Head of Business Development - Middle East
Leads Alpaca’s commercial expansion across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and broader GCC, building executive relationships with financial institutions, regulators, and ecosystem partners. The role requires 8+ years of relevant regional experience, a strong existing network, regulatory fluency, and executive-level communication skills.
About the job
Responsibilities
Strategic Relationship & Business Development
- Build and maintain relationships with fintechs, exchanges, brokerages, banks, primes, and ecosystem partners across the Middle East.
- Serve as an executive interface with prospective and existing regional clients, identifying opportunities to deepen partnerships and expand adoption.
- Engage regulators, government agencies, and public-sector institutions to support regional expansion.
- Nurture client relationships from initial opportunity scoping through strategic engagement and partnership growth.
- Identify commercial opportunities with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Business Development leadership.
- Support account conversion through lead nurturing and referral follow-up.
Ecosystem Development & GTM Execution
- Drive go-to-market execution across Middle East geographies and verticals through engagement with fintech communities, regulators, founders, and institutional partners.
- Execute revenue targets and regional expansion priorities with Business Development and Sales leadership.
- Translate regional customer needs into strategic product solutions.
- Analyze CRM data and business metrics to inform sales strategy and identify growth opportunities.
Industry Representation & Brand Advocacy
- Represent the company at industry conferences, regulatory roundtables, and ecosystem events.
- Serve as a public-facing spokesperson in government meetings, webinars, client workshops, and media engagements.
- Host regional networking events and client briefings.
- Deliver sales presentations and performance reports with actionable insights for leadership.
Requirements
- 8+ years of experience in business development, strategic partnerships, or institutional sales within financial services, fintech, capital markets, or digital assets, including substantial Middle East experience.
- Established relationships with fintechs, exchanges, brokerages, banks, primes, or regulators in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, or broader GCC.
- Experience engaging regulators and government agencies; familiarity with DIFC, ADGM, VARA, CMA, or SCA frameworks.
- Understanding of, or ability to quickly learn, brokerage infrastructure, tokenization, blockchain-based settlement, and digital asset market structure.
- Track record of developing strategic relationships into commercial opportunities.
- Strong executive presence and communication skills for client, regulator, and media engagement.
- Ability to work cross-functionally in a fast-moving, remote-first environment.
- Self-starter with strong organization, initiative, and ability to build a regional presence from scratch.
- Fluency in English; Arabic strongly preferred.
- Willingness to travel regularly within the region.
Nice-to-Haves
- Experience at a broker-dealer, exchange, market maker, prime broker, or crypto-native firm operating in the Middle East.
- Experience with tokenization, real-world assets, or on-chain market infrastructure projects.
- Existing relationships with regional regulators or government agencies.
- Based in or deeply connected to the UAE or Saudi Arabia.
Compensation & Benefits
- Competitive salary and stock options.
- Health benefits.
- One-time USD $500 home-office setup allowance for new hires.
- USD $150 monthly stipend via a Brex Card.
Skills
Business Development, Strategic Partnerships, Institutional Sales, Financial Services, Fintech, Capital Markets, Digital Assets, Brokerage Infrastructure, Tokenization, Blockchain, CRM, Go-to-Market Strategy, Regulatory Frameworks
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