Clinical Operations Country Head

Job description

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections, where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters. The Position Are you ready to lead strategic country operations and drive the effective execution of a life-changing clinical development portfolio? As the Clinical Operations Country Head for South Africa, you will lead a dedicated leadership team to achieve country-specific strategic objectives while ensuring absolute compliance, resource efficiency, and continuous operational improvement. This role will be based in Midrand, Johannesburg. In this vital role, you will: * Provide Strategic Leadership: Lead the Country Leadership Team across key therapeutic and operational pillars to ensure cohesive decision-making and optimal portfolio delivery aligned with global strategies. * Drive Operational Excellence: Oversee the country-level clinical portfolio, actively managing resource allocation, budgets, and data-driven performance optimizations to enhance efficiency and productivity. * Manage Strategic Partnerships: Serve as the primary driver of strong, collaborative relationships with Clinical Research Organizations (CROs), identifying process improvements and resolving complex operational vendor issues. * Influence the Local Ecosystem: Build and sustain meaningful networks with external stakeholders, including local Health Authorities, Ethics Committees, and Industry Groups, to advance local clinical research environments. * Cultivate Top Talent: Inspire, motivate, and mentor a high-performing team, driving department-wide engagement by championing a deeply rooted culture of collaboration, inclusivity, and personal growth. Who You Are You are a visionary and empathetic leader who thrives in a dynamic environment and is passionate about shaping the future of healthcare. You balance a strategic mindset with strong execution skills and bring an empowering approach to people management. To be successful in this role, you bring: * Education: A University degree (BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD, or MD) in life sciences or a related field. * Experience: 10+ years of robust experience within the pharmaceutical or clinical research industry, showcasing a deep understanding of end-to-end clinical trial processes and international regulations. * Strategic & Analytical Mindset: Proven proficiency in strategic planning, logical analysis, resource optimization, and the ability to navigate dynamic, evolving environments. * Empowering Leadership: Demonstrated success in managing, coaching, and developing talent, with a commitment to fostering inclusive behaviors and removing barriers to growth for your team. * Exceptional Collaboration & Communication: Fluency in English with outstanding interpersonal skills to build trust and influence diverse internal networks and external institutional stakeholders. Let’s thrive together in a culture built on trust, collaboration, respect, and high performance. Who we areA healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact. Let’s build a healthier future, together. Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.