Country Manager – Southern

Mygwork - Lgbtq+ Business Community; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 400 000 - 500 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading diagnostics company is seeking a Country Manager to oversee operations across South Africa and English-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa. This senior role entails full P&L ownership, driving commercial strategy, and leading high-performing teams. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in diagnostics and sales leadership, along with strong strategic thinking and excellent communication skills. This position offers a significant opportunity for market growth and succession planning within the organization.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in business management within Diagnostics, Medical Devices, or Life Sciences.
• 5–7 years in Sales leadership in the IVD industry.
• 6+ years of people leadership experience.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead commercial strategy across South Africa and English-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Lead high-performing sales teams and act as senior representative.
• Drive market access execution and optimize product performance.

Skills

Commercial strategy

People leadership

P&L management

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Management, Finance, Business, or Life Sciences

MBA preferred

Job description

This job is with Danaher, an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community.

Please do not contact the recruiter directly. Beckman Coulter Diagnostics is seeking an exceptional, forward-thinking Country Manager to lead and elevate our commercial operations across South Africa and all English-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa (covering the entire African continent except North Africa and French-speaking countries).

This is a mission-critical senior leadership role, carrying full P&L ownership, legal signatory authority, and end-to-end responsibility for direct and indirect commercial operations across one of the most strategic territories in MEA. More importantly, this role is positioned as a succession pipeline for a future Senior Director / General Manager within the Danaher Diagnostics Platform.

We are intentionally seeking a leader who can grow with us — someone who demonstrates both operational mastery and the strategic depth to take on bigger leadership mandates in the near future. The Country Manager will serve as the face of Beckman Coulter Diagnostics across the region — leading commercial strategy, accelerating growth, building strong customer and government relationships, and strengthening our presence and brand equity across all English-speaking African markets. This role is ideal for a hands‑on, inspiring, and strategically minded leader who thrives in a matrix environment and is passionate about developing people, shaping markets, and building a future‑ready commercial organization.

Commercial Leadership

Define and lead the commercial strategy across South Africa & English-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa in full alignment with regional and global vision.

Lead high‑performing direct and indirect sales teams through strong commercial stewardship and accountability.

Act as the senior representative of Beckman Coulter with customers, ministries of health, regulators, and industry bodies.

Embed the Voice of the Customer (VOC) in commercial decision‑making.

Drive channel excellence with strong distributor scorecards, governance, and capability building.

Collaborate across the MEA matrix (Service, Applications, Marketing, Finance, HR, Supply Chain) to build integrated, competitive solutions.

Monitor market and competitive trends, ensuring proactive and innovative responses.

Ensure compliance to all legal, regulatory, and internal governance standards.

Business Development & Market Growth

Develop 3‑year strategic business plans, annual operating plans, and growth priorities.

Identify new market segments, product opportunities, and customer clusters across the region.

Strengthen relationships with key opinion leaders, healthcare institutions, and national programs.

Drive tender excellence, pricing strategy, and market access execution (including NHLS and regional tenders).

Optimize product portfolio performance to deliver sustainable market share expansion.

Financial & Legal Oversight

Full P&L responsibility, ensuring revenue, margin, and profitability targets are achieved.

Lead forecasting, budgeting, and financial analysis with accuracy and transparency.

Own accounts receivable performance, working with Finance to safeguard cash flow.

Ensure compliance with all corporate and local legal requirements.

Leadership & Talent Development

Build and inspire a high‑performance, high‑accountability culture across the region.

Develop talent pipelines and ensure strong succession planning for critical roles.

Coach and mentor teams using the Danaher Business System (DBS) to drive continuous improvement.

Assess organizational structure to ensure readiness for future scale and operational excellence.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Management, Finance, Business, Life Sciences, or equivalent. MBA preferred. 10+ years in business management within Diagnostics, Medical Devices, or Life Sciences. 5–7 years in Sales leadership in the IVD industry. 3–5 years managing distributor networks in regulated markets. 6+ years of people leadership. Proven track record in P&L ownership, tender management, and commercial strategy execution. Experience with NHLS and African healthcare systems is highly desirable. Strong strategic thinking with long‑term vision. Advanced negotiation and stakeholder management. Excellent executive communication and leadership presence. Deep understanding of compliance, governance, and quality systems. High financial acumen. Ability to lead in a multicultural, matrixed environment. Strong operational discipline with DBS / Lean experience. Analytical mindset and problem‑solving capability. Ability to build trust with customers, governments, and internal stakeholders.

Be part of a global leader in clinical diagnostics, shaping healthcare outcomes across an entire continent.

Lead one of the most dynamic, high‑potential regions with strong opportunities for market expansion and innovation.

Join a culture that rewards performance, integrity, and continuous development. Build your path toward a bigger leadership role within the Danaher Diagnostics Platform — this role is deliberately positioned as a succession role for a future senior leader.

Make a real impact on laboratories, clinicians, and millions of patients across Africa. Join our winning team today.

Together, we'll accelerate the real-life impact of tomorrow's science and technology.

We partner with customers across the globe to help them solve their most complex challenges, architecting solutions that bring the power of science to life. For more information, visit