Head of Strategic Marketing

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Marketing & Portfolio Leadership

• Develop and execute the long-term marketing strategy for ZEISS Ophthalmology in India.
• Define portfolio positioning, value propositions, and customer segmentation strategies across cataract, refractive, surgical, diagnostic, and digital workflows.
• Identify growth opportunities across customer segments, channels, and care pathways.
• Lead annual marketing planning, budgeting, and performance reviews.
• Ensure all marketing investments are linked to measurable commercial outcomes.

2. KOL Strategy & Clinical Advocacy

• Build and lead a structured national KOL engagement and advocacy program.
• Develop relationships with leading ophthalmologists, academic institutions, societies, and clinical influencers.
• Identify and nurture emerging KOLs to strengthen ZEISS’ future influence network.
• Drive generation and dissemination of India-specific clinical evidence and success stories.
• Measure advocacy impact through surgeon engagement, influence, and commercial outcomes.

3. Professional Education & ZEISS Academy

• Lead ZEISS Academy India as a strategic platform for surgeon development and clinical excellence.
• Design and execute national education programs including wet labs, masterclasses, fellowships, simulation training, and digital learning initiatives.
• Build scalable education models that strengthen surgeon capability, loyalty, and preference for ZEISS technologies.
• Establish ROI measurement frameworks for all education initiatives.
• Lead congress and scientific engagement strategy across national and regional ophthalmology forums.

4. Product Launch & Market Development

• Lead end-to-end new product introduction and launch excellence.
• Conduct market assessments, opportunity sizing, and launch planning.
• Develop differentiated go-to-market strategies for new technologies and workflows.
• Ensure launch readiness across Sales, Clinical, Service, Operations, and Global stakeholders.
• Accelerate adoption and commercial success of newly launched products and services.

5. Demand Generation & Customer Engagement

• Develop integrated B2B, B2B2C, and patient-awareness programs that support business growth.
• Create initiatives that enhance patient awareness and premium procedure adoption.
• Partner with hospitals, eye-care chains, and key accounts to drive workflow utilization and patient conversion.
• Develop customer journey programs that improve awareness, consideration, adoption, and advocacy.

6. Digital Marketing & Commercial Enablement

• Lead digital marketing strategy and marketing automation platforms.
• Drive lead generation, nurturing, and conversion programs in partnership with Sales.
• Utilize digital channels, webinars, social media, content marketing, and marketing automation to drive demand.
• Establish performance dashboards and analytics frameworks to continuously improve ROI.

7. Customer & Market Insights

• Build a robust market intelligence capability covering customer needs, competitive activity, market trends, and emerging opportunities.
• Translate insights into actionable business strategies and growth initiatives.
• Support portfolio planning, product development, and commercial decision-making through data-driven recommendations.

8. Team Leadership

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing marketing and professional education organization.
• Create a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Develop future marketing leaders through coaching, mentoring, and capability-building initiatives.
• Foster strong partnerships across Sales, Clinical, Service, Finance, and Global teams.

9. Governance & Budget Management

• Own the strategic marketing and professional education budget.
• Ensure effective resource allocation and return on investment.
• Maintain compliance with ZEISS policies, healthcare regulations, and ethical standards.
• Provide regular business reviews and performance updates to leadership.

Qualifications & Experience

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Marketing, Life Sciences, Engineering, Healthcare, or related field.
• MBA preferred.

Experience

• 12–15 years of progressive experience in healthcare, medical technology, or life sciences marketing.
• Experience in ophthalmology, surgical devices, diagnostics, or premium healthcare markets preferred.
• Demonstrated success in strategic marketing, product launches, KOL engagement, and demand generation.
• Proven experience leading and developing high-performing teams.

Critical Success Factors

• Strategic marketing and portfolio leadership
• Clinical advocacy and KOL management
• Professional education program development
• Product launch excellence
• Digital marketing and demand generation
• Commercial acumen and business impact orientation
• Stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Leadership and talent development

Key Performance Indicators

• Revenue growth and market share expansion
• Portfolio adoption and premium mix improvement
• New product launch performance
• Marketing-generated pipeline and conversion
• KOL engagement and advocacy outcomes
• Professional education effectiveness and reach
• Digital campaign ROI
• Team engagement, capability development, and retention

Your ZEISS Recruiting Team:

Sikcha Chhetri