Finance Manager, Gulf Region

L-Acino is part of Arcera, a global life sciences company headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Our purpose is to enable longer and healthier lives while creating sustainable growth. We develop, manufacture, and commercialize a broad range of high-quality innovative and proven medicines in key international markets. With an operational footprint spanning over 90 countries across four continents, and manufacturing sites in eight countries, we offer more than 2,000 medicines across various therapeutic areas worldwide.

The position will be based in Dubai, UAE and will report directly to the Cluster Head, Gulf Region. The Finance Manager acts as the primary finance partner to the Cluster Head and Leadership Team across UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The role drives financial planning, performance management, commercial insights, and governance.

Your Responsibilities will be:

• Serve as a strategic finance business partner to the Cluster Head and Leadership Team (LT), providing financial insights and recommendations that support business performance, sustainable growth, and informed decision-making.
• Lead Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs), delivering clear analysis of financial and operational performance, highlighting key risks, opportunities, trends, and actionable recommendations to drive business outcomes.
• Provide forward-looking insights on business performance, market dynamics, and growth opportunities through robust financial analysis and scenario planning to support strategic decision-making.
• Own the end-to-end financial planning cycle, including annual budgets, rolling forecasts, long-range plans, and variance analysis, ensuring alignment with business objectives and targets.
• Monitor and evaluate the financial performance of new product launches and key portfolio initiatives, assessing profitability, return on investment, and achievement of business case assumptions.
• Manage distributor financial performance by overseeing commercial agreements, contract compliance, accounts receivable, inventory levels, Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO), and product expiry risks, while identifying opportunities to improve efficiency.
• Monitor Gross-to-Net (G2N) performance, pricing execution, distributor debit notes, and inventory movements, ensuring financial accuracy and providing insights on IMS versus sell-in trends to support revenue and profitability management.
• Partner with Commercial and Supply Chain teams by providing financial inputs into the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process, ensuring alignment between demand forecasts, supply plans, inventory management, and financial targets.
• Drive cost optimization initiatives across the business, including field force investments and operating expenses, ensuring efficiency.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives across financial processes, reporting frameworks, and data governance, leveraging automation and analytics to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and business insight generation.
• Maintain a strong control environment by ensuring compliance with internal policies, accounting standards, and regulatory requirements, while supporting internal and external audits and implementing corrective actions where necessary.
• Ensure the integrity, accuracy, and timeliness of financial reporting, providing stakeholders with reliable information to support effective decision-making and business performance management.
• Develop the capability of the Finance team through coaching, mentoring, and targeted development initiatives, ensuring strong financial expertise, business acumen, and readiness for future leadership opportunities.
• Support regional and local projects by collaborating with cross-functional teams, influencing decision-making, managing financial risks, and ensuring delivery of sustainable business value.

Your Profile:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field
• Professional certification (CPA, CFA, ACCA) preferred
• 8–10 years of progressive finance experience, with a strong focus on FP&A and commercial finance
• Proven experience in business partnering with senior stakeholders
• Pharmaceutical industry experience preferred, with understanding of pricing, reimbursement models, and regulatory frameworks
• Experience in multi-country and distributor-led business models (preferably across Gulf/META markets)
• Proficiency in finance systems and tools (SAP, Power BI, advanced Excel)
• Strong English communication skills
• Strong leadership and team management
• Excellent stakeholder management, influencing, and communication skills
• Strong commercial acumen (G2N, pricing, distributor economics)
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability with attention to detail
• High ownership mindset and ability to manage priorities effectively
• Understanding of cross-cultural dynamics across Gulf markets
  

This is the opportunity to join a very dynamic organization, where decisions are taken fast and where you can actively participate in shaping our future. If this sounds exciting, we would love to hear more about you!