Senior Manager Strategic Sales Business Development – Travel Technology
Riyadh - Saudi Arabia
Job Summary
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:
- Bachelors degree in Business Marketing Tourism Hospitality or related field (Masters 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.