Business Executive – Sub-Saharan Africa

Informa PLC; Dubai; Hybrid; AED 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Taylor & Francis Group in Dubai seeks an experienced Market Intelligence & Research professional to map institutions, build stakeholder databases, and track regional higher education dynamics. You will leverage Excel, Salesforce, and BI tools to produce actionable insights for the sales team.

The role emphasizes data-driven storytelling, proposal support, and close collaboration with Marketing and Editorial to enhance outreach across Sub-Saharan markets.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of sales experience.
• Experience in publishing and higher education/research library environment.
• Strong pipeline management and ability to handle multiple prospects.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; strong presentation skills.
• Account management skills and relationship-building.
• Highly organized, professional, and goal oriented.
• Proficiency with Windows Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).

Responsibilities

• Map and monitor institutions to identify partnership opportunities.
• Build a database of decision-makers and stakeholders.
• Track market developments and competitors.
• Conduct research on Sub-Saharan Africa higher education landscape.
• Leverage Excel and CRM to analyze data and manage sales pipeline.
• Respond to RFPs and generate customized quotes.
• Create sales proposals and management reports.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Editorial for outreach.

Skills

Sales experience

Publishing experience

Account management

CRM software

PowerPoint

Excel

Presentation skills

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Tools

Salesforce

Source

Power BI

Institutional profiler

Elysia spark

Job description

Company Description

Informa is a leading academic publishing, business intelligence, knowledge and events business, creating unique content and connectivity for customers all over the world. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.

Taylor & Francis Group produces high quality, peer reviewed books and journals. We produce unique, trusted content by expert authors, spreading knowledge and promoting discovery globally. We aim to broaden thinking and advance understanding, providing academics and professionals with a platform to share ideas and realise their individual potential.

Our purpose is to foster human progress through knowledge. We strongly believe that this requires us to encourage and examine different ideas and voices, so that any work that meets our exacting levels of quality deserves to be included in our publications. This requires open minds, the opportunity for robust debate, and the courage to defend perspectives that stand up to scrutiny, even if they conflict with our personal beliefs or values. Because that’s the only way to find the best obtainable version of the truth and, ultimately, foster human progress. If you agree, then we’d love to hear from you.

Job Description

Market Intelligence & Research

• Map and monitor academic institutions, research centres, societies, etc to identify high-potential partnership and academic sales opportunities across Sub – Saharan African markets
• Build and maintain a robust database of key decision-makers, influencers, and stakeholders within target institutions
• Track market developments including competitor activities in the region.
• Conduct comprehensive research and analysis of the higher education landscape in Sub Saharan Africa including tracking education and research budget and policies.
• Develop deep understanding of educational policies, funding mechanisms, and institutional procurement processes in sub–Saharan Africa.

Data Analytics & Insights

• Leverage advanced Excel to analyse datasets, identify patterns, and extract actionable insights
• Keep accurate track of sales pipeline rigorously through CRM software (Salesforce.com).
• Track and sharelead information throughout all stages of the sales process.
• Respond to RFPs from prospective customers and generate customized quotes.
• Quickly master and utilize all internal business intelligence tools including Source, institutional profiler, Power BI etc to pull out reports.
• Adopt and integrate AI tools including Elysia spark (T&F’s internal AI tool) to enhance research efficiency and analyse report and data.
• Should have the ability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative data from multiple sources to generate comprehensive insights

Sales Enablement

• Transform institutional and other data into market intelligence to support the Sales team build compelling narratives that resonate with institutional and other stakeholders
• Create presentation materials, case studies, and value propositions tailored to specific institutions and decision-makers using various internal tools along with external research
• Assist in the development of sale proposals, management reports, support sales contact/CRM database.
• Produceregular reports on sales activity and development opportunities.
• Work closely with the Marketing and Editorial team to help support outreach activities in the region.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of sales experience.
• Prior publishing experience a plus, with an understanding of the higher education/research/library environment.
• Strong organizational and pipeline management skills with the demonstrated ability to manage multiple prospects, projects and deadlines simultaneously
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and advanced presentation skills at all levels of business
• Effective account management skills and the ability to form strong relationships and partnerships both internally and externally.
• Highly organized, professional, confident, and goal oriented.
• Able to work independently and as part of a team.
• Proficiency with Windows applications including MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel, required.
• Previous experience with CRM software helpful.

Additional Information

Closing Date: Applications will close on 24 Sep 2026.

Location:

• Candidates must havethe right to live and work in UAE.This role is based in our office in Dubai.
• We believe that great things happen when people connect face-to-face. That's why we work in-person with each other, or with customers and partners, three days a week or more. When you’re not spending time together in one of our offices or other workplaces – like at conference – you get the flexibility and support to work from home or remotely.
• We ask that candidates live within acommutable distance of our Dubai officeto ensure that as a balanced worker they can make it to our office location to collaborate as required.

Being Yourself at Taylor & Francis

Taylor & Francis is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe in and value diversity of people and thought, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where all colleagues can learn and succeed as their true selves. Taylor & Francis recruits, develops, and retains colleagues without regard to any protected personal characteristics or other non-merit-based factor.

If you have a disability, or face another barrier, and would like to request an adjustment to assist your participation in the hiring process and/or in the advertised position, please contact [email protected]. Your request will be reviewed and considered in the strictest confidence.

We genuinely care about our colleagues, promoting work-life balance, wellbeing, and flexible working. We believe that the skills and experience you bring to Taylor & Francis are invaluable. We want you to have the opportunity to develop your abilities, and to innovate and develop in areas which you are passionate about.