Business Development Manager

A newly established UAE holding company is building national-scale platforms across a diversified portfolio of strategic, high-growth sectors. It is now creating a world-class group marketing function, and this role sits at its commercial front line. Your job: find, shape and land strategic opportunities across the group s marketing, partnership and portfolio ecosystem, from first market signal through to a clean handover. WHY THIS ROLE • Multi-sector exposure work across a portfolio of businesses and audiences, not a single brand. • Build, don t inherit shape the BD pipeline, processes and tools of a function that is still taking form. • Senior visibility work alongside executives, portfolio leaders, government stakeholders and strategic partners. • Real impact pursue opportunities that build long-term economic capability for the UAE. WHAT YOU LL DO • Spot the opportunities. Research sectors, markets and partners, set clear qualification criteria, and recommend whether to pursue, partner, monitor or decline. • Build the case. Turn opportunities into sharp propositions, market assessments and business cases, pulling in Finance, Legal, portfolio companies and subject-matter experts. • Win the pitch. Lead pitch decks, proposals and RFP responses, working with in-house storytelling and studio teams to make complex ideas persuasive. • Run a tight pipeline. Own CRM discipline, run regular pipeline reviews, and track conversion, cycle time, value and win/loss reasons. • Read the market. Track competitors, new market entrants, government priorities and sector shifts, using AI research tools responsibly and validating against credible sources. • Connect the portfolio. Find opportunities that combine capabilities across portfolio companies, broker introductions, and hand over with clear ownership. HOW SUCCESS IS MEASURED • Qualified pipeline value and quality • Conversion and win rates • Speed to decision • Business-case quality • Pipeline accuracy • Cross-portfolio opportunities created WHAT YOU LL BRING • 7-10 years in business development, strategy, partnerships, consulting, corporate development or B2B marketing. • A proven track record of building propositions and business cases, and winning pitches. • Sharp research skills and commercial judgement; confident with CRM, Excel and PowerPoint, and curious about AI tools. • A clear communicator who can simplify complexity for senior audiences. • Bachelor s degree; a postgraduate or professional qualification is a plus. • Fluent English; Arabic is desirable. • UAE/GCC market and senior-stakeholder experience is a strong advantage.