Head of Business Development - Middle East

Social Leverage; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 661,000 - 955,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary & Stock Options

New Hire Home‑Office Setup: One‑time 1

Monthly Stipend: USD 150 per month via

Job summary

Alpaca seeks a Head of Business Development for the Middle East to lead commercial growth in UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the GCC. You will own deals, ecosystem presence, and partnerships with fintechs, banks, regulators, and government bodies.

Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Product, and leadership to scale a regional footprint in a fast-moving, remote-first environment. Must be comfortable building a region largely from scratch.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in business development, partnerships, or institutional sales in financial services, fintech, or digital assets.
• Existing network with fintechs, exchanges, banks, primes, or regulators in UAE/ GCC.
• Experience engaging regulators or government agencies in the region.
• Strong executive presence and communication skills, with public-facing experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic relationships and partnerships across the Middle East.
• Drive GTM execution and regional expansion with cross-functional teams.
• Represent the company at industry events, regulatory roundtables, and media engagements.
• Translate regional customer pain points into strategic solutions and revenue opportunities.

Skills

English fluency

Arabic preferred

Middle East market experience

Regulatory engagement

Networking in UAE/GCC

Executive presence

Strategic partnerships

Cross-functional collaboration

Travel readiness

Remote-first adaptability

Job description

Head of Business Development - Middle East

Posted 2 days ago

Who We Are:

Alpaca is a US-headquartered, global leader in agent-first brokerage infrastructure for stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, fixed income, 24/5 trading, and more.

Amongst our subsidiaries, Alpaca is a licensed financial services company, serving hundreds of financial institutions across 40 countries with our institutional-grade APIs. This includes broker-dealers, investment advisors, wealth managers, hedge funds, and crypto exchanges, totalling over 10 million brokerage accounts.

Our global team is a diverse group of experienced engineers, traders, and brokerage professionals who are working to achieve our mission of opening financial services to everyone on the planet. We're deeply committed to open-source contributions and fostering a vibrant community, continuously enhancing our award-winning, developer-friendly API and the robust infrastructure behind it.

Alpaca is proudly backed by $400 million in funding from top-tier global investors including Portage Ventures, Spark Capital, Tribe Capital, Social Leverage, Horizons Ventures, Opera Tech Ventures, SBI Group, Derayah Financial, Unbound, Peak XV, Elefund, and Y Combinator.

Our Team Members:

We’re a dynamic team of 400+ globally distributed members who thrive working from our favorite places around the world, with teammates spanning the USA, Canada, Japan, Hungary, Nigeria, Brazil, the UK, and beyond!

We’re searching for passionate individuals eager to contribute to Alpaca’s rapid growth. If you align with our core values—Stay Curious, Have Empathy, and Be Accountable—and are ready to make a significant impact, we encourage you to apply.

Your Role

Alpaca is seeking a Head of Business Development, Middle East to lead our commercial and strategic expansion across the region — spanning the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the broader GCC. You'll own the relationships, deals, and ecosystem presence that bring fintechs, exchanges, brokerages, banks, primes, regulators, and government institutions into Alpaca’s orbit across the Middle East.

This is a rare opportunity to build Alpaca’s regional presence largely from the ground up, at the firm that pioneered instant tokenized equities. You'll work cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Product, and executive leadership to grow Alpaca’s footprint in one of the world’s most active capital markets and digital asset hubs.

This role reports into the Director of Business Development and offers significant scope for ownership as Alpaca builds out its regional footprint.

Things You Get To Do

Strategic Relationship & Business Development

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with fintechs, exchanges, brokerages, banks, primes, and ecosystem partners across the Middle East
• Serve as a key executive interface with prospective and existing clients in the region, identifying opportunities to deepen partnerships and expand adoption
• Navigate high-stakes engagements with regulators, government agencies, and public sector institutions to support Alpaca’s regional expansion
• Nurture client relationships across the region — from initial opportunity scoping through ongoing strategic engagement and partnership growth
• Identify and pursue new commercial opportunities in collaboration with Sales, Marketing, Product, and the Director of Business Development
• Support account conversion by partnering with the sales team on lead nurturing and referral follow-up

Ecosystem Development & GTM Execution

• Drive Alpaca’s go-to-market execution across Middle East geographies and verticals through engagement with local fintech communities, regulators, founders, and institutional partners
• Collaborate closely with the Director of Business Development and Head of Sales to execute against revenue targets and regional expansion priorities
• Champion Alpaca’s product value proposition by deeply understanding the platform and translating regional customer pain points into strategic solutions
• Analyze CRM data and business performance metrics to inform regional sales strategy and uncover growth opportunities

Industry Representation & Brand Advocacy

• Represent Alpaca at high‑profile regional industry conferences, regulatory roundtables, and ecosystem events
• Serve as a public‑facing spokesperson for Alpaca in government meetings, webinars, client workshops, and strategic media engagements across the region
• Host and organize regional networking events and client briefings to showcase Alpaca’s leadership and reinforce customer trust
• Prepare and deliver high‑impact sales presentations and regular performance reports, translating data into actionable insights for leadership

Who You Are (Must-Haves)

• 8+ years of experience in business development, strategic partnerships, or institutional sales within financial services, fintech, capital markets, or digital assets, with substantial experience in the Middle East
• An existing network of relationships among fintechs, exchanges, brokerages, banks, primes, or regulators in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, or the broader GCC
• Experience engaging directly with regulators and government agencies, and familiarity with regional regulatory frameworks (e.g. DIFC, ADGM, VARA, CMA, SCA)
• Strong understanding of (or strong appetite to quickly learn) brokerage infrastructure, tokenization, blockchain‑based settlement, and digital asset market structure
• Track record sourcing and nurturing strategic relationships that convert into commercial opportunities over time
• Excellent executive presence and communication skills, comfortable acting as a public‑facing representative of the firm with clients, regulators, and media
• Comfortable working cross‑functionally with Sales, Marketing, Product, and executive leadership in a fast‑moving, remote‑first environment
• Self‑starter mentality with strong organizational skills, a bias toward action, and comfort building a region largely from scratch
• Fluency in English required; Arabic fluency strongly preferred
• Willingness to travel regularly within the region

Nice-to-Haves

• Prior experience at a broker‑dealer, exchange, market maker, prime broker, or crypto‑native firm operating in the Middle East
• Experience working on tokenization, RWA (real‑world asset), or on‑chain market infrastructure projects
• Existing relationships with regional regulators or government agencies
• Based in or with deep ties to the UAE or Saudi Arabia

How We Take Care of You:

• Competitive Salary & Stock Options
• New Hire Home‑Office Setup: One‑time USD $500
• Monthly Stipend: USD $150 per month via a Brex Card

Alpaca is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace dedicated to pursuing and hiring a diverse workforce.

Work Mode On-site

Seniority Director

Function Sales & Business Development

Company Size 201-500 employees

Skills Capital Markets Digital Assets Financial Services Internetworking New Business Development Organizational Skills Strategic Partnership Tokenization