Sandoz Posted October 21, 2026

Country Head Saudi Arabia

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Full time
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Sandoz is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Job Description Summary

Has ultimate accountability for full P&L and for developing and implementing the local strategy and tactics of the affiliate. Defines agenda for, builds, and leads the local teams including marketing & sales, finance, medical, regulatory affairs, and other enabling functions. Responsible for delivering sales, market-share, growth and profit objectives, strengthening the company culture, and enhancing Sandoz's external reputation while supporting global/regional organizational objectives. Responsible for identifying key stakeholders/customers and establishing relationships to expand patient access for Sandoz products, by optimally using available resources. Builds a strong talent pipeline and high performing organization, based on Sandoz/Novartis culture and values.

Job Description

Major Accountabilities

Lead, manage and develop the overall performance of the country organizations and distribution markets, collaborating with the cluster to set strategy for current and future product portfolio, delivering sales and profits within agreed budgets, and providing effective leadership of its business divisions, functional groups, and support teams.

Communicate clear Country business vision and strategy (based on Sandoz Global vision/strategy) and ensure that these are reflected in a focused, lean, and responsive country organization.

Provide a strong and consistent voice in global and regional Sandoz forums, of which he/she is an active member, providing inputs on the local needs into global and regional strategic decisions, and gathering best practices for use by functions. Balance and prioritize needs of local, regional and global businesses in the implementation of country/ cluster strategy and operational plans.

In collaboration with Global and Regional functions, design, plan and oversee the execution of the creation of future-proof Legal and operational setup for the Cluster and in particular creation of Saudi Arabia Legal entity, and satellite rep offices where needed/relevant/approved; Adapt and optimize such setup also considering current and future country authorities requirements for regional headquarters presence, balancing opportunities and risk for Sandoz.

Develop the organization's product pipeline and portfolio and maximize success of key launches through effective leadership across the functions.

Lead, manage and develop the overall performance of the local organization, collaborating with the Cluster and the Regional Teams to set strategy for current and future product portfolio components, delivering sales and profits within agreed budgets, and providing effective leadership of its business divisions, functional groups, and enabling teams

Proactively shape the country market environment, defend and improve market position and depth of market access by developing strong, trust-based relationships with customers and stakeholders (e.g. regulators, pharma and healthcare associations, patient groups, customers, key accounts and KOLs).

Act as head and public face of the Sandoz Saudi Country organization, ensuring legal and ethical conduct, corporate compliance, and adherence to company guidelines and procedures.

Oversee in Country joint ventures, in-licensing agreements, and other business relationships that impact long-term company results.

Represent Sandoz in cross-divisional forums and build strong partnerships among peers in other units, ensuring strategic and operational alignment where relevant.

Strengthen Country organization by developing an excellence-oriented and customer-focused culture, fostering innovation, and building best-in-class teams that fully exploit all market opportunities, and internal systems, programs, and tools

Drive top-level talent acquisition, succession planning and development of all associates within the country and across the region/sub-region

Actively coach and partner with direct reports to build and implement their development plans.

Be a role model for Promoting a team-oriented culture built on psychological safety and trust.

Key Performance Indicators 

Financial & Business results (Revenue growth, Profitability, Market share) Strategy/Market Focus (Resource allocation, Long-term strategy, Portfolio plans, Launch & Market access effectiveness/impact, reputation), Operational Excellence; while embedding Compliance and Quality standards

Progress on strategic initiatives and projects (Growth, Op. Excellence)

People, Capabilities, and Management (Our Voice survey, Talent development, talent acquisition, Culture, D&I KPIs, Succession Plans strength, High profile turnover, Code of Ethics)

Job Dimensions (Indicate key facts and figures)

Number of associates:

≈60 FTE

Financial responsibility:

≈75 m$ total revenue

Impact on the organization:

High

Ideal Background (State the minimum and desirable education and experience level)

Education:

·         University degree in Life Sciences or Business

·         MBA preferred

·         Advanced degree in bioscience, medicine, business, and/or economics

Languages:

Fluency in spoken and written English is a prerequisite, while knowledge of other in-scope country languages would be an advantage

Experience/Professional Requirements:

Proven track record of P&L responsibility

Extensive (10-12) years of experience in executive positions within the pharmaceutical industry

Diverse Geographic experience is ideal

Strong track of developing and coaching others to grow into successful leaders and high performers.

Energized by creating a shared purpose and culture

Drive performance with integrity

Extremely well-developed understanding of country regulatory and market environments

Strong relationships with KOLs in regulatory bodies, customers, and/or media

Proven sales and marketing management ability

Solid understanding of product launch and product commercialization processes

Proven ability and experience in risk management

Significant leadership experience, and ability to manage diverse teams, and inspire associates of widely varying backgrounds across a dispersed and matrixed organization

Enjoys managing complexity, ambiguity, and leading in a fast-paced working environment.

High level of communication and influencing skills

Why Sandoz?

Sandoz is the global leader in Biosimilar and Generic medicines, a segment of the healthcare industry that delivers 80% of the world’s medicines at 30% of the cost, touching the lives of more than 1 billion people across 100+ countries! While we are proud of our achievements, we have an ambition to do more, so that everyone can achieve the basic human right of access to good healthcare.

With investments in new development capabilities, production sites, new acquisitions, and partnerships, we have the opportunity to shape the future of Sandoz and help even more people gain access to low-cost, high-quality medicines, sustainably.

Our momentum is powered by an open, collaborative culture driven by our talented and ambitious colleagues, who, in return for applying their skills, experience an agile and collegiate environment with impactful careers, where diversity of thought is welcomed and where personal growth is supported!

Join us, help us make healthcare fairer and faster.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: 

We are committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.

#Sandoz

Skills Desired

Agility, Agility, Asset Management, Budget Management, Business Development, Business Strategy, Commercial Excellence, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Cross-Functional Team Leadership, Customer Orientation, Digital Marketing, Healthcare Sector Understanding, Influencing Skills, Inspirational Leadership, Joint Ventures, Key Account Management, Market Access, Marketing Strategy, Market Share, Market Trend, Medical Affairs, Negotiation Skills, People Management, Priority Disease Areas Expertise, Product Launches {+ 4 more}

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Commercial & General Management
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Commercial & General Management role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 236 comparable Commercial & General Management roles across 40 biopharma companies.

236Comparable roles tracked
213Currently active
40Companies hiring similar roles
50Countries represented

Salary context

27 of 236 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · 2027 Commercial Leader Program Intern - Aesthetics (MBA) · AbbVie $78,500/yr – $141,000/yr
Highest disclosed · Neurology Franchise Head (Boston, Massachusetts, US, 02210) · Servier $400,000/yr – $525,000/yr
Peer group range $109,750 – $462,500 (median $238,050)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 236 comparable roles

United States62
China21
Canada10
Japan10
Poland10
United Kingdom9

+ 44 more countries

Seniority mix

126 of 236 peers have a known seniority level

Manager30
Director24
Senior22
Associate11
Principal10
Senior Director10
Associate Director8
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc7
Executive/VP4

Therapeutic area mix

32 of 236 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology16
Cardiovascular / CVRM4
Rare Disease3
Neuroscience3
Immunology3
Vaccines & Infectious Disease2
Dermatology & Aesthetics1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

40%similar
Novartis Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Manager
Same function Same country
25%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Executive/VP
Same function

Matched on job function only -- seniority, specialty, and location weren't confirmed as aligned.

25%similar
PFIZER (VIETNAM) LIMITED COMPANY Viet Nam, Vietnam
Same function

Matched on job function only -- seniority, specialty, and location weren't confirmed as aligned.

25%similar
Sanofi Sp. z o.o. Warsaw, Poland
Same function

Matched on job function only -- seniority, specialty, and location weren't confirmed as aligned.

25%similar
Sanofi KK (Japan) Tokyo, Japan
Same function

Matched on job function only -- seniority, specialty, and location weren't confirmed as aligned.

25%similar
Amgen Technology Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, India
Same function

Matched on job function only -- seniority, specialty, and location weren't confirmed as aligned.

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How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

40%
SSO Country Manager - Saudi Arabia
Novartis · Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
25%
Commercial Lead, Vietnam and Thailand
PFIZER (VIETNAM) LIMITED COMPANY · Viet Nam, Vietnam · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
25%
Mgr Customer Service I
Amgen Technology Pvt Ltd. · Hyderabad, India · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
25%
アカウントコンサルタント / Staff / 北日本アカウントマネジメントグループ/スワイン部/ライブストック事業部 (Niigata, Japan, Niigata)
Boehringer Ingelheim · Niigata, Japan · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.