Director, Regional Launch Program Manager

About the role

This role orchestrates multi-regional launch readiness for rare disease therapies, aligning clinical, regulatory, and commercial teams to execute time-sensitive commercialization milestones. The position drives end-to-end program governance and risk management for demanding genetic and ultra-rare disease portfolios. Success requires fluency in Japanese and business-level English to serve as the primary liaison between regional, global, and executive stakeholders.

Leaders set direction and build the conditions for their teams to succeed. They hire, coach, and hold people accountable. Leadership work spans strategy, communication, and decision making. Effective leaders give clear context and remove obstacles for the people who report to them. Leadership roles are measured by team outcomes, retention, and delivery. Most organizations expect leaders to be visible, predictable, and generous with context.

Key facts

Requirements

Fluency in Japanese, both written and spoken, is required alongside a strong understanding of Japanese culture and business practices. Business-level English communication skills are essential for global stakeholder collaboration. Position is located in the Tokyo area. Hold an advanced degree and a minimum of 15 years of industry experience. Bring at least 8 to 10 years of cross-functional leadership experience in commercializing products. Demonstrate advanced science and clinical acumen, with preferred experience in genetic and rare diseases. Exhibit cross-functional team and relationship-building skills. Have previous work and leadership experience in international and multidisciplinary commercial teams. Master in-depth knowledge of commercial functions, business strategy, and business requirements. Apply outstanding project management skills, including designing, developing, and managing schedules and resource allocation. Critically and objectively interpret scientific and competitive, business-related information. Exercise wide latitude in defining objectives and approaches with minimal strategic direction from senior leadership. Possess solid leadership skills and strong interpersonal, communication, and negotiation abilities. Maintain outstanding verbal and written communication skills for bridging scientific and business participants.

Nice to have

Experience in rare and ultra-rare disease drug development and global launches.

Skills & tools

Project management, cross-functional collaboration, launch planning, risk registers, dashboards, and business strategy analysis.

Practical notes

Fluency in Japanese and business-level English are non-negotiable requirements for this role. Typical interview steps

Leadership hiring usually includes a strategy case, a people scenario, and a values conversation. Candidates may be asked to turn around a struggling team or plan for growth. Past results are examined closely, especially how decisions were made. Interviewers dig into specific decisions you made and their consequences. Preparing two or three decision stories with numbers and lessons is the best use of time.

Good to know

The role focuses on coordinating complex, multi-regional launches for therapies addressing rare diseases. Success depends on advanced clinical and commercial acumen, rigorous project management, and cross-cultural communication. Tools commonly used include launch readiness platforms, risk registers, and collaboration dashboards. The position demands autonomy, strategic thinking, and resilience in a fast-moving biopharma environment.

Questions to ask

Worth asking in any interview: how the team measures success, who the role works with daily, what the onboarding looks like, and what the company is trying to achieve this year. Asking what past hires did well is a strong final question. Keep the list short and pick the questions that matter most to you.

Career growth

Leadership careers move from manager to senior manager, director, and executive roles. Each step adds more scope and more responsibility for outcomes. The best leaders keep learning how to delegate, communicate, and decide. Leadership careers reward a record of building and developing people. The higher you go, the more your communication shapes the whole organization.