Mgr - Strategic Market Research

Manager - Market Research (Strategic Market Assessments) will lead complex, multi-workstream market research and analytics engagements that support enterprise strategy, growth initiatives, and leadership decision-making across Cencora's global businesses. This role combines strong market research leadership with hands-on data and analytics fluency, including SQL, Databricks, advanced Excel and PowerPoint, to ensure analytical rigor, scalability, and consistency of insights. The Manager must possess solid working knowledge of clinical trials, pharmaceutical pipelines, and therapy landscapes, enabling effective oversight, hypothesis framing, and quality review. The role is highly stakeholder-facing and requires the ability to translate ambiguous business questions into structured research programs and executive-ready outputs.

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and performance-manage a team of Senior Research Analysts and Research Analysts; Review and guide analytical approaches across market sizing, forecasting, competitive intelligence, pipeline assessments, and value-chain analyses; Foster a culture of analytical rigor, learning, and continuous improvement; Translate senior leadership and business stakeholder questions into structured research programs covering market dynamics, competition, growth opportunities, and strategic risks; Guide the design and execution of secondary research and, where applicable, primary research; Provide informed oversight on analyses involving clinical pipelines, trial progression, and therapy area evolution; Drive increased use of data-driven approaches across the team, including advanced Excel-based models, SQL-driven data extraction and validation, and Databricks or similar analytics platforms; Ensure consistency in data definitions, taxonomies, assumptions, and documentation across projects; Oversee development of repeatable analytical frameworks, reusable datasets, and BI-enabled outputs; Partner closely with Strategy, M&A, Therapeutic Area teams, Innovation, and other global functions; Own intake and workflow management for research requests from the Strategy Enablement Team; Act as a trusted thought partner to senior stakeholders; Identify emerging trends, unmet information needs, and best practices across healthcare markets, analytics, and competitive intelligence; Contribute to the evolution of research frameworks, market taxonomies, and knowledge assets; Ensure all outputs meet high standards of documentation, narrative clarity, and executive-level presentation

Requirements

Master’s degree in Business, Life Sciences, Economics, Public Health, or a related field; 9–12 years of relevant experience in market research, strategic insights, competitive intelligence, analytics, or consulting, with strong exposure to healthcare and/or pharmaceutical domains; 8-12 years of relevant experience in market research, strategic insights, or consulting; Demonstrated experience managing mid-sized research or analytics teams in a fast-paced, matrixed environment; Strong grounding in market research methodologies, including secondary research rigor, primary research design, and data triangulation; Working knowledge of pharmaceutical pipelines, clinical development stages, and therapy landscapes; Familiarity with leading healthcare and life sciences data sources such as IQVIA, Evaluate Pharma, Citeline, Definitive Healthcare, Symphony Health/Metys, IPD Analytics, public registries, PitchBook, and Capital IQ; Advanced Excel skills for market sizing, forecasting, and scenario analysis; Strong SQL proficiency for querying, validating, and integrating structured datasets; Working knowledge of Databricks or comparable analytics environments; Ability to guide teams toward scalable, well-documented, and auditable analytical outputs; Excellent PowerPoint and executive storytelling skills, with a track record of delivering clear, decision-ready insights; Strong stakeholder management capabilities, including comfort engaging with senior leaders; Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail and delivery excellence; Strong understanding of forecasting methodologies and data triangulation approaches; Proficiency in secondary research and familiarity with primary research design; Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills; Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with a track record of working with senior internal stakeholders

Nice to have

Experience working across multiple therapeutic areas, healthcare verticals, or value-chain segments; Experience with Power BI or similar BI tools; Knowledge of Power BI or SQL; Healthcare/pharma domain preferred