Business Development Manager – Field Acquisition & Partnerships

Trades App; Dubai; On-site; AED 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Trades App in Dubai is seeking a field-led business development professional to drive qualified demand and grow customer acquisition through direct outreach, ecosystem partnerships and events. You will build a steady top-of-funnel by engaging accounting firms, tax practices and SME networks, and you will move opportunities toward product demos, trials and activation.

This hands-on role requires comfort selling to business owners and finance professionals, with substantial in-person prospecting

Qualifications

• Experience in business development, field sales, partnerships or relationship-led commercial roles in the UAE.
• Track record of opening new relationships and converting conversations into opportunities or revenue.
• Existing access to UAE finance decision-makers or SME networks.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a focused pipeline of UAE SMEs, finance leaders, accounting firms and partners.
• Generate opportunities through direct prospecting, industry events and referrals.
• Develop relationships with accountants, CFOs, founders, free zones, banks and SME ecosystems.

Skills

Field sales

Partnerships

CRM

Prospecting

Presentation

Travel

Tools

CRM

Job description

Industry: Fintech / AI-powered accounting & finance operations software

Location: Dubai, UAE

Employment: Full-time

Reporting to: Chief Growth Officer, working closely with the CEO

About The Company

Our client is a Dubai-based financial technology company building AI-powered accounting and finance operations tools for businesses across the UAE and wider region. The platform helps businesses and finance teams automate bookkeeping, bank reconciliation, VAT and corporate-tax workflows, reporting and related finance operations.

Role purpose

The company is hiring a field-led business development professional to create qualified demand and grow customer acquisition through direct outreach, finance-sector relationships, events and partner channels. The role is accountable for building a consistent top-of-funnel and moving qualified opportunities toward product demonstrations, trials and customer activation. It includes developing relationships with accounting firms, tax practices, business setup providers, free zones, SME networks and other relevant finance ecosystem partners.

This is a hands-on acquisition role, not a people-management position or a purely desk-based marketing role. SaaS experience is useful but not essential; the candidate must be comfortable learning the product and selling to business owners and finance professionals.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a focused pipeline of UAE SMEs, finance leaders, accounting firms and other potential channel partners.
• Generate new opportunities through direct prospecting, warm introductions, professional networks, field visits, industry events, roundtables and referrals.
• Develop relationships with accountants, CFOs, controllers, founders, business setup firms, free zones, banks and SME ecosystem organisations.
• Conduct discovery conversations to understand the prospect’s accounting stack, transaction volumes, reconciliation process, reporting delays, compliance workflows and buying triggers.
• Present the product in a clear, outcome-led way and coordinate product demonstrations using relevant prospect examples or data where appropriate.
• Manage prospects through agreed stages: first contact, discovery, qualification, demo, trial or pilot, onboarding handoff and commercial follow-up.
• Recruit and develop accounting-firm and ecosystem partners; explain the partner value proposition and coordinate first-client pilots.
• Work with product, implementation and customer-success colleagues to ensure prospect expectations match current product capabilities.
• Maintain accurate CRM records, meeting notes, next steps, lead sources, pipeline stages and forecasts.
• Test new acquisition channels and messages, report results, and recommend where to focus or stop.
• Represent the company at relevant meetings and events with a professional, credible understanding of accounting and finance workflows.

What success looks like

• Qualified meetings and opportunities generated from direct and partner channels.
• Conversion from qualified discovery to product demonstration or trial.
• Number of prospects reaching an agreed first-value milestone.
• New paid customer activations and revenue sourced or materially influenced by the role.
• Number of partners that become active and produce qualified introductions or activated clients.
• Pipeline accuracy, follow-up discipline and CRM hygiene.
• Quality of market feedback shared with product and commercial leadership.

Required experience and skills

• Experience in business development, field sales, partnerships, client acquisition or relationship-led commercial roles in the UAE.
• A track record of personally opening new relationships and converting conversations into qualified opportunities or revenue.
• Existing access to UAE finance decision-makers, accounting practices, SME owners or business ecosystem networks.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to discuss accounting and finance workflows clearly.
• Structured prospecting and follow-up habits; comfortable using a CRM and reporting pipeline activity.
• Self-directed, persistent and comfortable working in a small, fast-moving team.
• Willingness to spend significant time meeting prospects and partners in person across Dubai and, where required, other UAE locations.
• Valid UAE driving licence and reliable access to a car for field activity.

Preferred background

• Chartered Accountant, accountant, finance professional or experience selling accounting, tax, banking, payments, payroll, ERP or fintech products.
• Experience working with accounting firms, outsourced finance providers, corporate service providers, free zones or SME communities.
• Arabic language ability.
• Experience running small business events, partner sessions, workshops or referral programmes.
• Familiarity with SaaS trials, onboarding, recurring revenue and partner-led sales.

Candidate profile

The right person combines financial credibility with commercial urgency. They can speak comfortably with an accountant or CFO, but they are also willing to prospect, travel, attend events, ask for introductions, follow up repeatedly and learn from rejection.