Life Science Associate Director - Strategic Product Management

Associate Director, Strategic Product Management (Life Sciences Products & Platform)

When you join Cognizant's TriZetto Product House you not only touch the future, but you shape the next generation of healthcare. Come be part of a culture that Innovates through hackathons, celebrates through numerous rewards and recognition programs, and recreates through various flexible workforce benefits supporting a healthy work / life balance. Apply today and begin building a meaningful career that matters.

The Strategic Product Manager is responsible for the overall vision and strategy (both short- and long-term strategic planning), thought leadership, product and platform direction, owns pre-sales and enablement, innovation and partner management. Works closely with market units to close strategic opportunities and to meet revenue targets as well as develop partnerships.

Essential Functions

• Develop practice strategy :
• Define the Practice area and the outcomes the team aims to achieve for sponsors and sites (pharma eco-system)
• Develop insights on the key market and competitor trends with focus on tech evolution / new threats
• Develop a vision & comprehensive strategy for the LS PnP as well as execution roadmap
• Own offering management :
• Identify market gaps, opportunity for new offering development
• Develop offering strategy and roadmap aligned with the most attractive growth segments of the market
• Design and develop a suite of repeatable and scalable offerings that address critical sponsor business outcomes
• Manage lifecycle (ideation to retirement) & identify investment areas in new offering incubation, growth as needed
• Oversee offering evangelization internally (SLS, Client partners) and externally (analysts etc.)
• Manage sales trends :
• Manage translation of business problems into product solutions & work with sales leads; assist sales team qualifying prospects
• Participate with sales and account teams in executing select market segment penetration strategies
• Credentialize deals :
• Be accountable for directing the deal pursuit process end to end within the service line
• Ensure Pre-Sales team is engaging clients in region to explore opportunities and better define desired business outcomes, through workshops / digital dialogues / demos / PoCs
• Provide input for Pre-Sales team to support priority customers in imagining how solutions can improve their business
• Ensure team is equipped and trained to credentialize deals with customers though deep subject matter expertise & experience in the specific markets (industry / geo) / practice area
• Engage priority clients directly to credentialize deals
• Thought leadership :
• Engage with external analysts to position the product solution area expertise
• Define thought leadership & portfolio strategy, publish, educate the market and drive commercial conversations
• Owns alliance relationships :
• Own alliance relations and partnership with vendors
• Establish and develop new strategic alliances and partnerships to better business outcomes

Qualifications

Education :

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Economics, Advertising or Statistics. MBA desired. An equivalent combination of education and work experience may be taken into consideration in lieu of a degree.

Required Experience :

Minimum 10+ years in leadership role

Minimum 10+ years of complex solutioning experience, with broad life-sciences domain experience

Minimum 10+ years in experience in clinical trial life-cycle and pharma sponsor and site engagement

Preferred background :

Senior leadership role in product management, experienced in managing large global teams. Domain expertise across verticals. Track record of bringing products / offerings to market, as well as leveraging organizational capabilities to support offers / solutions.

Behavioral Competencies :

Strong problem-solving skills : Ability to analyze complex problems, identify solutions, and implement them effectively.

Excellent communication skills : Ability to clearly and effectively communicate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Functional / Practice knowledge : Understanding of Product management methodology, user centric design, and ability to generate, oversee actionable and impactful roadmap that effectively engages the organization to achieve strategic milestones.

Technical prowess : Deep technical expertise in SaaS collaboration platforms to bring to market offerings to address customer needs, and to create proof of concepts if needed, as well as commercialized solutions.

Industry knowledge : Deep knowledge of Life Sciences and Clinical Trials ecosystem; ability to communicate across stakeholders.

Commercial knowledge : Ability to analyze sales opportunities and qualify leads and opportunities.

Executive Presence : Effective executive communication skills to clearly articulate vision and lead effective teams across the enterprise; productively challenge counterparts, bringing valuable insights.

Relationship management : Outstanding interpersonal abilities; skilled in managing relationships with executive leadership and business units, effectively aligning stakeholders to strategic plans and mediating conflict.

Leadership experience : Excellent organizational and leadership skills to build strong Strategy function and lead by example; strong project management, budgeting, talent management, and business operations skills.

Salary and Other Compensation :

Applicants will be accepted till July 17th, 2025. The annual salary for this position will be in the range of $154K-$180K depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate. This position is also eligible for Cognizant's discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant's applicable plans.

Benefits : Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements :

Disclaimer : The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.

Our strength is built on our ability to work together. Our diverse backgrounds offer different perspectives and new ways of thinking. It encourages lively discussions, creativity, productivity, and helps us build better solutions for our clients. We want someone who thrives in this setting and is inspired to craft meaningful solutions through true collaboration.

If you are content with ambiguity, excited by change, and excel through autonomy, we'd love to hear from you!

Apply Now!

What we offer :

About us Cognizant is one of the world's leading professional services companies, transforming clients' business, operating, and technology models for the digital era. Our unique industry-based, consultative approach helps clients envision, build, and run more innovative and efficient businesses. Headquartered in the U.S., Cognizant (a member of the NASDAQ-100 and one of Forbes World's Best Employers 2024) is consistently listed among the most admired companies in the world. Learn how Cognizant helps clients lead with digital at www.cognizant.com.

Other employment-related information Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race