Job Title: Chief Financial Officer
Organisation: Dei BioPharma Ltd
Duty Station: Matugga, Wakiso, Uganda
About the Company:
Dei BioPharma Ltd is a biotech and pharmaceutical research firm duly incorporated in Uganda, specializing in the development and manufacture of innovative medicines and vaccines. Our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, situated in Matugga, Wakiso district, Uganda, shall produce high-quality medicines across a wide range of therapeutic areas.
Job Summary: The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of DEI BioPharma Ltd. will serve as a key member of the executive leadership team, responsible for directing and overseeing all financial activities of the company. This includes strategic financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, treasury management, financial reporting, risk management, investor relations, and compliance with regulatory requirements. The CFO will ensure the financial integrity and sustainability of the company as it transitions from project completion to fullscale operationalization of its pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing facilities. The ideal candidate will bring a strong track record of financial leadership in a capital-intensive, regulated environment, with experience supporting growth, optimizing capital structure, and ensuring fiscal discipline.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Develop and Execute Africa-Centric Financial Strategies – Formulate and implement financial frameworks that prioritize investment in local manufacturing, R&D, and supply chain resilience, directly supporting business growth and Africa’s pharmaceutical self-sufficiency. The CFO will establish a pan-African financial ecosystem by securing trade finance solutions and guarantees that align with regional trade agreements, while implementing dynamic currency hedging strategies (forward contracts, swaps) for API imports and export revenues across 15+ currencies. This includes bridging critical trade finance gaps through pre-shipment financing, harmonizing multi-regulatory compliance (FDA/EMA/NDA Uganda) via integrated systems, and collaborating with regional banks to create pharma-specific credit instruments that reduce foreign currency dependence.
- Tax Compliance & Strategic Fiscal Governance – The CFO will enforce rigorous tax compliance frameworks across all jurisdictions, ensuring adherence to VAT/GST, transfer pricing, and customs regulations while capitalizing on localization incentives under African trade agreements. This includes implementing ERP-integrated tax intelligence systems to manage cross-border VAT complexities, mitigate penalties from evolving tax administrations, and leverage AfCFTA-aligned tariff reductions for pharmaceutical inputs. The role will harmonize tax reporting with GMP standards, ensuring audit-ready documentation that meets both national tax reforms and international regulatory requirements (FDA/EMA). By optimizing tax incentives for local manufacturing and balancing compliance with strategic fiscal efficiency, the CFO will safeguard against non-compliance risks while supporting healthcare accessibility through ethical tax practices and regional industrial growth.
- Optimize production cost structures – The CFO will lead cost optimization initiatives by deploying advanced data analytics and statistical process control (SPC) software to monitor manufacturing expenses in real time, identifying key cost drivers such as raw material waste, energy inefficiencies, and labor productivity gaps. By integrating financial metrics with production workflows, the role will drive targeted process improvements, reduce batch variability, and enhance resource allocation across sterile and non-sterile manufacturing lines. This datadriven approach ensures alignment between cost control measures and quality benchmarks, enabling sustainable margin growth while maintaining compliance with pharmaceutical industry standards.
- Lead Operational Risk Management and Internal Audit – The CFO will spearhead the design and implementation of a proactive operational risk management framework, integrating FDA-aligned methodologies and cross-functional controls to mitigate risks across manufacturing, supply chain, and financial operations. This includes deploying realtime monitoring systems to detect anomalies in production workflows, inventory management, and financial transactions, ensuring alignment with GMP and quality standards. The role will establish entity-level controls to prevent fraud and inefficiencies, conduct risk-based audits using advanced analytics, and implement corrective actions through root-cause analysis. By embedding risk assessment into procurement, logistics, and regulatory compliance processes, the CFO will safeguard assets while maintaining audit readiness for global health authorities and stakeholders.
- Mentor and Develop Finance and Operations Teams – The CFO will cultivate a high-performance culture by designing tailored training programs in pharmaceutical-specific financial practices, GMP-aligned internal controls, and cross-functional collaboration. This includes implementing mentorship frameworks to upskill teams on cost optimization, regulatory compliance (FDA/WHO-GMP), and ERP-driven decision-making, while fostering accountability through transparent performance metrics. By integrating continuous improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma) into financial workflows and promoting knowledge-sharing between finance, production, and quality assurance teams, the role will build adaptive talent pipelines capable of supporting Africa’s pharmaceutical industrialization goals.
- Lead Capital & Investment Relations – The CFO will spearhead investor relations and capital strategy by structuring funding solutions that align with pharmaceutical industry growth trajectories and Africa’s healthcare priorities. This includes developing investor-ready financial models for API production, vaccine manufacturing, and market expansion, while managing relationships with private equity firms, development banks, and multilateral institutions. The role will oversee due diligence processes, negotiate term sheets for equity/ debt financing, and articulate value propositions for stakeholders seeking both financial returns and social impact in African healthcare. By balancing capital allocation with regulatory compliance (FDA/ WHO-GMP), the CFO will secure growth capital while maintaining governance standards attractive to global investors.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- A Master’s degree in Finance, Strategy, or a related field, with a strong bias toward finance or accounting, is preferred.
- Full professional certification in one or more of CPA, ACCA, CFA, or CMA, demonstrating technical competence, regulatory knowledge and global financial standards.
Experience and competencies:
- 10+ years in leadership roles managing finance teams within regulated industries (pharmaceutical, healthcare, or manufacturing preferred).
- Proven track record in implementing IFRS-compliant financial systems
- and GMP-aligned cost controls for production environments.
- Direct experience navigating Uganda’s tax administration (URA) and compliance frameworks (NDA Uganda, WHO-GMP).
- Track record in securing capital for industrial projects through private equity, development finance, or PPP models.
- Good knowledge of capital allocation models for contract-based production systems and research and development financing strategies.
- Expertise in using analytics and SPC software to reduce production waste and enhance resource efficiency.
How to Apply:
All interested candidates who meet the required qualifications and experience are invited to submit their CVs, Cover Letter & Academic documents (addressed to the Human Resources Manager)
All Application documents should be merged as one document in PDF or .DOC / .DOCX, which should not exceed 10MB
Applications should be sent by email to [email protected] with the JOB TITLE IN THE SUBJECT LINE.
Should you not hear from us within twenty-one (21) days from the closing date of this advertisement, you may consider your application to be unsuccessful.
Deadline: 12th May 2025 by 5:00 PM
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