Chief Operating Officer

Confidential; Dubai; On-site; AED 400,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare distribution company in Dubai seeks an experienced Chief Operating Officer (COO) to oversee operational performance, ensuring excellence across supply chain, logistics, and regulatory compliance. The ideal candidate will have 10–15+ years in senior operations leadership within healthcare, strong financial acumen, and a robust understanding of regulatory frameworks in the UAE. Responsibilities include managing daily operations, driving efficiency, and supporting strategic growth initiatives. This role is key to ensuring organizational success and compliance.

Qualifications

• 10–15+ years of senior operations leadership experience in healthcare distribution, pharmaceuticals, or medical devices.
• Strong knowledge of healthcare regulatory frameworks in the UAE/GCC.
• Proven experience managing complex supply chains and large distribution operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage daily operations across procurement, inventory, warehousing, logistics, order fulfillment, and distribution.
• Drive operational efficiency, cost optimization, and service-level improvements.
• Ensure compliance with healthcare regulations and authorities (e.g., MOH, DHA, DOH).
• Partner with the CFO to manage operational budgets and cost controls.

Skills

Operational excellence

Supply chain management

Regulatory compliance

Financial acumen

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain, Operations, Pharmacy, or related field

MBA (preferred)

Job description

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will be responsible for overseeing and optimizing the end-to-end operational performance of the healthcare distribution business. This role ensures operational excellence across supply chain, warehousing, logistics, regulatory compliance, sales operations, customer service, and quality management, while supporting the company’s strategic growth objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Lead and manage daily operations across procurement, inventory, warehousing, logistics, order fulfillment, and distribution.
• Ensure seamless coordination between sales, finance, regulatory, and supply chain teams.
• Drive operational efficiency, cost optimization, and service-level improvements.

Supply Chain & Distribution

• Oversee sourcing, supplier management, forecasting, demand planning, and inventory optimization.
• Ensure on-time and compliant delivery to hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and distributors.
• Manage cold-chain logistics and specialized handling where applicable.

Regulatory & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with healthcare regulations and authorities (e.g., MOH, DHA, DOH, SFDA where applicable).
• Oversee implementation and maintenance of quality management systems (GDP, GMP, ISO standards).
• Ensure audit readiness and regulatory documentation across operations.

Financial & Performance Management

• Partner with the CFO to manage operational budgets, cost controls, and margin optimization.
• Monitor KPIs including inventory turnover, order cycle time, service levels, wastage, and operational costs.
• Drive profitability through operational scalability and efficiency.

Strategic Growth Support

• Support expansion initiatives including new product launches, principals onboarding, and market expansion.
• Collaborate with commercial teams to align operations with sales growth strategies.
• Evaluate and implement strategic partnerships with logistics providers and suppliers.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain, Operations, Pharmacy, or related field (MBA preferred).
• 10–15+ years of senior operations leadership experience in healthcare distribution, pharmaceuticals, or medical devices.
• Strong knowledge of healthcare regulatory frameworks in the UAE/GCC.
• Proven experience managing complex supply chains and large distribution operations.
• Strong financial acumen with experience in budgeting and cost management.