Market Lead – China

Abu Dhabi Investment Office مكتب أبوظبي للاستثمار; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 380,000 - 650,000; Full time

Job summary

Abu Dhabi Investment Office is seeking a Market Lead to understand the market deeply, identify strategic fits with Abu Dhabi, and develop a pipeline of high-quality companies aligned with priority clusters. The role involves engaging senior decision-makers, originating investment opportunities, and coordinating with internal teams to advance opportunities toward establishment.

The candidate will maintain relationships with market stakeholders and aggregators, ensure alignment with Abu Dhabi’s

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of their respective market and business environment.
• Proven experience engaging senior corporate stakeholders and investors.
• Existing relationships with companies, investors, aggregators, and market institutions.
• Strong understanding of FDI and international corporate expansion.

Responsibilities

• Develop a clear understanding of the respective market, its major companies, investment trends, outbound FDI activity, and sectors with international expansion potential.
• Identify areas where capabilities within the market address Abu Dhabi’s economy requirements.
• Maintain an updated view of major companies, investors, and emerging businesses for targeting by ADIO.
• Build and develop a targeted pipeline of high-quality companies aligned with Abu Dhabi’s priority clusters and objectives.
• Proactively originate investment opportunities and engage senior decision-makers to move opportunities toward establishment.
• Establish and maintain relationships with key market stakeholders and aggregators to generate opportunities.

Skills

Market knowledge

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic thinking

Network development

Job description

Market Lead will be responsible for understanding their respective market in depth and identifying the companies, investors, and opportunities that have the strongest strategic fit with Abu Dhabi.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop a clear understanding of the respective market, its major companies, investment trends, outbound FDI activity, and sectors with international expansion potential.
• Identify areas where capabilities within the market can address specific requirements or opportunities within Abu Dhabi’s economy.
• Maintain an updated view of major companies, investors, and emerging businesses that should be targeted by ADIO.

Strategic Company Targeting

• Build and continuously develop a targeted pipeline of high-quality companies aligned with Abu Dhabi’s priority clusters and wider economic objectives.
• Assess companies based on strategic fit, potential investment size, technology or capability transfer, employment creation, regional expansion potential, and overall economic contribution.
• Prioritize companies with credible potential to establish regional headquarters, operating businesses, manufacturing facilities, R&D capabilities, or other strategic operations in Abu Dhabi.

FDI Origination & Conversion

• Proactively originate investment opportunities rather than relying primarily on inbound enquiries.
• Engage companies at senior decision‑making level and understand their international expansion strategies.
• Develop the investment case for Abu Dhabi and work with the relevant internal teams to move opportunities from initial engagement through to establishment.
• Maintain ownership and momentum of opportunities throughout the investment journey.

Market Relationships & Aggregators

• Establish and maintain strong relationships with key market stakeholders, including chambers of commerce, business councils, industry associations, investment institutions, family offices, corporate networks, and other relevant aggregators.
• Candidates should ideally bring an existing network within their respective market and demonstrate the ability to access senior corporate decision‑makers.
• Develop relationships that can continuously generate qualified companies and investment opportunities for Abu Dhabi.
• Act as the link between international companies and the relevant teams across ADIO and the wider Abu Dhabi ecosystem.
• Coordinate with the relevant clusters to ensure company targeting reflects Abu Dhabi’s actual sector requirements and priorities.
• Facilitate investor requirements relating to establishment, licensing, industrial land and facilities, government engagement, ecosystem introductions, and other market‑entry requirements, where applicable.
• Ensure investors receive coordinated support throughout their establishment and expansion journey.

Investor Engagement, Missions & Events

• Identify and develop high‑value investor engagements in the respective markets.
• Support ADIO roadshows, delegations, roundtables, and strategic missions based on a clearly defined target‑company pipeline.
• Identify relevant international events where ADIO’s participation can generate tangible investment opportunities.
• Support major Abu Dhabi‑based events by bringing relevant companies, investors, and senior decision‑makers from their respective markets.
• Ensure events and missions are linked to measurable follow‑up opportunities rather than being treated as standalone activities.
• Maintain a structured market pipeline covering target companies, active engagements, investor visits, opportunities under development, and companies progressing toward establishment.
• Provide regular updates on key opportunities, challenges, required government support, and expected investment outcomes.
• Work closely with internal stakeholders to ensure appropriate follow‑up and accountability for each opportunity.

Performance & KPIs

• The Market Leads should ultimately be assessed on their contribution to FDI and Abu Dhabi’s economic objectives, with emphasis on outcomes rather than activity alone.
• Quality and strategic relevance of companies identified and engaged.
• Value and quality of the FDI pipeline generated.
• Number of qualified investment opportunities originated.
• Number of strategic companies brought to Abu Dhabi for substantive investment discussions.
• Conversion of opportunities into company establishments and realized investments.
• Alignment of attracted companies with Abu Dhabi’s priority clusters and economic requirements.
• Economic contribution of successful investments, including capital investment, job creation, technology and knowledge transfer, and development of local capabilities.
• Strength and quality of relationships developed with key aggregators and senior decision‑makers in each market.
• Effectiveness of international missions, investor engagements, and events in generating tangible investment outcomes.

Candidate Profile

• In addition to the minimum 8 years of relevant experience, candidates should demonstrate:
• Strong knowledge of their respective market and business environment.
• Proven experience engaging senior corporate stakeholders and investors.
• Existing relationships with companies, investors, aggregators, and relevant market institutions.
• Strong understanding of FDI and international corporate expansion.
• Ability to identify opportunities based on Abu Dhabi’s economic needs rather than simply responding to inbound interest.
• Strong commercial judgment and ability to assess the strategic value of potential investors.
• Ability to work across government entities, clusters, and private‑sector stakeholders.
• Strong communication, relationship‑management, and execution capabilities.

Strong experience and an established professional network within the target market are essential.