At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections,  where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

Join Roche as a Commercial Lead, South Africa and drive transformational growth across our diagnostic and pharmaceutical portfolio. In this pivotal role, you'll lead the commercial strategy and execution of all Roche products and services in the South African market, translating market insights into sustainable revenue growth and expanded market share.

You'll bring together strategic market acumen, commercial excellence, and proven leadership to navigate a dynamic healthcare landscape. Your success will directly impact patient access to Roche's innovative solutions while building a high-performing team that embodies our commitment to innovation, integrity, and impact.
 

Key Challenges

As Commercial Lead, you'll tackle:
 

Strategic Market Leadership: Develop and execute comprehensive commercial strategies that align with organizational vision, informed by deep market research, competitive analysis, and understanding of local funding landscapes and healthcare priorities.

Driving Commercial Performance: Set ambitious KPIs across revenue, profitability, and market share—then lead your team to exceed them. You'll monitor performance rigorously, identify gaps quickly, and implement corrective actions with decisive leadership.

Building and Leading Teams: Recruit, mentor, and develop a high-performing sales and commercial team. Foster a collaborative, results-oriented culture where excellence is the standard and continuous learning is embedded.

Complex Stakeholder Management: Navigate relationships across diverse internal teams (Sales, Marketing, Medical, Finance, Regulatory) and external partners (customers, healthcare providers, key accounts), ensuring alignment and delivering exceptional customer experiences.

Balancing Commercial Growth with Governance: Manage financial budgets, ensure regulatory compliance, drive policy implementation, and stay ahead of legislative changes—all while maintaining the agility to capitalize on market opportunities.

Expanding the Customer Base: Identify and pursue new business opportunities and strategic partnerships that extend Roche's reach and impact in South Africa's healthcare ecosystem.

 

Who you are as our ideal candidate:

Your Background:

Minimum 10 years of commercial sales experience with at least 8 years in management roles

Proven success in the pharmaceutical, diagnostics, or life sciences industry

Bachelor's degree (NQF 7/8) in science, commerce, or a related field

Willingness to travel nationally and internationally as needed
 

Your Capabilities:

Strategic thinker with strong commercial acumen and business insight

Skilled negotiator with excellent presentation and stakeholder management abilities

Proficient in CRM systems (ideally Rexis) and versed in consultative selling methodologies

Strong communicator who can translate complex market dynamics into clear, actionable strategies

Comfortable managing complexity with adaptability and situational intelligence

Proven financial management capability with experience developing and managing P&L budgets

Your Mindset & Values:

Customer-centric approach with a genuine commitment to satisfaction and retention

Natural relationship-builder who fosters networks across internal and external stakeholders

Results-oriented with the discipline to monitor performance and accountability

Compliance-conscious with a genuine commitment to safety, health, ethics, and regulatory excellence

Collaborative leader who brings out the best in teams while driving high performance

Committed to continuous learning and development—both your own and your team's

Why This Role?
At Roche, we're advancing healthcare through pioneering diagnostics and pharmaceuticals. As Commercial Lead, you'll be at the heart of bringing these innovations to patients across South Africa. You'll work in an environment that values integrity, encourages innovation, and measures success not just in commercial terms, but in lives improved. If you're energized by meaningful impact, strategic challenge, and the opportunity to lead, we want to hear from you.

Ready to make an impact? Apply now and join a company where your commercial leadership truly matters.

A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.

Let’s build a healthier future, together.

Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.