Head of Science Hub

About Opella.
Opella is the self-care challenger with the purest and
third-largest portfolio in the Over-The-Counter (OTC) & Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements (VMS) market globally.
Our mission is to bring health in people's hands by
making self-care as simple as it should be
. For half a billion consumers worldwide – and counting.

At the core of this mission is our
100 loved brands
, our
11,000-strong global team, our 13 best-in-class manufacturing sites
and 4 specialized science and innovation development centers. Headquartered in France, Opella is the proud maker of many of the world's most loved brands, including Allegra, Buscopan, Dulcolax, Enterogermina, Essentiale and Mucosolvan.

As a globally certified B Corp company, we are active players in the journey towards healthier people and planet. Find out more about our mission at

"Join us on our mission. Health. In your hands."
Job Purpose.
The
Head of Science – AMET
is a senior business focused scientific leadership role that will lead the Zone Science team covering the regulatory and medical activities for developing and executing the strategies to deliver growth ambition for the AMET zone. As a key member of both the
Opella AMET Leadership Team
and the
AMEA Region Science Leadership Team
, this role is required to be a strong Science partner to the AMET cross functional leaders; and to the AMEA across zone science leaders, together will ensure the strong inputs for the development and execution of key business initiatives, and of key science initiatives from regional and global science.

Key Results/Accountabilities.
Lead People & Team.

• Manages the science team based in AMET across countries in Turkey, Egypt, UAE and KSA, creating an environment for professional growth of team members and embedding challenger mindset through coaching and engagement

Partner with business leader.

• Be an active and impactful contributor to the AMET leadership team as well as the regional science leadership team
• Support Business Leaders in their decision-making process based on sound judgment, medical and regulatory expertise and business acumen.
• Strong partner with local B&I team to ensure science be built in our repeatable mode of growth for global and local brands.

Develop and execute medical strategies.

• Evaluate and define a portfolio approach for medical value creation initiatives for brands and business, ensuring clear priorities, deliverables, and measurable impacts are defined.
• Set performance metrics for the science team, ensuring effective execution of local medical brand plans in alignment with global medical strategy for global brands.
• Develop superior product science superiority, mode of action, medical safety/efficacy data, translating and simplifying the complex science into superior communication for HCPs and patients/consumers in line with Brand growth strategy
• Identify opportunities in scientific evidence of our priority brands and accordingly develop & execute the evidence generation strategies, lab testing, in vitro, in vivo, RWE, clinical studies.
• Creatively generate superior claims backed by scientific data and evidence and bring it to life to engage and influence HCPs to win credibility and recommendation.
• Provide medical support to end to end innovation process from ideas, concept development and optimization, evidence generation, claim development, clinical studies if needed, new product registration dossier, pre-launch HCP and consumer engagement strategy and execution plan.

Elevate regulatory as competitive edge.

• Ensure the regulatory compliance of the portfolio meeting with HA requirements and drive any Scientific recommendations and risk mitigation to achieve the expected performance of the zone
• Develop & execute creative and winning regulatory strategies for new product innovations and/or life cycle activities of the brands.
• Risk taking approach on superior claim and packaging innovation opportunities while ensuring compliance
• Actively shape the local business strategy through input into the zone and possible external advocacy plan in collaborations with local trade associations
• Partner with Global Evidence Generation in the Zone, aligned with the global evidence generation strategy to address strategic data gaps

Build a fast acting, collaborative, outcome obsessed, risk taking & innovative Science culture
Focus on impact to brand and business Performance.

• Set science strategies in medical and regulatory with brilliant execution plan with clear alignment with business priorities
• Ensure the science initiatives be clearly prioritized and aligned with the brand strategies in driving performance and growth.
• Manage risks and opportunities, build mitigation action plans

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS.

• General Manager, Global, Regional & Local Brand & Innovation, Commercial & Sales, Government Affairs, Manufacturing & Supply, People & Culture, Regional Science, Global Science

Education

• Degree in Life Science. Higher degree (Ph.D., MD, or PharmD) is a plus.

Skills, Experience & Knowledge Requirements.

• 15+yrs experience in scientific affair (medical & regulatory, or R&D) in consumer healthcare or pharmaceutical industry or FMCG, including 8+yrs leadership roles. Experience in multiple countries in the region is a plus.
• Demonstrated medical credibility, influence and trust in mastering the understanding of product science, science superiority to competitors, mode of action, medical safety/efficacy data, translating and simplifying the complex data into clear, relevant, and differentiated claims for HCPs and patients/consumers.
• Proven success in shaping scientific strategy in identifying gaps, guiding science evidence generation such as lab, in vivo, RWE, consumer research and clinical studies. Familiar with latest clinical guidelines.
• Expert knowledge of drug and VMS regulations and requirements, Health Authorities regulations and ability to evaluate impact of those regulations on marketed products and to navigate the creative innovation pathways for the regulatory approvals in time.
• Knowledge of the local Consumer Health environment (regulatory, regional Industry Associations, Public & Government affairs).
• Demonstrated business acumen, agility, adaptability and resilience to lead through focusing on what science matters to the business, learning by doing, transformation and ambiguity.
• Demonstrated success in partnering and influencing across a matrix environment with exceptional communication and influence skills.
• Leadership experience in leading inspiring and growing the team to deliver high performance, to set objectives for the team and for individuals, to measure achievement and to offer career development support.
• Transversal team leadership is key in this role – as this position collaborates with almost all the functions within the AMET business, regional and global science functions.
• Strategic & analytical thinking
• Creativity and problem-solving
• Leadership autonomy; strong executive presence & inspirational leadership, capability to influence decisions and lead without direct authority
• Flexible to work across time zones
• Ability to operate strategically and execute brilliantly
• Strong mental agility and flexibility to adapt to constantly changing business environment. Excellent communicator both written and verbal is a must.

KEY DIMENSIONS.

• Reports to the Opella AMEA Science Head
• Location -Cairo, Egypt/Istanbul, Turkey
• Direct reports are AMET Science team with medical and regulatory disciplines

WHY US?
At Opella, you will enjoy doing challenging, purposeful work, empowered to develop consumer brands with passion and creativity. This is your chance to grow new skills and be part of a bold, collaborative, and inclusive culture where people can thrive and be at their best every day.

We Are Challengers.
We Are Dedicated To Making Self-care As Simple As It Should Be. That Starts With Our Culture. We Are Challengers By Nature, And This Is How We Do Things

All In Together:
We keep each other honest and have each other's backs.

Courageous:
We break boundaries and take thoughtful risks with creativity.

Outcome-Obsessed:
We are personally accountable, driving sustainable impact and results with integrity.

Radically Simple:
We strive to make things simple for us and simple for consumers, as it should be.

Join us on our mission. Health. In your hands.