Category Lead, Primary Care and Specialty Care – Middle East

The Category Lead, Primary Care and Specialty Care – Middle East is a strategic member of the Middle East Leadership Team, accountable for the end-to-end strategy, performance and long-term value of the Primary Care and Specialty Care portfolio across the cluster.

The role translates enterprise and regional priorities into differentiated portfolio, launch and market strategies that balance near-term performance with sustainable growth and patient impact. It leads a broad portfolio of inline brands, Growth Knots and future launches, combining the scale and reach of Primary Care with the specialized customer, access and patient-journey requirements of Specialty Care.

The role sets clear priorities across brands, markets, customer segments and investments; aligns marketing and customer-facing execution; and ensures disciplined resource allocation and performance management. Working across Commercial, Medical, Access & Value, Regulatory, Policy & Public Affairs, Supply, Finance, Legal and Compliance—as well as regional and global teams—the role creates the conditions for launch excellence, expanded patient access and sustainable portfolio growth.

The Category Lead also builds a high-performing marketing organization, strengthens commercial and customer-engagement capabilities, and supports the evolution of integrated, data-driven go-to-market models across diverse Middle East healthcare systems.

• Own and translate the Middle East Primary Care and Specialty Care category strategy into clear portfolio, brand, market and customer priorities aligned with the cluster operating plan and growth agenda.
• Lead end-to-end portfolio planning across established brands, Growth Knots, new indications and future launches, balancing near-term delivery with long-term category value.
• Set differentiated strategies for Primary Care and Specialty Care assets, reflecting market maturity, customer needs, care settings, access conditions and competitive dynamics.
• Establish category governance, operating rhythms and performance reviews that connect regional strategy with market execution.
• Ensure customer, patient, competitor and healthcare-system insights inform portfolio choices and investment decisions.

• Own category business performance and provide clear direction on revenue, market share, investment, profitability and resource-deployment priorities.
• Lead the annual operating plan and long-range planning for the portfolio, ensuring robust assumptions, scenarios, risks and growth choices.
• Prioritize advertising and promotion and commercial investments across brands, launches and markets, reallocating resources toward the highest-impact opportunities.
• Monitor performance and intervene early where demand, launch, access, supply or execution risks threaten category objectives.
• Promote disciplined forecasting, performance management and data-driven decision-making across the category.

• Develop differentiated growth strategies that reflect the high-scale, broad-reach requirements of Primary Care and the specialized pathways of Specialty Care.
• Strengthen lifecycle management for established brands through customer segmentation, channel optimization, evidence-based engagement and focused resource allocation.
• Identify and sponsor opportunities to expand diagnosis, treatment, access and appropriate use across priority patient populations.
• Adapt category strategies to different market archetypes, customer segments, channels and stages of the product lifecycle.
• Ensure commercial plans deliver sustainable growth while supporting meaningful patient and healthcare-system impact.