Business Development Manager

About the Role / About the Job
The AVP, Processing Business Development & Sales is responsible for originating, developing, and closing profitable business opportunities across the UAE Processing and Outsourced Payment Services portfolio. The role is not limited to fintech opportunities, covering relevant areas such as financial institutions, banks, fintechs, exchange houses, payment service providers, telcos, digital businesses, and other organizations requiring outsourced payment-processing capabilities. The position owns the sales lifecycle from market and account identification through opportunity qualification, solution development, proposal, commercial negotiation, contracting, and structured handover to implementation and relationship-management teams. This role is commercially focused and client-facing, with direct accountability for new-business revenue, pipeline development, sales conversion, and profitable growth, requiring close collaboration with multiple internal teams.

Job Accountabilities
Sales and Revenue Growth:

• Own and deliver assigned new-business, revenue and profitability targets for the UAE Processing and Outsourced Payment Services business.
• Identify, qualify and progress opportunities across financial institutions, banks, fintechs, exchange houses, payment service providers, telcos, and other relevant customer segments.
• Generate new client relationships while identifying cross-sell and upsell opportunities within existing clients.
• Build and maintain a healthy, appropriately qualified sales pipeline capable of delivering agreed annual and multi-year targets.
• Maintain accurate opportunity records, pipeline updates, probability assessments, next actions, and revenue forecasts.
• Prioritize opportunities based on strategic alignment, client need, commercial value, probability of closure, implementation feasibility, and long-term profitability.

Business Development and Market Coverage:

• Develop and execute account and segment plans for priority industries, prospects, and strategic opportunities.
• Conduct structured market analysis to identify emerging client needs, regulatory developments, competitive activity, and addressable processing opportunities.
• Establish relationships with senior client stakeholders and decision-makers, including business, operations, technology, and executive leadership.
• Represent the company professionally at client meetings, industry events, conferences, and relevant market forums.
• Develop referral and partnership channels that expand access to attractive Processing opportunities.
• Work with Marketing and relevant internal teams to develop campaigns, propositions, and client-engagement initiatives for target segments.

Consultative and Solution Selling:

• Lead executive-level discovery and needs-assessment discussions to understand each client’s strategy, operating model, pain points, growth objectives, and technical requirements.
• Position the appropriate combination of issuing processing, acquiring processing, payment platforms, digital services, and value-added solutions based on the client’s requirements.
• Translate product and technical capabilities into clear client outcomes, including revenue growth, operational efficiency, scalability, customer experience, risk management, and speed to market.
• Collaborate with Product, Presales, Solution Design, Technology, and Delivery teams to shape solutions that are commercially attractive, operationally deliverable, and aligned with the company’s strategic direction.
• Prepare and deliver compelling client presentations, proposals, demonstrations, and business cases.
• Ensure proposed solutions clearly document scope, assumptions, dependencies, responsibilities, implementation considerations, and commercial terms.

End-to-End Sales and Deal Execution:

• Manage the complete sales lifecycle from prospecting and qualification through solution development, proposal, negotiation, contracting, and deal closure.
• Lead or coordinate responses to RFIs, RFPs, tenders, and other formal client requests.
• Develop commercial proposals in collaboration with Finance, Product, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Negotiate pricing and contractual terms that balance client requirements with revenue, margin, risk, and long-term relationship objectives.
• Coordinate internal approvals in accordance with pricing, contracting, risk, and governance requirements.
• Maintain momentum across complex sales cycles by establishing clear actions, owners, decision points, and target closure dates.
• Ensure all client commitments are properly reflected in contracts, documents of understanding, statements of work, and approved solution documentation.

Client Transition and Implementation Handover:

• Lead a structured transition of signed opportunities to Relationship Management, Delivery, Project Management, Operations, and other accountable teams.
• Ensure the agreed solution, commercials, assumptions, dependencies, milestones, and client commitments are clearly understood by the implementation stakeholders.
• Remain engaged during the initial mobilization and implementation stages to resolve commercial or scope-related questions and protect the client proposition.
• Support early-stage client governance where required to ensure continuity between the sales process and delivery.
• Capture lessons learned from concluded opportunities and use them to improve future pursuits, proposals, and handovers.

Collaboration and Stakeholder Management:

• Partner closely with Relationship Managers to identify growth opportunities across the existing client base and establish clear ownership for each pursuit.
• Work with Product and Partnerships teams to identify proposition gaps and emerging client requirements.
• Collaborate with Presales, Solution Design, and Technology to ensure that proposed solutions are scalable, repeatable, and technically viable.
• Coordinate with Finance and Commercial teams on pricing, margin, business cases, and deal economics.
• Engage Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Information Security early in the sales process where required.
• Maintain clear and timely communication with senior management regarding opportunities, commercial risks, client concerns, and decisions required.

Market Intelligence and Proposition Development:

• Maintain current knowledge of developments in payment processing, card issuing, acquiring, digital payments, regulatory requirements, and relevant value-added services.
• Monitor competitor propositions, commercial models, partnerships, and market positioning.
• Act as a voice of the customer by providing structured feedback to Product, Technology, Operations, and leadership teams.
• Identify recurring client needs that may support new products, standardized solutions, or improvements to the company’s go-to-market approach.
• Contribute to business planning, sales strategy, and the development of priority segment propositions.

Governance, Risk, and Commercial Discipline:

• Follow applicable sales, pricing, contracting, risk, compliance, and approval processes.
• Ensure that pipeline reporting and forecasts are accurate, evidence-based, and kept current.
• Identify delivery, commercial, legal, operational, regulatory, and reputational risks during the sales cycle and escalate them appropriately.
• Protect profitability by ensuring that all scope, customization, third-party cost, implementation effort, and support obligations are reflected in the commercial model.
• Represent the company ethically and professionally in all client and partner engagements.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• A postgraduate business or management qualification is preferred.

Professional Experience

• 8–10 years of relevant experience in payments, financial technology, banking technology, card processing, outsourced payment services or enterprise solution sales.
• Demonstrated success in originating and closing complex B2B technology or payment-processing opportunities.
• Direct experience managing revenue targets, qualified pipelines, commercial negotiations, and deal closure.
• Experience engaging with financial institutions, fintechs, exchange houses, telcos, payment service providers, or comparable regulated organizations.
• Good understanding of issuer and/or acquirer processing, card payments, digital payment services, and associated value-added solutions.
• Experience producing and presenting business cases, commercial proposals, and RFP or tender responses.
• Experience working with Product, Technology, Delivery, Finance, Legal, and Risk teams through complex sales cycles.
• UAE or Middle East payments-market experience is preferred.
• Experience selling platform-based, outsourced, or managed-service propositions is highly desirable.
• Fluency in English is required; Arabic is desirable.

Core Competencies

• Processing and payments-domain knowledge
• New-business development and client acquisition
• Enterprise and consultative solution selling
• Sales strategy and account planning
• Pipeline management and revenue forecasting
• Commercial acumen and deal economics
• Executive stakeholder engagement
• Proposal and business-case development
• Contract and commercial negotiation
• RFI, RFP, and tender management
• Cross-functional leadership and influence
• Market and competitor analysis
• Risk awareness and governance discipline
• Clear written and verbal communication
• Ownership, accountability, and bias for action

Success Profile
Success in this role will be demonstrated through:

• Achievement of agreed new-business, revenue, and profitability targets.
• Development of a strong and sustainable pipeline across multiple eligible Processing customer segments.
• Growth in new Processing clients and expansion of business with existing clients.
• Improved sales conversion, forecast accuracy, and commercial discipline.
• Profitable deals with clearly defined scope, responsibilities, commercials, and implementation requirements.
• Effective transition of signed opportunities into delivery and relationship management.
• Strong engagement with senior client stakeholders and trusted collaboration across internal functions.
• Useful market insight that contributes to stronger propositions and future growth priorities.