Regional Director - Middle East & French West Africa

Role Description

The Regional Director – Middle East & French West Africa will lead the establishment, expansion, and long‑term development of the company’s pharmaceutical business across the Middle East Region and Francophone West Africa. The role carries full regional P&L responsibility and is accountable for building a scalable commercial platform capable of delivering sustainable growth across multiple markets.

The regional expansion strategy will initially focus on establishing a strong presence in Iraq, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, followed by expansion into selected non-GCC Middle Eastern markets and key Frontier and West African (FWA) markets. Subsequently, the strategy will extend to GCC countries to further strengthen the company’s regional footprint.

This position represents a senior regional leadership role responsible for developing the company’s commercial footprint, building high‑performing country teams, establishing strong distributor and stakeholder relationships and delivering consistent financial and operational performance across the region.

The successful candidate will combine strong strategic leadership with hands‑on execution capability and an entrepreneurial mindset suited to building a regional business in the region.

Governance and Reporting Structure

The Regional Director will report to the Group Director International Business and will be responsible for overall governance, operational leadership, and financial performance of the defined region.

Key governance responsibilities include:

• Full regional profit and loss accountability
• Development and execution of regional business plans
• Establishment of effective governance and reporting processes
• Alignment of regional strategy with global corporate objectives
• Ensuring regulatory, financial, and operational compliance across all markets

Key Responsibilities:

Regional Strategy Development

• Develop and implement the commercial strategy for the region.
• Identify and prioritize new market entry opportunities including new countries, therapeutic segments, market segments, and product opportunities.
• Develop multi‑year regional growth plans including revenue targets, portfolio expansion, and market penetration strategies.
• Assess regulatory environments and competitive landscapes across the region.

Market Entry and Expansion

• Lead the planning and execution of country launches across priority markets.
• Establish commercial operations in new markets including distributor and promotional agency partnerships, commercial infrastructure, and local teams.
• Expand operations beyond the initial markets of Iraq, Senegal and Ivory Coast, into other regional markets.
• Drive early market entry and rapid product launch strategies.

Regulatory and Market Access Acceleration

• Assess regulatory environments across target markets.
• Devise and implement strategies and action plans to accelerate regulatory processes.
• Ensure early market entry and rapid new product launches through proactive regulatory planning and coordination.

Commercial Leadership

• Provide strategic and operational leadership to commercial teams across the region.
• Establish clear regional sales targets and financial performance expectations.
• Drive revenue growth and market share expansion across multiple markets.
• Ensure disciplined commercial execution at the country and front-line levels.

Organization and Team Development

• Recruit, develop, and lead strong country leadership and front-line teams.
• Foster a culture of engagement, accountability, and performance across all country teams.
• Drive continuous team development and capability building.
• Promote strong collaboration across commercial, regulatory, and operational functions.

Operational Leadership and Execution

• Maintain a hands‑on leadership approach with active involvement in on‑ground execution.
• Ensure disciplined implementation of commercial plans and market expansion initiatives.
• Work closely with distributors and local partners to ensure strong market penetration.
• Closely engage with key opinion leaders and key officers of major medical associations in the region and at the county level.

Business Monitoring and Performance Management

• Develop and implement robust business monitoring systems across the region.
• Establish performance management frameworks to track sales, profitability, and operational metrics.
• Monitor business perfor…