Business Development Specialist

Mediclinic Southern Africa Corporate Office; Stellenbosch; On-site; ZAR 600 000 - 900 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization in South Africa is seeking a Business Development Manager to enhance innovation and drive growth. The role involves evaluating business opportunities, supporting product development, and managing stakeholder relationships. Ideal candidates will have a Bachelor's degree in Medicine and several years of experience in healthcare business development. Excellent strategic thinking and communication skills are essential.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in business, product, channel, or service line development and launch.
• 8+ years of experience in the healthcare industry with exposure to clinical data analysis.
• Experience in digital service models and cross-functional, agile innovation teams.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate and prioritise business development opportunities.
• Conduct market and competitor scanning to identify trends.
• Support development and execution of new products and services.
• Manage relationships with internal teams and external partners.

Skills

Market Scanning and Trend Analysis

Clinical Benchmarking

Business Case Development

Healthcare industry knowledge

Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration

Communication and presentation skills

Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills

Education

Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB)

Postgraduate qualification (e.g., MBA, Master of Public Health)

Job description

MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB

To support the growth, innovation and business development agendas of the organisation by engaging funders from a clinical quality and efficiency, as well as clinical opportunity perspective (including value-based care), concurrently identifying and evaluating business development opportunities, managing development initiatives across service, product, channel and platform streams, and enabling successful commercialisation of new offerings. This includes the end-to-end lifecycle of opportunity identification, scoping, solution design and implementation.

KEY RESPONSIBILITY AREAS

• Business Opportunity Management : Evaluate and prioritise business development opportunities presented through research and / or funder reviews by assessing strategic fit, commercial viability, and implementation feasibility. Lead development engagements with funders
• Market Intelligence & Environmental Scanning : Conduct comprehensive market and competitor scanning to identify emerging trends, shifts in patient and consumer needs, and competitor activities. Use insights to inform opportunity identification, innovation and business development direction, and strategy alignment within the private healthcare sector.
• Solution Development and Execution : Support the development and iterative execution of new products and services. Collaborate in cross-functional teams using agile and human-centred design principles to transform validated ideas into commercialised healthcare solutions.
• Innovation / Development Enablement : Contribute to the business development pipeline by supporting the application of development frameworks, tools, and processes. Assist in piloting, testing, and refining initiatives aligned to the broader innovation / development roadmap.
• Stakeholder Engagement : Foster and manage effective relationships and alignment with internal teams and external partners to co-create, validate, and implement business development and innovation initiatives whilst simultaneously expanding funder integration via clinical validation and funder management support.

REQUIRED EDUCATION

ESSENTIAL EDUCATION

• Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB)

DESIRED EDUCATION

• Postgraduate qualification (e.g., MBA, Master of Public Health, Master of Healthcare Administration, or Innovation Management).
• Certification or formal training in Business Development, Product Development, Innovation Management, or Commercialisation.
• Design Thinking or Lean Startup Certification.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM EXPERIENCE

Minimum 3–5 years of experience in business, product, channel, digital platform or service line development and launch.

• Minimum 8+ years of experience in the healthcare industry with direct exposure to clinical data analysis, clinical efficiency management, value-based care initiatives and / or funder management.

DESIRED EXPERIENCE

• Experience in innovation or R&D-focused roles in private healthcare or life sciences.
• Experience in digital service models.
• Working in cross-functional, agile innovation teams.

REQUIRED JOB SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Market Scanning and Trend Analysis
• Clinical Benchmarking
• Business Case Development
• Service & Product Development Lifecycle
• Healthcare industry knowledge
• Strategic Thinking and Prioritisation
• Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration
• Communication and presentation skills
• Health & Digital Health Ecosystems
• Change Enablement & Adoption
• Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills
• Negotiation & Persuasion Skills
• Data Literacy