Novartis
Country Medical Affairs Head
- Permanent
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Experience 10 - 15 yrs
- Urgent
Report job as expired
Job expiry date: 12/07/2025
Job overview
Date posted
28/05/2025
Location
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Salary
SAR 60,000 - 100,000 per month
Experience
10 - 15 yrs
Seniority
VP/Executive
Qualification
PhD
Expiration date
12/07/2025
Job description
The Country Medical Affairs Head acts as the senior-most medical leader within the country, driving the strategic medical agenda, launch readiness, and execution of the medical tactical plan. They ensure integration of local insights into global strategies, foster partnerships beyond traditional healthcare stakeholders, and actively shape healthcare policy and clinical implementation. The role involves oversight of evidence generation, compliance, governance, and effective external and internal stakeholder engagement. As part of the leadership team, the Medical Affairs Head leads talent development, resourcing, and operational excellence, while upholding Novartisās commitment to integrity and innovation in patient care.
Required skills
Key responsibilities
- Lead the country medical strategy in alignment with global and regional directions, ensuring integration of local needs and insights.
- Build strategic partnerships with healthcare communities, payers, patient groups, and governmental entities.
- Drive medical readiness and execution of launches, including support for HTA submissions and local data gap mitigation.
- Represent country medical needs in global development programs starting at DDP phase.
- Engage non-traditional healthcare stakeholders for broader, impactful collaborations.
- Advance integrated evidence generation strategies, including RWE and exploratory trials.
- Support allocation and execution of clinical trials in-country in collaboration with Global Drug Development.
- Ensure governance and compliance in local study execution, external communication, and stakeholder education.
- Drive implementation science and advocate for convergence of clinical innovation into practice guidelines.
- Champion the use of digital technologies in engagement and data utilization.
- Serve as the medical interface to internal cross-functional leadership and ensure regulatory alignment.
- Recruit, develop, and retain top medical talent while maintaining medical and scientific excellence.
- Represent Novartis at key national scientific, governmental, and clinical events.
- Optimize medical resource allocation and ensure adherence to budget and operational priorities.
- Track and influence Target Patient Population Outcomes (TPOs) at the country level.
- Promote a unified team culture centered around patient, payer, and customer needs.
Experience & skills
- MD preferred; PhD or PharmD acceptable.
- Fluency in English; local language preferred.
- 10+ years of leadership experience in regional/local medical and access teams in the healthcare industry.
- Previous success as a Country Head of Medical Affairs preferred.
- Experience in pharmaceuticals, HTA bodies, physician associations, or health consultancies.
- Strong knowledge of healthcare systems and pharmaceutical market dynamics.
- Proven stakeholder networking and matrix leadership capabilities.
- Strong communication, writing, and interpersonal skills.
- Business acumen and solution-oriented mindset.
- In-depth knowledge of drug development, regulatory standards, and clinical research.
- Track record in scientific research and publication is desirable.
- Experience in risk management and governance frameworks.
