志を、メルクで羽ばたかせましょう！科学とテクノロジーを駆使したイノベーションに情熱を注ぐメルクのスタッフは世界中で活躍中です。ヘルスケア、生命科学、エレクトロニクスの分野で、メルクのソリューションは人々の暮らしをますます豊かなものにしています。あなたとメルクの力を合わせて、大きな夢を抱きましょう。メルクは、人、顧客、患者、そしてこの地球という惑星が共存する豊かな世界の構築に情熱を注いでいます。このためメルクでは、好奇心にあふれた人材を募集中です。メルクと一緒に、想像を超えた世界を開拓しませんか？

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Team: 12 people (7 direct reports)

Your Role

In this pivotal leadership role, you will unite and drive two high-impact commercial teams — Sales Development and Territory Sales — to accelerate new business creation and deliver sustained revenue growth across the Life Science Discovery Solutions portfolio in Japan. You will own the full commercial growth agenda end-to-end: from proactive opportunity identification and demand creation through to territory coverage, pipeline maturation, and revenue expansion. Operating with significant autonomy and strategic accountability, you will lead with hands-on field engagement, build a thriving external ecosystem, and embed a data-driven execution culture across multiple channels, including distributors, resellers, wholesalers, digital marketplaces, and direct accounts.

You will spearhead the discovery, validation, and commercialization of new applications and market opportunities, ensuring your teams engage deeply with target customers, academic partners, key opinion leaders, and ecosystem collaborators to run proofs of concept and convert them into revenue. Working in close partnership with global marketing and product management, you will co-develop go-to-market approaches and translate ecosystem insights into compelling value propositions. Your field leadership will be visible and decisive: joining critical customer engagements, co-developing deals, and personally driving key opportunities to close when pipeline gaps emerge.

You will instil an outbound-first growth mindset across your teams, establishing new-contact targets as core performance indicators and ensuring proactive market adaptation in response to demand shifts, regulatory changes, technology trends, and competitive dynamics. Cross-functional alignment with sales, global marketing, and product management will be central to your remit, as will stakeholder management across multiple regions conducted in business-level English. You will be accountable for performance metrics spanning growth, territory coverage, activity, and quality outcomes — and you will lead your teams through change with clarity, purpose, and resilience.

Who You Are

You bring a proven track record of leading both sales development and field sales teams, with deep knowledge of the Japanese life science or related B2B market and the ability to operate effectively within a multinational organization.
You have extensive B2B life science or adjacent sector experience, with a strong understanding of application development, ecosystem partnerships, and multi-channel go-to-market strategies.
You demonstrate the ability to lead teams in demand creation, manage complex channel and partner relationships, and translate market intelligence into actionable commercial strategies.
You are a strategic thinker with hands-on execution capability — equally comfortable setting direction at a senior level and engaging directly in the field to drive critical opportunities forward.
You possess strong leadership, coaching, and change management skills, with a track record of inspiring teams through transformation and delivering on ambitious targets.
You are data-driven in your decision-making, with disciplined pipeline management, forecast integrity, and a commitment to key performance indicator governance.
You communicate with confidence and clarity at business level in both Japanese and English, enabling effective engagement with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders across regions.

私たちが提供するもの：私たちは、さまざまな背景、視点、人生経験を持つ好奇心旺盛な人々で構成されるグループです。この多様性が卓越性と革新を促進し、科学と技術のリーダーシップを強化すると信じています。私たちは、すべての人が自分のペースで成長し発展するためのアクセスと機会を創出することにコミットしています。何百万もの人々に影響を与え、誰もが人類の進歩を支持できるようにする包括性と帰属感のある文化を築くために私たちに参加してください！

今すぐ応募して、発見を促し、人類の発展を高めることに専念するチームの一員になりましょう！