Summary
AstroLabs is a business expansion platform supporting companies entering and growing in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Senior Director will build an independent business development pipeline, originate and close agreements with corporate clients and strategic partners, represent AstroLabs with senior and government stakeholders, and feed market intelligence into commercial planning. The role requires 15+ years of business development, partnerships, or enterprise sales experience, a self-generated commercial network, and business-fluent English and Arabic. The role is based in KSA or the UAE and requires extensive travel; its Year 1 target is 120 Expansion (EKSA) set-ups, with 5% variable pay tied to revenue closed against the target.
The posting
As published on astrolabs.com. Pulled from the employer's site and shown as they wrote it.
Location: KSA or UAE (regionally mobile, with travel focused on international and regional markets to source companies expanding into Saudi Arabia.
Who We Are, AstroLabs, the Gulf's Leading Business Expansion Platform
AstroLabs is the largest business expansion platform in Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf's leading platform for high growth companies expanding into the Saudi and UAE markets. We work alongside government entities and private sector partners to develop key sectors in the Kingdom, offering business setup, co-working, recruitment, and bespoke programs tailored to the industries we serve.
Over the last decade, we've enabled more than 1,500 global ventures to set up and grow in the Gulf, partnering with leading government entities, financial institutions, economic development authorities, and major regional corporations to drive innovation across their sectors. We're the only platform that combines expertise in global venture sourcing, local company formation in partnership with relevant government authorities, coworking and soft-landing support, and bespoke program design, helping international companies integrate into the market end to end.
Our commercial growth depends on more than inbound demand. This role is designed to build and own a new, independent revenue channel that expands and strengthens our overall growth engine.
Who You Are, A Self-Sufficient Revenue Builder
You're a senior business development leader with 15+ years in enterprise sales, partnerships, and business development, most of it in the GCC. You arrive with a credible, self-built network of corporate and partner relationships, and you know how to convert that network into revenue without leaning on an inbound or marketing-generated pipeline.
You're comfortable operating at C-suite and board level as a peer, you've built a pipeline from zero more than once in your career, and you think about relationships as a repeatable business asset, not a personal one.
You have real presence in a room: the kind of credibility, charm, and command that makes decision-makers want to engage with you personally, not just transact with a vendor. People remember the conversation, and they take your call again.
What You'll Do, Key Responsibilities
Pipeline & Business Development
Build and own an independent business development pipeline sourced from your own network of corporate clients and partners, with no reliance on AstroLabs' existing acquisition channels
Originate, structure, and close commercial agreements with corporates and strategic partners, primarily across international and regional markets, sourcing companies looking to expand into Saudi Arabia
Forecast accurately and maintain full pipeline hygiene in HubSpot
Relationship & Representation
Represent AstroLabs at senior level with C-suite, government, and partner counterparts
Convert personal relationships into a repeatable company motion, document the plays, accounts, and partner routes so the pipeline becomes a company asset
Market Intelligence
Feed market intelligence on competitors, pricing, and demand back into commercial planning
Team Building & Scale
Build and validate a repeatable business development model, then, once proven effective and scalable, define the team structure, capabilities, and resources required to scale it into a sustainable growth function
What You Bring, Skills & Experience
A demonstrable, self-generated commercial network among corporates and partners
A track record of building pipeline from a standing start, without inbound support, able to walk through at least two examples end to end
Full commercial ownership experience: target carrying, forecasting, negotiating, and closing
Comfort operating at C-suite and board level as a peer
Willingness to travel extensively and to be based in KSA or the UAE
Business fluent in English & Arabic
Your Qualifications
15+ years in business development, partnerships, or enterprise sales
Experience in market entry, business setup, corporate services, consulting, or ecosystem/platform businesses is a strong plus
Existing relationships with Saudi government or semi-government entities is a plus
Experience having built a function or a market, not only managed a territory, is a plus
Target & Variable Pay
Year 1 target: 120 Expansion (EKSA) set ups sourced, approximately SAR 7.2M in EKSA revenue excluding MRR, through your own direct reach or newly established partnerships
Variable pay: 5%, tied to revenue closed against the target above
Why Join AstroLabs?
Join the Gulf's leading business expansion platform to build something that doesn't exist yet: a second, independent engine of revenue that you own from day one. You'll operate at senior level across corporates, partners, and government counterparts in one of the world's fastest growing regions, with the mandate and the trust to convert your own network into a lasting commercial asset for the business.
This role starts, and is measured, as an individual builder. If the engine you build proves itself, there's a genuine path to growing and leading a small team around it.