Director of Regulatory Strategy and Affairs

Director of Regulatory Strategy and Affairs

Location: Hull
Working pattern: Hybrid, with a minimum of two days per week in our Hull office
Salary: £67,000–£80,000 per annum, depending on experience and breadth of regulatory expertise
Employment type: Full-time, permanent
Reports to: CEO

About Rubicon

Rubicon is a specialist regulatory consultancy helping ambitious businesses bring products to market safely, efficiently and with confidence.

Our team supports brands, retailers, manufacturers and marketplaces across a range of regulated product categories, including food supplements, medicines, medical devices and cosmetics.

We work alongside our sister company, Rubicon Bridge, which provides regulatory technology and automated compliance solutions. Together, we combine deep technical expertise with innovative software to help businesses navigate complex regulations and trade internationally.

We are now looking for an experienced and commercially minded Director of Regulatory Affairs to lead Rubicon Technical and its multidisciplinary team of regulatory experts.

The role

This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for the performance and continued development of Rubicon Technical’s regulatory services.

You will lead a team of specialists working across food supplements, medicines, medical devices and cosmetics, ensuring that our advice is accurate, practical, commercially relevant and delivered consistently.

The role requires someone who combines strong regulatory expertise with excellent leadership, customer management and commercial judgement.

You will work closely with the CEO, senior leadership team and Rubicon Bridge product teams to shape our regulatory strategy, develop new services and ensure that our technical expertise continues to meet the evolving needs of our customers.

Key responsibilities

Lead our regulatory team

• Lead, manage and develop a multidisciplinary team of regulatory experts.
• Create a high-performing and collaborative culture with clear standards, responsibilities and expectations.
• Support team members with complex regulatory matters and provide appropriate technical oversight.
• Identify training, recruitment and resource requirements as the business develops.
• Ensure workloads are managed effectively and customer projects are delivered on time.
• Build strong working relationships across Rubicon Technical and Rubicon Bridge.

Maintain regulatory excellence

• Take overall responsibility for the accuracy and consistency of regulatory advice delivered by Rubicon Technical.
• Establish and maintain robust technical review and governance processes.
• Ensure advice is evidence-based, clearly communicated and appropriate for each customer’s commercial objectives.
• Provide senior-level guidance on complex, sensitive or high-risk regulatory issues.
• Ensure the team remains informed about relevant legislative, regulatory and industry developments.
• Maintain clear standards for documentation, technical decisions and regulatory governance.

Support customers

• Act as a trusted senior regulatory adviser to key customers.
• Build strong, long-term relationships with brands, retailers, manufacturers, marketplaces and strategic partners.
• Translate complex regulatory requirements into clear and practical actions.
• Support customers entering new markets, launching new products or responding to regulatory challenges.
• Participate in important customer meetings, pitches and project reviews.
• Ensure customers receive responsive, commercially useful and technically reliable support.

Develop the business

• Work with the commercial team to shape proposals, scopes of work and regulatory service packages.
• Support the growth of existing customer accounts and identify opportunities for additional services.
• Help develop new propositions in response to changing regulation, customer needs and market opportunities.
• Ensure projects are appropriately scoped, resourced and priced.
• Take responsibility for the efficient and commercially effective operation of the regulatory function.
• Contribute to revenue growth, customer retention and the long-term development of Rubicon Technical.

Connect expertise with technology

• Work closely with Rubicon Bridge’s product and technology teams to translate regulatory expertise into scalable software solutions.
• Help identify areas where regulatory processes can be standardised, automated or supported by technology.
• Ensure regulatory content and methodologies embedded within the Rubicon Bridge platform remain accurate, practical and robust.
• Contribute to the future development of regulatory products, databases and automated compliance tools.
• Help ensure that technology strengthens the consistency, reliability and commercial value of regulatory decision-making.

About you

You will be an experienced regulatory leader with the credibility to manage senior specialists, advise complex customers and represent Rubicon Technical externally.

You may have developed your career within a regulatory consultancy, consumer products business, pharmaceutical or medical device company, retailer, manufacturer or regulatory authority.

You will bring:

• Significant experience in regulatory affairs within one or more of our core categories.
• Strong working knowledge of UK and European regulatory frameworks.
• Experience leading and developing regulatory, scientific or technical teams.
• The ability to oversee specialists working outside your own principal area of expertise.
• Experience managing complex customer projects and senior stakeholder relationships.
• Strong commercial awareness and an understanding of how to deliver professional services profitably.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• The confidence to challenge, make decisions and provide clear direction.
• A practical, solutions-focused approach to regulation.
• The ability to operate effectively within a fast-moving and entrepreneurial business.
• The ability to work from our Hull office for a minimum of two days each week.

Experience across several of the following areas would be particularly valuable:

• Food supplements and nutrition.
• Medicines and borderline products.
• Medical devices.
• Cosmetics and personal care.
• Product classification and market access.
• Claims, labelling and advertising.
• International product registrations and notifications.
• Regulatory due diligence.
• Regulatory governance.
• Regulatory technology or digital compliance solutions.

What we are looking for

We are not looking for someone who simply identifies regulatory obstacles.

We want a leader who can help customers understand what is possible, make informed decisions and find a compliant route to market.

You will be intellectually curious, calm under pressure and comfortable working across different product categories. You will care deeply about regulatory accuracy while also understanding that advice must be clear, responsive and commercially useful.

You will also be confident working with senior customers, supporting commercial conversations and helping the business build services that are technically robust and commercially sustainable.

Most importantly, you will be excited by the opportunity to lead an exceptional team and help shape the future of a business combining human regulatory expertise with innovative technology.

Why join Rubicon?

This is an opportunity to take a central leadership role within a business working at the forefront of regulatory services and technology.

• Lead a talented and highly experienced regulatory team.
• Work with innovative brands, global retailers and international marketplaces.
• Shape the future direction of Rubicon Technical.
• Influence the development of regulatory technology used by businesses around the world.
• Build new services and capabilities across multiple regulated sectors.
• Work closely with the senior leadership team and have a genuine impact on the future of the business.
• Join an ambitious and entrepreneurial company with a clear mission: to make global regulatory compliance simpler, faster and more accessible.

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