Vaccines First Line Sales Manager

Job Description

An amazing opportunity has arisen for a VACCINES First Line Sales Manager in Portugal. Reporting to the Vaccines Business Unit Director, this role will lead and develop a team of Sales Representatives across the assigned territory, driving business performance, customer engagement, and disciplined execution of commercial plans.

This position is responsible for translating strategy into action, guiding territory and account planning, and fostering a high-performance culture built on accountability, collaboration, compliance, and continuous improvement. The role also oversees people management, including coaching, capability development, performance management, and talent attraction and retention.

 

What you will do

Bring energy, knowledge, innovation and leadership to carry out the following:

• Lead, coach and develop the Sales Representative team, driving performance, engagement, and delivery of business objectives.
• Support territory and account planning across priority customers and accounts, ensuring disciplined follow-up and consistent execution.
• Oversee key account strategy and customer relationship development, while identifying growth opportunities and supporting trusted partnerships.
• Partner cross-functionally with Sales teams, Brand & Customer Managers, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Policy, Communications and other relevant teams to support business priorities and customer needs.
• Foster a culture of accountability, agility, collaboration, transparency and continuous improvement.
• Ensure excellence in omnichannel execution, compliance, and coherent customer experience across the territory.

 

What skills you will need

In order to excel in this role, you will more than likely have:

• University degree, preferably in Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Pharmacy, Medicine, Nursing, Biomedical Sciences, Business, Management, or another relevant discipline.
• Proven experience in sales leadership, field force management, account management, or a comparable commercial leadership role.
• Strong people leadership skills, with demonstrated ability to coach, develop, motivate and manage performance within a sales team.
• Solid business acumen, commercial judgement, and ability to translate strategy into clear territory, account, and team execution plans.
• Strong understanding of customer engagement, stakeholder management, and relationship-building in a healthcare or complex customer environment.
• Analytical mindset with confidence using CRM systems, business dashboards, customer insights, and approved digital tools to inform decisions and improve execution.
• Ability to use approved artificial intelligence tools responsibly, critically, and in line with company policies, while retaining full accountability for final outputs.
• Strong collaboration skills and ability to work effectively with cross-functional partners.
• Strong growth mindset, demonstrating a commitment to continuous learning, self-development, and the ability to adapt effectively in a fast-changing healthcare and commercial environment.
• Fluency in Portuguese and appropriate professional proficiency in English, with a valid driving licence and availability to travel regularly within the assigned territory.

 

Why Join Us?

As a company, we keep the patient at the very heart of all that we do and strive to find solutions and treatments for some of the world’s most challenging healthcare needs.

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing diverse, talented, and committed people together. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when diverse ideas come together in an inclusive environment.

This role offers the opportunity to work in a dynamic, changing healthcare environment, combining scientific credibility, customer focus, digital capability and commercial judgement. It is designed for someone who is results-oriented, accountable and motivated to deliver impact across territory, accounts and patient pathways.

So, if you are ready to... please apply today.

If you are ready to combine customer engagement, scientific communication and territory ownership in a role with strong cross-functional exposure, please apply today.

 

Required Skills:

Account Management, Account Management, Adaptability, Business Acumen, Business Agility, Business Decisions, Customer Centricity, Customer Engagement, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Ethical Standards, Financial Acumen, Goal Setting, Hospital Sales, Key Account Management, Market Analysis, Market Opportunity Analysis, Partner Relationship Management (PRM), People Leadership, Pharmaceutical Sales, Product Knowledge, Product Launches, Progress Monitoring, Relationship Management, Results-Oriented, Sales Leadership {+ 10 more}

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

09/30/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.