Pharma Operations Manager

Our client is part of a large family-owned conglomerate employing 6,500 employees in 6 countries in different sectors, one of which is a pharmaceutical arm of the company. We are looking for an Operations Manager for a pharmaceutical company that has its own sales, marketing, and distribution infrastructure in Dubai and operations in GCC countries and West Africa.

This senior executive role reports directly to General Manager Finance / Managing Director and is a key part of the company's leadership team. The selected candidate will also serve as a key contributor to strategic decision-making for successfully running a pharma division & shaping the full pharma operations in the UAE for the organization.

• P&L Leadership: Fully responsible for the sales, marketing, & distribution services of the company P&L to drive financial success and sustainable growth.
• Unlock Business Growth: Launch first-to-market pharma products, innovative generics, differentiated generics, OTC products and execute high-impact pharma projects to seize new business opportunities.
• Optimize and Expand: Streamline processes, unlock new opportunities, and drive market expansion by selling companies products to targeted clinicians & pharmacist communities in the UAE.
• Empower Teams: Inspire and lead high-performing teams with a total of approx. 60 team members, which includes 2 pharma line managers handling 10 therapeutic segments with 9 product specialists and one sales manager led by a dedicated sales team for pharma products for sales & marketing of partner brands & companies' own agency-branded pharma products & OTC products in UAE.
• Warehouse operations: Take complete charge of warehouse management, including import, logistics, distribution services, software & people management, maintaining the cold chain warehousing, and all quality maintenance & certifications as per UAE MOH regulations (MOH, ISO, GDP & GSP). 
• Take full responsibility for the Pharma division, which includes HR, IT, admin, PR, marketing, accounting, & financial aspects, to make arrangements in place for smooth operations for a profitable & sustainable organization.

Qualifications:

• Master in business & Bachelor's/Masters's degree in Pharmaceutical Science are a MUST.
• 15 to 20+ years in the pharmaceutical industry focused on innovative & branded generics, pharmaceutical Medical devices, and branded OTC products in the UAE. Excellent knowledge of pharmacology subjects & clinicians' needs in the UAE.
• Proven experience as a pharmaceutical operation manager on the ground in the UAE, with a track record of achieving financial targets and delivering growth.
• Minimum 5 to 10 years of experience in handling the full pharma division in the United Arab Emirates.
• Knows the UAE pharmaceutical market, including purchasers, decision makers at various public & private healthcare institutions, chain pharmacy management, & private pharmacies in all the emirates to drive the sales & marketing of company products.
• Strong expertise in selling pharmaceutical products, conducting market analysis and market access knowledge, and enlisting company products in insurance formularies for the desired sales achievements.
• Knows new product launch activities, marketing activities, brand & product management experiences, local conference participation, & has expertise working with cross-functional teams.
• Management of a pharmaceutical warehouse: warehouse management, including pharmaceutical import, MOH laws & regulations for registered pharma products, logistics, distribution services, software & people management, maintaining the cold chain warehousing, all quality maintenance & certifications as per UAE MOH regulations (MOH, ISO, GDP & GSP).

Key Responsibilities:

• Overseas daily commercial activities of pharmaceutical operations in UAE.
• Responsible for P&L and desirables for sustainable growth of the pharma division.
• Launch pharma products, including innovative & branded generics, pharmaceutical medical devices, and branded OTC products in the UAE.
• Be responsible for sales numbers & remain on the ground in the UAE, achieving financial targets and delivering growth.
• Overseas product availability in key accounts, public & private healthcare institutions, chain pharmacies, & private pharmacies in all the emirates to drive sales & marketing.
• Distribution & Warehouse management: Import & inventory management activities of a pharmaceutical warehouse & distribution of products in pvt & Government formularies
• Local market access knowledge, enlisting company products in insurance formularies for the desired sales achievements.
• Relevant experience in government & local tenders, contracts, and quotations in MOH, DOH, SEHA, HAAD, DM, Rafed, and other new purchasing authorities.
• Knows how to launch new products, marketing activities, brand & product management experience, local conferences like DUPHAT participations, & has expertise working with cross-functional teams.
• Understand the new concept-based innovative pharma products: Takes proven and registered existing & new products from business development & launches them in the market with a vision to bring desired sales numbers. Also proposes new products, which can be future growth products for the business development department.
• Conducts discrete market research & surveys for registered & proposed new products gives forecasts and remains committed to quarterly & yearly targets. Contribute towards competitor scenarios & analysis of proposed or upcoming products from the business development department in terms of tentative forecasting & marketing insights.