Country Medical Director

An international pharmaceutical company is seeking an experienced Medical Director to lead a local Medical Affairs organization and play a key role in shaping medical strategy across a specialty care portfolio.

This position is responsible for advancing patient outcomes through the generation and communication of high-quality scientific evidence, building strong external partnerships, and supporting the successful execution of medical plans across the market. The Medical Director will also serve as a strategic member of the country leadership team, ensuring medical excellence, compliance, and patient-centricity across all activities.

Key Responsibilities

Medical Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership to the local Medical Affairs team, ensuring excellence in the development and execution of medical plans that improve patient outcomes.
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team while fostering key capabilities and succession planning.
• Serve as a key member of the local leadership team, providing medical insight and strategic direction to the broader business.
• Ensure the highest standards of medical governance, compliance, and ethical decision-making.
• Collaborate closely with global medical colleagues to align local evidence-generation activities, scientific communications, and therapeutic area strategies.
• Manage local medical operations, budgets, and implementation of global medical processes and systems.
• Foster a culture centered on scientific excellence, innovation, patient focus, and strong external engagement.
• Contribute to the ongoing evolution of Medical Affairs as a strategic business partner within the organization.

External Scientific Engagement

• Establish and maintain productive scientific relationships with key opinion leaders, healthcare institutions, medical societies, and other external stakeholders.
• Lead patient engagement initiatives and collaborate with advocacy groups to ensure the patient perspective is embedded within medical activities.
• Act as a credible scientific representative and medical ambassador for the organization when appropriate.
• Support collaborative interactions across the healthcare ecosystem and contribute to the resolution of scientific and medical matters.

Cross-Functional Medical Leadership

• Provide expert scientific and medical guidance across a broad range of strategic and operational initiatives.
• Partner closely with Commercial, Marketing, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, Clinical Development, Market Access, and R&D teams.
• Oversee the review and approval of promotional and non-promotional materials, ensuring compliance with local regulations and industry standards.
• Collaborate with Legal and Compliance teams to uphold the highest standards of governance and ethical conduct.
• Act as a trusted advisor to business leaders, helping shape strategy through evidence-based medical insight.

Candidate Profile

Education

• Medical Doctor (MD) or Pharmacist.
• MD strongly preferred.

Qualifications

• MD, MPharm, or equivalent scientific qualification.
• Higher medical degree and/or qualification in Pharmaceutical Medicine preferred.

Experience

• Minimum 7 years of Medical Affairs experience within the pharmaceutical industry.
• Minimum 2 years of clinical practice experience.
• Previous experience within Specialty Care, Hospital Products, Rare Diseases, Infectious Diseases, or other highly scientific therapeutic areas.
• Proven experience leading medical teams and working within a matrix organization.
• Experience supporting product launches and building external scientific partnerships.
• Medical signatory experience is advantageous.
• Exposure to international or global Medical Affairs environments is preferred.