Manager – Business & Ecosystem Development

About the role

The company is looking for an experienced Manager – Business & Ecosystem Development to lead strategic partnerships, business opportunities and ecosystem initiatives. The role covers identifying and developing new opportunities, structuring and negotiating partnerships, managing them throughout their lifecycle and delivering measurable commercial and strategic value.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the identification, development and management of strategic partnerships, business opportunities, MoUs, joint ventures and ecosystem initiatives.
• Build and manage a qualified pipeline of opportunities and partnerships across relevant industries and markets.
• Assess prospective partners on strategic fit, commercial potential, mutual value and collaboration opportunities.
• Lead discussions and negotiations with partners within approved commercial and governance parameters.
• Develop partnership proposals, business cases, value propositions, term sheets, MoUs and partnership frameworks with internal functions.
• Manage partnerships from origination and structuring through execution, activation, performance review, renewal and expansion.
• Develop and monitor activation plans, commitments, milestones and deliverables, and identify and escalate partnership risks.
• Support ecosystem programmes, events, initiatives and cross-sector collaborations.
• Work with Strategy, Marketing, Legal, Finance, Operations and others to ensure compliant execution.
• Maintain accurate pipeline, partnership and CRM records, report regularly on opportunities, performance, value, risks and outcomes, and support revenue planning.
• Lead, coach and develop Business Opportunity & Partnership Specialists.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, Economics, Marketing, International Business or a related discipline; Master's preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience in business development, strategic partnerships, commercial or ecosystem development.
• Minimum 3-4 years of managerial or supervisory experience, including team leadership.
• Proven experience in strategic partnership development, commercial negotiation, stakeholder management and partnership lifecycle management.
• Experience developing and negotiating commercial or strategic agreements.
• Experience in media, technology, creative industries, economic development, free zones or similar ecosystem-driven environments is desirable.
• Proficiency in English is required; Arabic is an advantage.

Required skills

• Strong commercial acumen, negotiation, relationship management and business development capabilities.
• Analytical, communication, presentation and stakeholder management skills.