Head of International Sales (Pharma Ingredients) - EU, Africa & MENA
Head of International Sales
About the Company
A active healthcare organisation with a strong heritage in delivering high‑quality, locally manufactured pharmaceutical and OTC products to global markets.
With several hundred employees worldwide and commercial activities across more than 80 countries, the company's mission is centred around providing safe, effective healthcare products with consistent, audited quality standards.
This position plays a central role in shaping the organisation's global commercial direction and driving market growth across a diverse international portfolio.
Your Responsibilities
- Define and execute the commercial strategy for assigned regions spanning Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, ensuring alignment with organisational goals.
- Deliver annual revenue, market share, and margin targets across multiple markets.
- Lead annual budget planning, forecasting, and performance reviews.
- Oversee the planning and execution of new product launches and ensure the success of marketing and promotional campaigns.
- Monitor market dynamics to proactively identify opportunities, risks, and strategic growth drivers.
Leadership & Market Excellence
- Lead and develop regional and in‑market commercial teams, managing a network of local partners and market managers.
- Build a high‑performance culture aligned with organisational values, focusing on ownership, accountability, and collaboration.
- Serve as the commercial link between internal stakeholders, including Marketing, Medical, Regulatory, and Supply Chain.
- Maintain strong relationships with distributors, authorities, pharmacies, and healthcare stakeholders to support registrations and market expansion.
International Market Engagement
- Conduct regular market visits to strengthen commercial insight, deepen partnerships, and identify new growth opportunities.
- Resolve on‑the‑ground challenges through structured action plans and decisive, solution‑oriented leadership.
Sustainable Business Development
- Create and annually update medium‑term commercial growth plans for assigned regions.
- Lead commercial projects aimed at improving profitability, market penetration, and organisational efficiency.
- Implement structural and process improvements in line with the company's long‑term commercial strategy.
Salesforce Excellence & Digitisation
- Drive Salesforce effectiveness initiatives: capability development, coaching, performance optimisation.
- Identify and deploy digital tools to improve sales visibility, efficiency, and execution excellence.
Requirements
- Master in Life Sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy, Business, or related disciplines, ideally with international exposure.
- Minimum 6 years of leadership experience guiding teams in international commercial roles.
- Strong track record in Sales and Product Launches within pharmaceuticals, OTC/FMCG, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, or related sectors.
- High commercial acumen with strong decision‑making ability in complex and fast‑moving markets.
- Excellent communication skills in English and German, additional languages are an advantage.
- High intercultural competence and enthusiasm for working with diverse cultures and markets.
- Willingness to travel internationally (30%).
- Based at headquarters with regular weekly on‑site presence required.
- Strong preference for candidates experienced and confident operating in markets with traditional gender expectations.
- Entrepreneurial mindset: hands‑on, proactive, and capable of structuring and scaling international commercial teams.
What's on Offer
- A senior commercial leadership role with strategic influence across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
- Opportunity to build and professionalise an international sales structure.
- Collaborative, performance‑driven environment with strong organisational values.
- Competitive compensation including bonus and additional benefits.
- Flexible working arrangements and access to wellbeing, learning, and development programs.
- Company‑wide events, social activities, and cross‑functional collaboration.
- A supportive culture that values initiative, ownership, and continuous improvement.
FAQs
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