Business Manager Middle East & Africa

Lakeland Dairies; Dubai; On-site; AED 360,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

Lakeland Dairies Ltd is seeking an experienced Business Manager - EMEA to lead growth across the Middle East and Africa, focusing on dairy portfolio opportunities with distributors, customers and strategic partners.

You will develop regional growth strategies, drive JBPs, and collaborate with marketing, technical and operations to deliver sustainable revenue and profit across diverse markets while ensuring compliance and safety.

Qualifications

• Significant sales and account management experience within foodservice, QSR and/or food manufacturing.
• Strong distributor management across the MEA region and exposure to dairy products.
• Experience developing Joint Business Plans and working with distributors and end users.
• Proficient in regional languages alongside English; analytical capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Drive profitable sales growth in the MEA region against targets.
• Identify and secure new business opportunities across key sectors.
• Build and strengthen relationships with distributors, customers and partners.
• Collaborate with distributor sales teams to maximize market penetration.
• Develop and execute regional sales strategies and JBPs.
• Coordinate with Marketing, Technical, R&D and other teams to support product development.
• Lead cross-border commercial opportunities and travel within the region.

Skills

Sales leadership

Account management

Distributor management

MEA region knowledge

Joint Business Planning

English

Negotiation skills

Market expansion

Tools

SAP BI

Incoterms

Job description

Lakeland Dairies Co-operative Society Limited (The Group) is the second largest dairy processor on the island of Ireland. The business is complex and ambitious with a milk supply pool of 2 billion litres of milk, drawn from over 3,200 family farms across 16 counties.

The opportunity:

We are now seeking an experienced and commercially driven Business Manager - EMEA to lead the growth and development of our business across the Middle East and Africa. This is a high-impact role focused on building upon Lakeland Dairies' successful international dairy portfolio, driving sales growth across liquid and powder dairy products while strengthening relationships with key distributors, customers and strategic partners.

Working closely with both commercial and technical stakeholders, you will identify and unlock new business opportunities, develop and execute regional growth strategies, and lead Joint Business Planning activities to deliver against ambitious sales and profit targets. With a particular focus on the Bakery, HoReCa, QSR, Fast Food Franchise and Airline Catering sectors, you will play a pivotal role in expanding our customer base, developing our brand presence and ensuring Lakeland Dairies remains a trusted partner across the EMEA region.

What success will look like:

• Drive profitable sales growth across the Middle East and Africa region delivering against agreed sales and profit targets.
• Identify, develop and secure new business opportunities across the Bakery, HoReCa, QSR, Fast Food Franchise and Airline Catering sectors.
• Build, manage and strengthen relationships with key customers, distributors and strategic business partners to support long-term growth.
• Collaborate with distributor sales teams to generate new business opportunities and maximise market penetration.
• Develop and execute regional sales strategies, Joint Business Plans (JBPs) and commercial initiatives to achieve sustainable growth.
• Work closely with Marketing, Technical, R&D and other internal teams to provide customer-focused solutions and support successful product development.
• Act as a key link between customers and internal functions, ensuring product application knowledge and market insights are effectively communicated across the business.
• Deliver engaging presentations, training sessions and commercial updates to customers, distributors and internal stakeholders as required.
• Prepare, manage and monitor budgets, forecasts and performance plans, ensuring accurate reporting of activities, customer visits and business results.
• Maintain the highest standards of professionalism, compliance and confidentiality while demonstrating strong leadership, continuous development and a commitment to health and safety best practices.

What you will bring:

Applicants must be able to demonstrate significant sales and account management experience within the foodservice, QSR and/or food manufacturing sector, ideally with exposure to dairy products, and a strong understanding of the commercial drivers, route-to-market models and distribution networks across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

Well experienced in distributor management, the successful applicant will thrive on developing strategic customer relationships and delivering sustainable growth across diverse territories,. Candidates should also have experience of complex international supply chains and a proven track record in new business development and market expansion.

Experience in developing and executing Joint Business Plans, working with distributors, sub-distributors and key end users, and managing cross-border commercial opportunities would be highly advantageous. Candidates who can demonstrate exposure to wider commercial disciplines such as sales, marketing, category management or business development will be particularly well suited to the role.

Proficiency in relevant regional languages, alongside English, would be advantageous, as would experience of international trade, importation of goods, distributor management and working with Incoterms, ISB or similar commercial frameworks. Strong analytical and numerical capability is required, with experience using SAP BI or similar business intelligence systems considered beneficial.

The successful candidate will be a highly motivated, self-driven individual with strong commercial acumen, excellent negotiation skills and an entrepreneurial mindset. They will be capable of building influential relationships at distributor, sub-distributor, customer and end-user level across multiple markets and cultures. The ability to identify opportunities, create compelling commercial propositions and deliver sustainable growth within a diverse and dynamic EMEA region is essential.

If you have the necessary skills and attributes to meet this exciting opportunity in a dynamic, high volume and fast-moving business, we would be delighted to hear from you.

***The successful applicant will be prepared to travel within the roles region, UK and Ireland as and when requested***

Lakeland Dairies Ltd is committed to having an inclusive workplace where every employee feels they belong. If you require accommodations to be made during the recruitment process or have questions relating to accessibility, please contact us at [e-mail].