Excipient Principals & Supplier Development Manager – Middle East

Excipient Principals & Supplier Development Manager – Middle East

Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Employment Type: Full-time

Workplace: Hybrid / Supplier-facing

Regional Scope: GCC | International Supplier Network

Travel: Regular international travel

Palomba General Trading LLC is seeking an experienced Excipient Principals & Supplier Development Manager to identify, evaluate and develop international pharmaceutical excipient manufacturers for the Middle East.

This role sits on the supply side of the PGT excipients platform.

The successful candidate will not primarily sell products to customers.

The objective is to build a portfolio of qualified pharmaceutical excipient manufacturers capable of supporting competitive and technically credible GCC business.

Core Mission

The role will develop the supplier side of the PGT excipients business through:

Market Gap → Manufacturer Identification → Supplier Qualification → Commercial Negotiation → Representation / Distribution → GCC Launch

The candidate should understand both the technical and commercial criteria required to select the right principal.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify international pharmaceutical excipient manufacturers.
• Map manufacturers by excipient category and manufacturing region.
• Identify companies seeking Middle East representation or distribution.
• Evaluate supplier technical and commercial suitability.
• Coordinate initial supplier qualification.
• Review product ranges, specifications and documentation.
• Assess manufacturing capability and product consistency.
• Compare alternative manufacturers and grades.
• Negotiate commercial terms, territory structure and supply conditions.
• Discuss exclusive and non-exclusive representation models.
• Develop supplier business cases for GCC markets.
• Evaluate pricing, MOQ and lead times.
• Coordinate samples and documentation for customer qualification.
• Support supplier audits and due-diligence processes where applicable.
• Maintain a structured pipeline of potential principals.
• Work with PGT commercial and technical teams to prioritise portfolio gaps.

Priority Excipient Categories

The candidate will initially focus on manufacturers of:

• Microcrystalline Cellulose
• Lactose
• Mannitol
• Sorbitol
• Calcium Phosphates
• Pregelatinized Starch
• Croscarmellose Sodium
• Crospovidone
• Sodium Starch Glycolate
• Povidone
• HPMC
• HPC
• Magnesium Stearate
• Stearic Acid
• Colloidal Silicon Dioxide
• Talc
• Pharmaceutical coatings
• Cyclodextrins
• Solubility-enhancement systems
• Specialty functional excipients

Supplier Geography

Potential manufacturing partners may be located in:

• Europe
• India
• China
• United States
• Japan
• South Korea
• selected emerging pharmaceutical manufacturing markets

Supplier selection will be based on capability and suitability rather than origin alone.

Supplier Evaluation Criteria

The successful candidate should evaluate:

• Pharmaceutical-grade availability
• Compendial compliance
• Manufacturing standards
• Batch consistency
• Technical documentation
• Audit readiness
• Regulatory support
• Production capacity
• MOQ
• Lead times
• Pricing
• Existing GCC distribution
• Territory availability
• Technical support capability
• Willingness to develop new markets

Portfolio Gap Analysis

The candidate will work with the GCC Business Unit Development Manager to answer questions such as:

• Which excipient categories are missing from the portfolio?
• Which categories are overly dependent on one supplier?
• Which products require a secondary source?
• Which suppliers lack effective GCC representation?
• Which technologies offer strong differentiation?
• Which products justify local stock?
• Which manufacturers could support technical service and application development?
• Where can PGT build a defensible commercial position?

Principal Development

The role should actively approach manufacturers and develop cooperation models such as:

• Non-exclusive distribution
• Exclusive distribution
• Country-specific representation
• GCC regional representation
• Project-based cooperation
• Strategic sourcing relationships

The candidate will help structure the commercial model appropriate for each supplier and product category.

Candidate Profile

• 7+ years in Pharmaceutical Excipients, Pharmaceutical Ingredients, Strategic Sourcing, Product Management or Supplier Development.
• Strong knowledge of pharmaceutical excipient manufacturers.
• Existing international supplier network highly valued.
• Experience evaluating manufacturers.
• Experience negotiating distribution or representation agreements.
• Understanding of pharmaceutical-quality documentation.
• Strong commercial negotiation skills.
• Ability to compare suppliers technically and commercially.
• Experience with GCC markets preferred.
• Fluent English required.
• Additional languages are advantageous.

Ideal Background

Relevant candidates may currently work as:

• Strategic Sourcing Manager – Pharmaceutical Ingredients
• Supplier Development Manager – Excipients
• Excipients Product Manager
• International Procurement Manager – Pharma
• Principal Development Manager
• Business Development Manager – Excipient Manufacturer
• Global Sourcing Manager – Pharmaceutical Raw Materials
• Pharma Distribution Product Manager

What We Offer

• Competitive fixed salary.
• Performance-based bonus linked to supplier and portfolio development.
• International travel.
• Direct responsibility for building a new supplier platform.
• High autonomy in identifying manufacturers.
• Opportunity to negotiate regional partnerships.
• Access to GCC pharmaceutical-market intelligence.
• Opportunity to shape the long-term PGT excipients portfolio.

Who We Are Looking For

We are not looking for someone whose supplier-selection process is:

“They sent us a catalogue and the price looks cheap.”

We want someone who asks:

• Who actually manufactures the material?
• Is the producer technically credible?
• Which compendial grades are available?
• How consistent is the product?
• What documentation can they provide?
• Who represents them already in the GCC?
• Are they willing to protect the territory?
• What is their real production capacity?
• Can they support customer qualification?
• Can they compete against established suppliers?
• Is there enough margin to build a sustainable business?

The objective is to create a qualified network of excipient principals capable of supporting a serious Middle East pharmaceutical platform.