The Director – Business Development will be responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing plans designed to increase existing business and capture new opportunities, with a focus on developing the food company strategy and subsidiaries’ business models. Specifically, to develop Food Sector business interests, aiming to establish joint ventures and partnerships with stakeholders in line with the sector strategic plan
Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities
- Lead the Food Sector Business Development division to establish and manage strategic relationships with companies nationally and internationally
- Guide business development operations for NEOM Food key projects to meet strategic targets, specifically with a focus around the five strategic pillars – Agriculture, Aquaculture, Novel Foods, Personalized Nutrition, and Commercial Food Distribution
- Lead Sector interactions in networking with agri-food companies and public sector entities; identify and present in-depth business trends and opportunities in the sector
- Develop and regularly update the strategy and action plan to attract food companies and develop the agri-food industry within NEOM
- Lead discovery of opportunities for strategic collaborations with start-ups, SMEs, and established entities and oversee efforts to incubate companies and technology for implementation at NEOM
- Lead the negotiation and structuring of deals with key stakeholders
- Contribute to the due diligence of investment opportunities
- Develop a governance framework to ensure integrated and seamless planning from strategic partnership to creating joint ventures and partnership
- Develop new business cases to support activities across the food value chain
- Draft periodic reports on project progress, challenges, risks, and mitigation in accordance with Program Management Office (PMO) requirements of the Energy, Water, and Food Sector (EWF)
- Lead the design, regulations, and implementation of best-in-class business development policies and procedures within NEOM
- Stimulate the team and contribute by identifying opportunities for improvement of business processes, cost reduction, and productivity improvement
- Identify local and international forums of interest, along with providing recommendations of Key Opinion Leaders to interface with members across the Food Sector
- Establish working relationships with relevant internal and external stakeholders
- Attract, define, develop, and manage targeted engagements
- Collect and document feedback from stakeholders on requirements and issues being faced to identify barriers and develop action plans
- Prepare progress reports and/or memos to relevant stakeholders to keep them informed of progress
- Identify key national players for localization of content when appropriate
- Collaborate with Food ED, NEOM HR, and recruiting agencies to identify, recruit, and retain talent for the Business Development Division
- Set performance goals, incentives, training opportunities, and provide regular feedback on performance for the business development team
- Promote a high-performance working environment embracing NEOM’s values
- Manage, guide, and assist division to perform their operations following set policies and procedures
Education & Experience
- Minimum Bachelor’s Degree in Business and/or Food or Agriculture related field (graduate degree preferred)
- MBA or comparable business experience
- 15 – 20 years of experience across the agriculture, aquaculture and food industry, and/or entrepreneurship
- Experience working in a multicultural environment