Team Lead, Sales Operations

Job Description Summary

Sandoz continues to go through an exciting and transformative period as a global leader and pioneering provider of sustainable Biosimilar and Generic medicines. As we continue down this new and ambitious path, unique opportunities will present themselves, both professionally and personally. Join us, the future is ours to shape!

Lead and coordinate the B2B Sales Operations team, ensuring effective execution of the end-to-end Order-to-Cash process and maintain strong operational performance. The role oversees all Sales Operations activities for a key region, including managing team capacity and workload prioritization, supporting team development, and ensuring delivery against defined objectives with clear reporting. It also involves managing order processing for designated B2B customers across APIs and FDFs supplied to third parties, while maintaining alignment between local execution and global standards. Additionally, the role focuses on enhancing customer experience, promoting process consistency, and supporting continuous improvement initiatives in close collaboration with commercial, supply chain, and finance teams.

Job Description

Major Accountabilities

• Lead and support the sales Operations team through structured onboarding, continuous training, coaching, and performance management to ensure strong performance. Contribute to and support supply chain–related projects, transformation initiatives, and global process harmonization efforts.

• Ensure new team members are effectively onboarded through appropriate system access, training, and ongoing support to enable timely and high‑quality performance in their roles. Proactively establish robust backup and knowledge‑transfer structures to reduce key‑person dependency and ensure service continuity.

• Plan and allocate team capacity effectively to ensure uninterrupted, high‑quality service delivery aligned with workload, priorities, and business demands. Champion customer and account-related topics across the organization, raising awareness of risks, opportunities, and service improvement needs.

• Handle and resolve escalated operational issues, including complex orders, invoicing discrepancies, and customer complaints. Contribute to and support supply chain–related projects, transformation initiatives, and global process harmonization efforts.

• Ensure consistent adherence to customer service processes, internal controls, and established SOPs; coordinate updates to SOPs in line with process or system changes. Own end‑to‑end customer service activities, including forecasting, order management, dunning, complaints handling, and Artwork management, in compliance with internal guidelines and customer-specific requirements.

• Act as the primary contact point and interface for defined external customers, ensuring proactive, solution‑oriented communication and timely resolution of inquiries. Partner closely with Sales Directors, STO, and cross‑functional stakeholders (Supply Chain, Finance, Quality, IT) to align priorities and act as a trusted internal advisor. Drive timely and accurate order execution through relevant systems, while continuously monitoring the end‑to‑end Order‑to‑Cash process to meet service and performance targets.

• Lead and support continuous improvement initiatives within Sales Operations, including standardization, process optimization, and system enhancements. Ensure timely reporting and escalation of technical complaints and transport deviations in line with quality and regulatory requirements.

• Contribute to and support supply chain–related projects, transformation initiatives, and global process harmonization efforts. Demonstrate the ability to identify unusual trends, variances, and risks in operational performance, and clearly communicate insights along with recommended actions.

Key Performance Indicators (Indicate key facts and figures)

• Achievement of overall team performance targets, including top‑line and bottom-line objectives.

• Customer satisfaction and quality of end‑to‑end service delivery.

• Timely and effective operational support to the Commercial organization.

• Quality of collaboration and feedback from internal stakeholders.

• On‑Time‑In‑Full (OTIF) delivery performance.

• Timely execution of planned product launches and business transfers.

• Results of audits and self‑inspections relevant to Sales Operations.

• SFCF control outcomes related to Sales Operations processes and responsibilities.

Individual performance objectives and development goals as defined and evaluated through Sandoz’s performance management framework in Workday

Education:

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in supply chain management, Business Administration, or a related field is required.

• A master’s degree in business administration or a related discipline is preferred.

Languages:

English

Experience and Skills:

• 10–12 years of progressive experience in supply chain management, sales operations, project management, or related functions, preferably within a pharmaceutical or Global Capability Center (GCC) environment.

• Strong understanding of end‑to‑end sales and commercial processes, including complex Order‑to‑Cash (O2C) workflows.

• In‑depth knowledge of complex supply chain, logistics, and inventory management processes in a global, matrixed organization.

• Experience managing and supporting teams, including guiding and motivating team members.

• Experience leading projects and working with different teams to achieve results.

• Hands‑on functional expertise in SAP (SD, MM, and FI modules), with experience supporting or leading SAP S/4HANA implementation.

• Strong ability to collaborate effectively with diverse teams and senior stakeholders across different geographies, cultures, and functions.

Why Sandoz?

Generic and Biosimilar medicines are the backbone of the global medicines industry. Sandoz, a leader in this sector, provided more than 900 million patient treatments across 100+ countries in 2024 and while we are proud of this achievement, we have an ambition to do more!

With investments in new development capabilities, production sites, new acquisitions, and partnerships, we have the opportunity to shape the future of Sandoz and help more patients gain access to low-cost, high-quality medicines, sustainably.

Our momentum is powered by an open, collaborative culture driven by our talented and ambitious colleagues, who, in return for applying their skills experience an agile and collegiate environment with impactful, flexible-hybrid careers, where diversity is welcomed and where personal growth is supported!

Join us!

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:

We are committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Skills Desired

Calls Handling, Curiosity, Customer Care, Customer Experience, Customer Relations, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Service, Customer-Support, E-Learning, Field Service Management, Front-End Development, Order Management, Professionalism, Sales, Waterfall Project Management