Science Head ZA / Responsible Pharmacist M/F

CFAO; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 1,800,000 - 2,800,000; Full time

Job summary

CFAO Healthcare South Africa seeks a strategic leader to drive Science Affairs in South Africa and oversee regulatory, pharmacovigilance and quality functions. The role ensures compliance, patient safety and market access across SA with regional support for Southern Africa.

The ideal candidate brings a Bachelor of Pharmacy with 10+ years in pharma, including regulatory affairs, quality and leadership, and strong engagement with health authorities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Pharmacy degree and current registration with SA Pharmacy Council.
• At least 10 years in pharmaceutical/healthcare, with substantial regulatory affairs, quality, pharmacovigilance experience.
• At least 3 years in a leadership role with governance and cross-functional delivery.
• Knowledge of SA medicines, pharmacy legislation, GMP and GDP requirements.
• Experience engaging with health authorities and regional/Africa market exposure.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for Science Affairs in South Africa with regional oversight.
• Lead Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance and Quality functions.
• Ensure compliance, patient safety and product quality governance across SA operations.
• Engage cross-functionally with Commercial, Supply Chain and Regulatory teams to enable market access.
• Govern third-party medical and promotional activities with clear governance and accountability.

Skills

Regulatory affairs

Pharmacovigilance

Quality management

Leadership

Compliance

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons)

Job description

With a revenue of over €_8.3 billion, access to 45 of the 54 countries on the continent, and near to 23,100 employees, we are a key player in mobility, infrastructure and energy, healthcare and, consumer goods. The Group partners with leading international brands and covers the entire value chain - imports, production and distribution- in line with the best international standards, drawing on over 170 years of hands-on knowledge and local expertise.

We pursue a twofold strategy, focusing on manufacturing to promote local production, and distribution through its distribution network, Africa's largest, to offer tailored, affordable products and services to people across the continent.

With Africa For Africa

More information: www.cfaogroup.com

About CFAO Healthcare South Africa

CFAO Healthcare South Africa is part of CFAO Healthcare, the leading healthcare and pharmaceutical distribution groups in Africa. Based in Johannesburg, the company provides integrated healthcare solutions across the pharmaceutical value chain, including regulatory support, distribution, market access, and commercial operations. In addition to its South African activities, CFAO Healthcare South Africa serves as the regional hub for the Southern Africa cluster, supporting operations and business development across multiple countries in the region and driving the group's growth ambitions in Southern Africa.

1. Position purpose

Provide strategic and operational leadership for Science Affairs in South Africa, with regional oversight and support across Southern African markets. The portfolio spans prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, consumer health products, medical devices, cosmetics and complementary medicines.

Act as the company's Responsible Pharmacist in South Africa and ensure that licensed pharmaceutical activities, product quality, regulatory compliance and patient safety are effectively governed. Lead the Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance and Quality functions, while acting as a proactive business partner who helps the organisation identify opportunities, anticipate constraints and develop practical, compliant solutions that support responsible growth, supply continuity and timely market access.

2. Core accountabilities

Responsible Pharmacist and legal compliance

• Fulfil the statutory and professional responsibilities of the Responsible Pharmacist and maintain registration and good standing with the South African Pharmacy Council.
• Ensure compliance with the Pharmacy Act, Medicines and Related Substances Act, applicable regulations, licence conditions and relevant South African Health Products Regulatory Authority requirements.
• Maintain effective oversight of the company's licensed activities, including importing, exporting, storage, distribution, release and recall of regulated products.
• Ensure required records, registers, licences, permits, delegations and regulatory correspondence are accurate, current and inspection-ready.
• Escalate significant compliance, quality, safety or supply risks to executive management and ensure appropriate corrective action.

Science Affairs strategy and leadership

• Define and deliver the Science Affairs strategy and annual priorities in line with business objectives, patient safety and regulatory obligations.
• Lead, coach and develop a multidisciplinary team covering Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance and Quality.
• Set clear objectives, allocate resources, manage budgets and monitor performance against agreed measures and business priorities.
• Provide science-based input into portfolio strategy, innovation, launches, lifecycle management, pricing, supply continuity and market expansion.
• Engage early with Commercial, Business Development, Supply Chain and other functions to understand business objectives, identify regulatory and quality implications, and co-develop practical pathways to execution.
• Bring a solution-oriented perspective to business discussions by clearly distinguishing legal or patient-safety requirements from manageable risks, internal preferences and areas where alternative approaches may be considered.
• Build succession plans, capability and ways of working that reduce key-person dependency and support sustainable execution.

Regulatory Affairs and market access enablement

• Provide strategic oversight of registrations, variations, renewals, notifications, licences and post-registration commitments in South Africa and relevant African markets.
• Prioritise regulatory activities in partnership with the business, taking account of compliance risk, patient impact, commercial value, supply continuity, market opportunity and execution capacity.
• Oversee the accuracy and compliance of product information, labelling, artwork and regulatory claims across applicable product categories.
• Maintain regulatory intelligence and translate changing requirements into early, practical business recommendations, identifying both risks and opportunities for the portfolio.
• Support portfolio and business-development decisions through early regulatory assessment, realistic timelines, identification of critical dependencies and recommendation of the most appropriate route to market.
• Engage with health authorities, local representatives, trade associations, partners and service providers to resolve regulatory matters and advocate for workable regional approaches.

Quality and supply-chain governanceOversight of pharmaceutical quality management system

• Ensure Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Distribution Practice requirements are appropriately applied across the supply chain.
• Oversee quality agreements, audits, inspections, batch disposition or release arrangements, temperature-control governance and third-party quality performance.
• Partner with Supply Chain, Procurement and Commercial teams to anticipate and manage shortages, import constraints, product holds and other supply risks, developing practical mitigation options that protect compliance, patient safety, customer service and business continuity.
• Ensure Quality is engaged sufficiently early in new products, suppliers, commercial models and operational changes to enable informed decisions and avoid preventable delays.
• Drive continuous improvement and ensure inspection readiness across relevant operations and vendors.

Pharmacovigilance and patient safety

• Provide leadership and governance for the pharmacovigilance system across South Africa and supported Southern African markets.
• Oversight of adverse events, product complaints with safety implications, safety reports and risk-minimisation activities.
• Maintain appropriate local safety agreements, training, oversight of partners and service providers, and escalation of emerging safety signals.
• Ensure medical and safety decisions are evidence-based, documented and appropriately communicated.

Governance of Promotional Partner

• Provide governance and oversight of third party medical and promotional activities
• Ensure roles, responsibilities, service expectations, approval pathways and escalation routes between CFAO Healthcare and third party are documented and understood.
• Ensure appropriate review and approval processes are followed for scientific, educational and promotional materials, including claim substantiation and audience suitability.
• Oversee the compliance of healthcare professional education, advisory activities, scientific exchange, medical information and external expert engagement conducted through third party.
• Monitor third party against agreed medical, promotional, pharmacovigilance, quality and contractual requirements.
• Ensure issues identified through oversight lead to timely escalation and corrective action.
• Ensure adverse events, product complaints, medical enquiries and other reportable information received by third party are transferred to CFAO through defined processes and timelines.

Advertising, promotional compliance and governance

• Act as, or oversee the designated company code-compliance role for health-product advertising and promotion in South Africa.
• Ensure advertising, digital content, emailers, detail aids, events and other promotional materials are reviewed and approved in line with applicable law, industry codes and internal procedures.
• Provide clear, risk-based guidance that distinguishes mandatory requirements from best practice and enables compliant execution.
• Review claims developed by Medical and Marketing for regulatory acceptability, appropriate substantiation and suitability for the relevant product category, audience and communication channel.
• Ensure that the strength and nature of claims remain appropriate to the product's regulatory classification and supporting evidence.
• Where a proposed claim or execution is not acceptable, work actively with Marketing and Medical to identify the closest compliant alternative capable of delivering the intended consumer or commercial message.
• Ensure appropriate governance of interactions with healthcare professionals, external experts and third parties, including fair-market-value principles where applicable.

Cross-functional and external stakeholder leadership

• Act as a trusted business partner to Executive Management, Commercial, Business Development, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, Procurement and regional or global stakeholders, contributing early to strategy, portfolio choices and execution plans rather than acting only as a final-stage reviewer or approver.
• Present management with clear options and recommendations, explaining the regulatory, quality, patient-safety, financial and operational implications of each.
• Build constructive relationships across functions and create a culture in which Science Affairs is regarded as accessible, responsive, pragmatic and accountable for supporting successful execution.
• Represent Science Affairs in leadership and portfolio forums and ensure that South African and Southern African market realities are considered in decision-making.
• Maintain effective relationships with authorities, industry bodies, healthcare professionals, partners, manufacturers, distributors and service providers.
• Provide concise management reporting on compliance, performance, risks, priorities, budget and key decisions required.

3. Decision rights and accountability

• Has authority to stop, hold or elevate activities that may breach legal, licence, quality, safety or professional requirements.
• Where an activity cannot proceed as proposed, clearly explain the basis for the decision and, wherever reasonably possible, recommend an alternative compliant route, mitigation plan or set of conditions under which the objective could be achieved.
• Approves or delegates approval of regulated product information, promotional materials, quality decisions and scientific deliverables within the approved governance framework.
• Recommends portfolio, submission and remediation priorities based on regulatory feasibility, compliance risk, patient impact and business value.
• Owns the integrity of Science Affairs governance and is accountable for timely escalation when resources, systems or business decisions create unacceptable risk.

Minimum requirements

• Bachelor of Pharmacy degree and current registration as a pharmacist with the South African Pharmacy Council, in good standing.
• Eligibility and appropriate experience to be appointed as Responsible Pharmacist for the company's licensed activities.
• At least 10 years of relevant pharmaceutical or healthcare industry experience, including substantial experience in regulatory affairs, quality, medical affairs or pharmacovigilance.
• At least 3 years in a leadership role with accountability for people, priorities, governance and cross-functional delivery.
• Demonstrated knowledge of South African medicines and pharmacy legislation, health-product advertising requirements, Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Distribution Practice.
• Experience working with a mixed portfolio that may include prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, medical devices, complementary medicines, cosmetics or food supplements.
• Experience engaging with health authorities and managing compliance across South Africa; African market or regional experience is strongly preferred.
• Ability to travel and to act with the independence, judgement and professional accountability expected of a Responsible Pharmacist.