Business Executive Sub-Saharan Africa

Informa; Dubai; Hybrid; AED 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Informa is seeking a Market Intelligence & Research professional in Dubai to map institutions, build stakeholder databases, and track regional market developments for Sub-Saharan Africa. You will analyze data with Excel and Power BI, support sales with compelling narratives, and coordinate across Marketing and Editorial.

Role emphasizes hybrid work with in-office collaboration several days weekly; strong CRM experience and publishing/education sector familiarity are highly valued.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of sales experience.
• Publishing experience is a plus, with understanding of higher education/research/library environments.
• Strong organizational and pipeline management skills with the ability to manage multiple prospects.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and advanced presentation skills.
• Effective account management and ability to build relationships 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.
• Previous experience with CRM software is helpful.

Responsibilities

• Map and monitor academic institutions to identify high-potential partnership opportunities across Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Build and maintain a database of key decision-makers within target institutions.
• Track market developments including competitor activities in the region.
• Conduct research and analysis of the higher education landscape in Sub-Saharan Africa; track budgets and policies.
• Develop understanding of educational policies, funding mechanisms, and procurement processes in the region.
• Leverage advanced Excel to analyze datasets and extract insights.
• Keep sales pipeline rigorously tracked through Salesforce; share lead information across stages.
• Respond to RFPs and generate customized quotes.
• Master internal BI tools (Source, institutional profiler, Power BI) to pull reports.
• Adopt AI tools such as Elysia spark to enhance research efficiency and analysis.
• Synthesize quantitative and qualitative data to generate comprehensive insights.
• Transform data into market intelligence to support sales narratives for institutions.
• Create presentations, case studies, and value propositions for decision-makers.
• Assist in sale proposals, management reports, and CRM database maintenance.
• Produce regular reports on sales activity and opportunities.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Editorial to support regional outreach.

Skills

Sales experience

CRM proficiency

Strong communication

Presentation skills

Relationship management

Organization & pipeline management

MS Office

Independent & team work

Tools

Salesforce

Power BI

Source

Institutional profiler

Elysia spark

Job description

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 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.

Applications are shortlisted on a rolling basis, and we will be interviewing alongside advertising. We therefore encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity.

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.

We want all our candidates to shine in our recruitment process. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to ensure you are able to show us your best self. This could include having the application form in a different format, more time for questions, or anything else – please ask us, we are happy to be flexible! Please contact

Being Yourself at Taylor & Francis

If you’re excited about working with Taylor & Francis to foster human progress through knowledge, we invite you to apply even if your existing skills and experience don’t fit every item listed above. At Taylor & Francis, we are at our best and most successful when colleagues can be themselves and contribute regardless of their identity or background. As a colleague, you will have the opportunity to further innovate and develop in areas that you are passionate about. Our goal is to empower you with the resources, incentives, and flexibility you need to enjoy success at work and to live a healthy, balanced life.

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 . 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. To find out more about our business and the great career opportunities please go to our Careers Site: http://www.taylorandfrancisgroup.com/careers

Or better yet check out our LinkedIn ‘Life’ Page, highlighting our accomplishments, employees, and company culture. It’s also a good way of meeting our recruitment team, who will be happy to advise you on your journey here at T&F.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/taylor-&-francis-group/life/79e0c27c-afdf-4bbb-84e6-5f8ed5e10bb8/

Requirements: