Sales Director (UAE)

KODEIT; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 700,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Panworld Group seeks a Sales Director to own the commercial leadership, go-to-market strategy, and revenue growth for its multi-brand K-12 education portfolio across the UAE and KSA.

You will build and scale the sales function, grow UAE market share, and lead KSA expansion, unifying Panworld Education and Kodeit Global offerings for maximum account value.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive sales leadership experience.
• 4–5 years as Sales Director / Head of Sales.
• Proven ability to scale multi-product / multi-brand portfolios.
• Fluency in English; Arabic is a strong advantage.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute overarching sales strategy for UAE and KSA.
• Build and scale the UAE sales function and drive revenue growth.
• Lead negotiations with school owners and procurement committees.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Product, Finance to align GTM and forecasting.

Skills

Sales leadership

Team building

Strategic acumen

B2B / Enterprise sales

CRM proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or equivalent

Tools

CRM software

Job description

Own the commercial leadership, go-to-market strategy, and revenue growth for a multi-brand K-12 education portfolio — building and scaling our sales function across the UAE and KSA.

Reports to: CEO, Panworld Group

Build the sales function · grow UAE market share · lead KSA expansion

Company Overview

Panworld Group is a UAE-based education solutions group comprising Panworld Education and Kodeit Global, both dedicated to enriching the K-12 learning ecosystem across the region. The Group partners with schools — predominantly those following the American curriculum — to deliver a portfolio of academic content, technology-enabled learning tools, STEM/coding programs, and school improvement solutions.

The Group is scaling its commercial footprint across the UAE and KSA and is seeking a commercially astute Sales Director to lead and unify its go-to-market strategy across both business lines, with a core mandate to build out the sales function and grow market share within the UAE's school network.

Role Purpose

The Sales Director will own the commercial leadership, go-to-market strategy, and revenue growth for the Panworld Group's combined portfolio of education offerings — spanning Panworld Education's academic solutions and Kodeit Global's technology/STEM learning products. The individual will build and scale our existing sales function, growing Panworld Group's presence across both the UAE and KSA, with a particular focus on deepening the Group's network within American curriculum schools in the UAE to capture greater market share.

This role is fundamentally about sales leadership and team-building capability. While experience in the education or EdTech industry is a strong advantage, it is not a mandatory requirement — what matters most is a proven ability to build, lead, and scale a high-performing sales organization and to drive disciplined revenue growth across a multi-market, multi-product portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

1 Strategic Leadership

• Define and execute the overarching sales strategy for the combined Panworld Group portfolio across UAE and KSA, aligned to company growth targets and market positioning.
• Develop a unified go-to-market approach that cross-sells and bundles Panworld Education and Kodeit Global offerings to maximize account value.
• Build a dedicated market share strategy for the UAE school network, with priority focus on American curriculum schools, while identifying expansion potential into adjacent curriculum segments.
• Lead market entry and go-to-market planning for UAE and KSA K-12 education landscape.
• Partner with senior leadership on pricing strategy, portfolio prioritization, and market positioning.
• Represent Panworld Group at industry events, education forums, and school leadership networks to build brand equity and thought leadership.

2 Revenue Growth & Business Development

• Own the end-to-end revenue target (topline and portfolio mix) across both business units, in both the UAE and KSA markets.
• Drive aggressive growth of Panworld Group's UAE school network to increase market share against competing providers.
• Build and manage a robust sales pipeline of school partnerships — from lead generation through contract closure and renewal.
• Lead negotiations with school owners, principals, procurement committees, and group education leadership for multi-year and multi-product agreements.
• Drive account penetration strategies to expand Panworld Group's footprint within existing school group relationships.
• Establish and manage strategic partnerships with school networks, education consultants, and curriculum bodies to create sustained referral and access channels.

3 Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Build the sales function from the ground up — recruit, structure, and lead a high-performing sales team across the UAE and KSA.
• Set clear KPIs, sales targets, and performance management frameworks to drive accountability and consistent execution.
• Coach and develop the team's sales capability — consultative selling, negotiation, and pipeline discipline — including team members newer to the education sector.
• Foster a high-accountability, collaborative sales culture across the combined Panworld/Kodeit sales function.
• Establish scalable sales processes, playbooks, and onboarding frameworks that support rapid team growth as the business expands into KSA.
• Maintain deep knowledge of the UAE private K-12 education landscape — regulatory bodies (KHDA, ADEK, MOE), curriculum trends, school group ownership structures, and competitor offerings — and build equivalent market knowledge for KSA.
• Build and sustain senior-level relationships with key school groups, owners, and decision-makers across the UAE, and establish a network of relationships in KSA as the business scales.
• Track competitor activity and market share within the UAE school segment, using insight to sharpen targeting and win strategy.
• Monitor market trends (curriculum shifts, EdTech adoption, school expansion plans) across both markets to proactively shape the sales strategy.

5 Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Marketing to align demand-generation campaigns with sales priorities.
• Partner with Product/Academic teams (across Panworld Education and Kodeit Global) to ensure offerings are aligned to market needs and school feedback.
• Collaborate with Finance and Operations on forecasting, contract structuring, and delivery readiness.
• Provide regular reporting and forecasting to the CEO/Board on pipeline health, revenue performance, and market opportunities.

Key Performance Indicators

Revenue growth across both portfolios (UAE & KSA) UAE school-network market share growth New school partnerships onboarded Sales team headcount, ramp time & productivity Cross-sell / upsell rate across the portfolio Client retention & contract renewal rate Pipeline conversion & sales-cycle efficiency Team performance vs. targets KSA market entry traction

Candidate Profile

• 10+ years of progressive sales leadership experience, with at least 4–5 years as Sales Director / Head of Sales.
• A demonstrated, verifiable track record of building a sales team from scratch or through a significant growth phase — recruiting, structuring, and scaling a function, not simply inheriting one.
• Proven ability to scale a business's revenue and market presence across multiple geographies or regions.
• Experience leading multi-product / multi-brand sales portfolios with significant, sustained revenue growth.
• Strong commercial and strategic acumen — translating strategy into disciplined execution.
• Excellent leadership and people-development capability — a coach and builder of talent.
• Data-driven pipeline management, forecasting, and performance tracking (CRM proficiency expected).
• Willingness and ability to work across the UAE and KSA, including regular regional travel.

Preferred, not mandatory

Industry & Market Background

• Education-sector experience (school partnerships, EdTech, curriculum providers, learning solutions) is a strong advantage — but strong B2B/enterprise sales leaders are equally encouraged to apply.
• Existing relationships within UAE private K-12 schools, particularly American curriculum institutions.
• Familiarity with the UAE education regulatory landscape (KHDA, ADEK) and school procurement cycles.
• Prior exposure to the KSA market, given the Group's expansion plans.

Education & Other Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification preferred.
• Based in the UAE, with extensive UAE travel and regular travel into KSA.
• Valid UAE driving license preferred.
• Fluency in English required; Arabic is a strong advantage, particularly for KSA.

What Panworld Group Offers

• A leadership role shaping the commercial strategy of a growing multi-brand education group across two markets.
• The opportunity to build a sales function and team from the ground up, with genuine ownership over how it's structured and scaled.
• Influence over a portfolio that directly impacts K-12 learning outcomes across the UAE — with a front-row seat on the Group's KSA expansion.
• Competitive compensation package including performance-linked incentives.
• A collaborative, entrepreneurial environment with direct access to senior leadership.