Associate Director Sample Operations & Effectiveness

About the role

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At Bayer, we believe work should matter. Every day, our teams push toward a future where "Health for all, Hunger for none" is within reach, and every role, from the lab to the field to the boardroom, helps us get there. We give people the ownership to shape outcomes, the support to grow through new skills and experiences, and a global community where different perspectives are valued. If you want your work to count and the room to become your best, you'll find it here.

About the role

Bayer Pharmaceuticals is committed to delivering on its mission, Health for All, Hunger for None, by advancing a portfolio of innovative treatments. As Bayer advances its operating model toward Dynamic Shared Ownership, with an increased focus on customer-oriented and mission-based work, the goal of the Promotional Programs & Sample Operations function is to operationalize core activities supporting the Customer Engagement organization.

The Associate Director, Sample Operations & Effectiveness is responsible for leading the day-to-day operational activities associated with Bayer’s sampling programs across US Pharmaceuticals. The position ensures compliant and effective program execution while using analytics, performance measurement, and optimization approaches to improve sample allocation, inventory utilization, and overall program effectiveness.

The role works closely with Customer Engagement, Field Business Systems & Operations, Product and Portfolio teams, Compliance, Data and Analytics, Supply Chain, Technology teams, and external vendor partners.

This position is located in Whippany, NJ.

Your Tasks and Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of this role, Associate Director Sample Operations & Effectiveness, are to:

Sample Effectiveness and Analytics

• Develop and maintain a sample effectiveness framework to evaluate the performance of Bayer’s sampling programs.
• Establish key performance indicators for sample utilization, practitioner reach, ordering activity, fulfillment, inventory utilization, and program performance.
• Develop recurring dashboards, scorecards, and reports that provide visibility into sample program performance.
• Analyze sample activity to identify trends, utilization patterns, operational gaps, and improvement opportunities.
• Integrate relevant sample, practitioner, field activity, product, and market information to support business reviews and decision-making.
• Provide Product teams, Customer Engagement, Field leadership, and other stakeholders with actionable insights regarding sample program performance.
• Establish performance baselines and benchmarks for existing sampling programs and new program launches.
• Assess the impact of changes to sampling programs, allocations, capabilities, or processes.
• Present findings, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions to appropriate business stakeholders and leadership.

Sample Optimization

• Develop approaches to optimize sample allocations based on approved business rules, practitioner needs, historical utilization, product strategy, territory requirements, inventory availability, and compliance considerations.
• Identify potential over-allocation, underutilization, inventory imbalances, ordering anomalies, and gaps in sample availability.
• Recommend adjustments to allocation quantities, reorder thresholds, and distribution approaches based on program data and business needs.
• Partner with Product teams and Field leadership to align sample allocation approaches with approved brand and customer engagement strategies.
• Support the development of sample allocation and distribution strategies for product launches, indication expansions, field force changes, and other significant business events.
• Conduct scenario analyses to evaluate the potential inventory, operational, and financial implications of proposed sampling changes.
• Evaluate the results of implemented optimization initiatives and refine recommendations based on observed performance.
• Identify opportunities to reduce product expiration, excess inventory, avoidable destruction, emergency shipments, and unnecessary operational costs.

Vendor Management

• Manage third-party vendors and service providers supporting sample operations and accountability.
• Oversee sample allocations, transfers, disbursements, shipment procedures, and activities supporting compliant sample programs, including direct-to-practitioner sampling, the HCP Sample Portal, and applicable product replacement programs.
• Manage vendor-related master service agreements, statements of work, and associated documentation.
• Track vendor spending against approved statements of work and budgets.
• Coordinate with vendors to ensure operational issues are identified, escalated, and resolved appropriately.

Inventory Management and Logistics

• Establish and maintain appropriate inventory levels and reorder processes.
• Maintain significant-loss metrics and related reporting.
• Ensure inventory is managed in alignment with approved product sampling strategies.
• Partner with internal logistics and supply chain teams to support appropriate product shipment and distribution.
• Monitor sample inventory, product availability, and operational risks that could affect program execution.

Service and Support

• Serve as the primary support function for field questions, service requests, and operational issues related to sampling programs.
• Coordinate with internal teams and external vendors to resolve issues affecting sample ordering, fulfillment, shipment, accountability, or system access.
• Provide subject-matter expertise regarding sampling processes, policies, systems, and operating requirements.

SOPs, Compliance, and Audit Readiness

• Ensure the compliant execution of sampling programs in alignment with the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, applicable state requirements, Bayer policies, and other regulations governing US pharmaceutical sampling.
• Ensure compliant execution of applicable product replacement programs.
• Maintain SOPs, work instructions, operational documentation, and appropriate evidence of control execution.
• Maintain audit readiness and documentation excellence across internal operations and external vendors.
• Support internal audits, regulatory inspections, investigations, and related information requests.
• Collaborate closely with Compliance on sample accountability, program requirements, process changes, and issue resolution.

Sales Training

• Develop and maintain training curricula and materials for field teams participating in sampling programs.
• Track and report completion of required sampling training, as needed.
• Serve as an internal subject-matter expert and trainer on sampling programs, systems, policies, and operational processes.
• Update training content when program requirements, policies, systems, or operating processes change.

Sampling Capabilities

• Enable and support sampling programs across approved platforms, including Veeva CRM, the HCP Sample Portal and any future platforms.
• Partner with appropriate business and technology teams to maintain operational continuity across sampling capabilities.
• Provide business input regarding system functionality and operational requirements.

Technology and Data Strategy

• Partner with Technology, Data and Analytics, Compliance, and vendor teams on the design, testing, implementation, and adoption of sampling capabilities.
• Establish consistent metric definitions, data-quality expectations, and reconciliation requirements for sample reporting.
• Identify opportunities to automate recurring reporting, inventory monitoring, allocation analysis, and operational workflows.
• Evaluate appropriate AI-enabled and advanced analytical capabilities that could improve forecasting, allocation decisions, operational monitoring, issue identification, and management reporting.
• Ensure that technology and data enhancements maintain appropriate compliance controls, documentation, and business ownership.
• Support user acceptance testing, implementation readiness, and business adoption for applicable system and reporting changes.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Experience in pharmaceutical or healthcare experience.
• Proven collaboration skills and the ability to work independently.
• Strong project-management skills.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to prioritize effectively and work under tight timelines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum of two years of experience managing sample operations vendors or suppliers.
• Minimum of five years of pharmaceutical or healthcare experience.
• Minimum of two years of experience managing Prescription Drug Marketing Act-compliant sample accountability programs.
• Experience analyzing operational, inventory, customer, or field activity data and translating findings into actionable recommendations.
• Experience developing performance measures, dashboards, scorecards, or management reporting.
• Experience with sample allocation, inventory optimization, demand forecasting, or field effectiveness analytics.
• Experience with Veeva CRM, pharmaceutical sampling platforms, or comparable commercial technologies.
• Experience developing business requirements for technology, workflow, data integration, or reporting enhancements.
• Proficiency with Excel and experience using business intelligence or data-visualization capabilities
• Experience supporting pharmaceutical product launches or significant sampling program changes.
• FDA audit experience.

Pay and benefits

Employees can expect to be paid a salary of between $163,200.00 - $224,000.00. Additional compensation may include a bonus or commission (if relevant). Additional benefits include health care, vision, dental, retirement, PTO, sick leave, etc. This salary range is merely an estimate and may vary based on an applicant’s location, market data/ranges, an applicant’s skills and prior relevant experience, certain degrees and certifications, and other relevant factors. This posting will be available for application until at least: 11/9/2026.

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Your Application

Bayer offers a wide variety of competitive compensation and benefits programs. If you meet the requirements of this unique opportunity, and want to impact our mission Health for all, Hunger for none, we encourage you to apply now. Be part of something bigger. Be you. Be Bayer.

To all recruitment agencies: Bayer does not accept unsolicited third party resumes.