Senior Manager - Strategic Sales/ Business Development – Travel Technology

Job Title: Senior Manager - Strategic Sales/ Business Development – Travel Technology

Employment type: Contract (On-site)

Contract length: 6 - 12 months

Location: Riyadh or Jeddah, KSA

PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

We are seeking an experienced commercial leader with a strong background in travel technology, GDS, airline distribution, and corporate travel to drive business growth across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The ideal candidate will come from organizations such as Sabre, Amadeus, Travelport, airlines, OTAs, TMCs, or leading travel technology providers, and possess an extensive network across the Saudi travel ecosystem.

The role is responsible for identifying growth opportunities, acquiring new customers, expanding strategic accounts, and positioning technology-enabled travel solutions to agencies, TMCs, airlines, corporates, and other travel industry stakeholders.

Core Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Drive business development and market expansion initiatives across Saudi Arabia.
• Develop and execute commercial strategies to grow revenue, market share, and customer adoption.
• Identify, qualify, and pursue new business opportunities across travel agencies, TMCs, OTAs, airlines, hospitality, and corporate travel segments.
• Lead end-to-end sales engagements, including prospecting, solution positioning, commercial negotiations, contracting, and onboarding.
• Manage and grow strategic client relationships with senior decision-makers and executive stakeholders.
• Position travel technology solutions including GDS platforms, APIs, NDC capabilities, payment solutions, booking technologies, and value-added services.
• Build and maintain a robust sales pipeline and deliver accurate forecasting against growth targets.
• Conduct industry, market, and competitor analysis to identify emerging opportunities and customer needs.
• Collaborate with product, implementation, support, and marketing teams to develop customer-centric solutions.
• Negotiate complex commercial agreements while balancing customer requirements and long-term business value.

Knowledge and Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in travel technology, travel distribution, airline sales, OTA, TMC, or corporate travel environments.
• Prior experience with Sabre, Amadeus, Travelport, or similar travel technology providers is strongly preferred.
• Deep understanding of:
• Global Distribution Systems (GDS)
• NDC and airline distribution
• Travel technology platforms
• Travel payments and settlement solutions
• Travel agency and TMC operations
• Corporate travel programs
• Proven track record of new business acquisition and strategic account growth within Saudi Arabia.
• Strong network across travel agencies, TMCs, airlines, corporate travel buyers, tourism authorities, and ecosystem partners within KSA.
• Demonstrated success in managing large enterprise sales cycles and complex commercial negotiations.
• Experience presenting to C-level executives and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Strong commercial, consultative selling, and solution-selling capabilities.

Mandatory Skills:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Tourism, Hospitality, or related field (Master's preferred).
• Regional experience, including working in a faced-paced matrix organisation.
• Excellent communication skills in English (written, verbal, and presentation); Arabic preferred.

Preferred Skills:

• The ability to analyse data, troubleshoot payment issues, optimize processes, and make data-driven decisions.
• Familiarity with Salesforce or other CRM solutions.
• Good understanding of payment systems, digital platforms, system workflows, security basics, and industry technologies.
• An understanding of regional regulations across financial services or payment networks.