Head of Sales Development

About the Role

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi is seeking a Head of Sales Development for a key initiative on a 12-month freelance contract. This government agency drives the sustainable expansion of Abu Dhabi’s culture and tourism sectors, aiming to establish the emirate as a global leader in culture, creativity, and tourism.

The Head of Sales Development will lead the Enterprise Sales Development division. This role focuses on identifying, engaging, and qualifying priority clients such as gaming companies, investors, and venture leaders, before passing successful leads to the Enterprise Account Execution team. The position requires setting targeting and outreach strategies, managing inbound and outbound lead pipelines, and ensuring smooth collaboration across Business Development functions.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop clear market segmentation and targeting criteria aligned with Abu Dhabi Gaming priorities.
• Identify priority market segments, target accounts, and geographic outreach zones.
• Create and maintain prioritized account lists of gaming companies, investors, and venture leaders.
• Track market changes and adjust prospect profiles and outreach focus accordingly.
• Formulate structured outreach plans spanning priority segments and international markets.
• Design engagement materials and collateral to aid outreach and client discussions.
• Drive direct outreach via events, referrals, and community channels to establish relationships and generate qualified interest.
• Evaluate and prioritize incoming investment inquiries by capturing detailed prospect needs and readiness.
• Qualify leads considering strategic alignment, commercial potential, and likelihood of conversion, assigning appropriate ownership and follow-up actions.
• Define qualification criteria, pipeline stages, and opportunity progression standards.
• Maintain comprehensive CRM databases with accurate engagement records and opportunity statuses.
• Enable pipeline transparency and governance across the Business Development team.
• Collaborate with Business Sourcing to transfer qualified leads to Enterprise Account Execution for conversion efforts.
• Gather market feedback on Abu Dhabi’s offerings, incentives, and ecosystem limitations from prospects.
• Analyze pipeline performance metrics, including lead quality, aging, and conversion rates against KPIs.
• Identify process bottlenecks within targeting, qualifying, and handover stages and recommend enhancements.
• Set team objectives, allocate resources, and manage performance within the Enterprise Sales Development group.
• Standardize tools, templates, and processes, ensuring quality and consistency.
• Coach and develop team members while fostering synergy across broader Business Development teams.

Qualifications and Ideal Profile

• Senior leadership experience equivalent to Vice President, Principal, or Section Head roles.
• Minimum of 8 years’ relevant leadership experience, preferably in enterprise sales development or business development.
• Proven success in defining priority accounts and executing outbound engagement plans.
• Strong commercial acumen assessing strategic fit, opportunity potential, and readiness for conversion.
• Expertise utilizing CRM systems, managing pipeline stages, follow-ups, and performance reporting.
• Ability to build trust and credibility with founders, executive leaders, investors, and government officials.
• Experience coaching teams and coordinating between sourcing, sales development, and account execution teams.
• Highly organized with a data-driven and structured approach to managing numerous accounts and interactions.
• Background in gaming, technology, digital media, investment attraction, or related industries is advantageous.

Additional Details

Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Contract Length: 12 months
Applicants meeting the criteria are encouraged to apply or submit their CV for consideration.