Head of Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships – Saudi Arabia

About EDECS

EDECS is a prominent company with three decades of expertise in marine construction, infrastructure, earthworks, and transportation projects operating across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, and Africa, employing over 2,000 staff. The company is recognized for delivering innovative, sustainable solutions across diverse projects, consistently maintaining excellence in quality, safety, and sustainability.

Currently, EDECS is undergoing expansion in Saudi Arabia, aiming to establish new platforms in sectors such as infrastructure investment, logistics, data centers, energy, and specialized engineering.

Position Summary

The organization seeks an accomplished and well-networked Head of Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships for its Saudi Arabian operations. This leader will be responsible for discovering, developing, and advancing strategic ventures including acquisitions, joint ventures, co-investments, concessions, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and strategic alliances aligned with EDECS's growth plans.

This role demands a senior corporate development expert with established connections throughout the Saudi business and investment landscape, paired with transactional expertise to transform contacts into viable opportunities, formal agreements, and concluded deals. The role will be Riyadh-based and report directly to the Group Investments Director.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and manage a qualified pipeline of acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, PPPs, concessions, and new business prospects.
• Identify potential acquisition targets, investors, operators, local collaborators, and technology suppliers.
• Conduct preliminary opportunity assessments including strategic rationale, commercial structures, capital needs, projected returns, and associated risks.
• Assist in negotiations, due diligence, structuring transactions, preparing Investment Committee materials, and completing deals.
• Forge and maintain senior-level relationships with Saudi family groups, investment firms, government-owned entities, Public Investment Fund portfolio companies, financial institutions, developers, and operators.
• Represent EDECS in key strategic negotiations with prospective partners, investors, project sponsors, and authoritative bodies.
• Form consortiums and alliances involving investors, operators, contractors, financiers, and technology providers.
• Convert networks and market insights into substantive opportunities and executed agreements.
• Maintain detailed mappings of priority decision-makers, partners, investors, and acquisition prospects.
• Generate opportunities spanning construction, infrastructure, logistics, ports, data centers, energy, utilities, and specialized engineering sectors.
• Identify suitable PPP, Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), Build-Own-Operate (BOO), concession, and project development prospects.
• Coordinate with technical and operations teams to appraise delivery capabilities, commercial terms, and risks.
• Advise whether to build, acquire, invest, or partner when entering new verticals.
• Support projects from early-stage development, through negotiation, to financial closing.
• Develop relationships with family offices, infrastructure funds, private equity firms, banks, sovereign wealth funds, and strategic investors.
• Identify appropriate equity, debt, project finance, and co-investment partners for approved initiatives.
• Assist in preparation and presentation of investment opportunities to capital partners.
• Collaborate closely with Group Investments Director on valuation, financial arrangements, capital requirements, and expected returns.
• Maintain a dynamic pipeline tracker detailing opportunity values, likelihood, strategic alignment, risks, decision milestones, and next actions.
• Prepare regular status reports for the Group Investments Director and Chairperson.
• Coordinate corporate development initiatives across investment, financial, legal, technical, and operation teams.
• Lead opportunity generation and external commercial engagement while ensuring all binding commitments have proper internal approvals.

Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, engineering, business administration, or related disciplines; MBA qualifications are advantageous.
• At least 10 years of relevant experience, notably including significant tenure within Saudi Arabia.
• Proven track record in originating and closing acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, concessions, PPPs, or strategic partnerships.
• Established senior network within Saudi investment, infrastructure, government-linked, family business, and corporate sectors.
• Demonstrated ability to convert relationships into executed contracts, awarded projects, completed investments, or financially closed transactions.
• Comprehensive knowledge of corporate finance, valuation, deal structuring, due diligence, and investment approval procedures.
• Experience across sectors such as infrastructure, logistics, digital infrastructure, energy, utilities, real estate, project finance, or principal investment.
• Exceptional commercial judgment, negotiation skills, presentation abilities, and relationship management.
• Fluency in Arabic and English is highly preferable.