Senior Business Development Executive - Africa

Deriv; Dubai; On-site; AED 190,000 - 290,000; Full time

Job summary

Deriv is seeking a commercially driven Business Development Executive to build and grow high-value partner networks across PALOP and Lusophone Africa, identifying, recruiting, and activating IBs and affiliates.

This role goes beyond account management, demanding strategic deal structuring, revenue focus, and AI-enabled workflow enhancement to scale partner operations globally.

Qualifications

• Fluent English and Portuguese are required.
• Degree in business, economics, finance or equivalent.
• Up to five years of commercial or partnerships experience.

Responsibilities

• Identify, recruit, and activate IBs and affiliates in assigned markets.
• Own partner lifecycle from onboarding to revenue performance.
• Negotiate commission structures and partner agreements.
• Leverage AI tools to research, onboarding, and performance tracking.

Skills

English fluency

Portuguese fluency

Commercial acumen

Partnerships mindset

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, economics, finance or equivalent

Job description

Deriv's partner ecosystem is one of the company's biggest growth drivers. Introducing Brokers (IBs), affiliates, and strategic partners connect our products to traders across more than 150 countries — and this role sits at the centre of that growth engine.

We're looking for a commercially driven Business Development Executive to build and grow high-value partner networks across PALOP, or Lusophone countries in Africa. You'll identify, recruit, and activate IBs and affiliates — owning your portfolio from first contact through to revenue performance.

This is not a pure account management role — it's about proactively bringing in new business and recruiting the right partners. Success requires commercial judgment: understanding which partners are worth investing in, which deal structures drive sustainable volume, and how to build credibility with operators who understand the economics of this industry deeply.

AI is also central to how the team operates. AI systems support onboarding, lifecycle management, operational workflows, and partner intelligence across the GP function. You won't just use these systems — you'll help improve them by identifying workflow gaps, surfacing operational feedback, and working closely with product and engineering teams to scale how partner operations run.

The expectation is not simply that you are comfortable using AI tools, but that you understand how automation and human commercial judgment work together to create leverage at scale.

Why This Role Matters

Deriv processes more than $700B in monthly trading volume across global markets. A significant part of that growth comes through partners.

The quality of the partner ecosystem directly impacts:

• Client acquisition
• Trading activity
• Regional market penetration
• Long-term revenue growth

What You'll Own

• Partner acquisition and recruitment. Identify, recruit, and grow high-value IBs, affiliates, fintech partners, and strategic alliances aligned with Deriv's growth objectives across your assigned markets.
• Portfolio activation and performance. Own the full partner lifecycle from onboarding through to revenue performance. Analyse partner performance trends, identify gaps, and implement improvement plans where needed.
• Commercial deal support and execution. Negotiate commission structures, volume targets, and support agreements that balance partner incentive with Deriv's commercial requirements. Understand the unit economics behind what you're offering.
• AI-enabled operational contribution. Use the team’s AI tools in your day-to-day work — for example, to research and prioritise prospective partners, speed up onboarding, and track partner performance. When a tool or workflow isn’t working well, flag it, explain the commercial impact, and work with product and engineering teams to improve it. The goal is less manual admin, so more of your time goes into partner relationships and closing deals.
• Industry representation. Represent Deriv across conferences, partner meetings, and industry events including iFX Expo, Finance Magnates, Forex Expo Dubai, and regional growth events.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first 12 months, you will be expected to:

• Build and activate a partner portfolio — move partners from recruited to onboarded to generating first volume
• Contribute to trading volume and client acquisition growth within your assigned markets, with clear individual attribution
• Demonstrate consistent pipeline generation across your assigned regions
• Strengthen Deriv's presence across strategic growth markets
• Contribute to scalable AI-enabled workflows within the GP function

Who You Are

• You have early-career experience in business development, partnerships, sales, or a commercial support function — ideally within online trading, FX/CFD, fintech, or a performance-driven digital ecosystem.
• You have a working understanding of how IB and affiliate ecosystems operate — or the commercial curiosity and learning pace to get there fast.
• You combine commercial drive with operational follow-through — you don't just open conversations, you develop them into outcomes.
• You are comfortable working across different cultures and markets, or actively building that capability.
• You can build credibility with experienced operators by being prepared, asking good questions, and being straight — not by overstating your experience.
• You actively use AI tools in your day-to-day work and are curious about how automation can improve commercial operations.
• You have a sense of where human judgment adds value that automation cannot replace.
• Fluency in English and Portuguese is required, given the role's focus on Lusophone Africa.
• You hold a relevant degree — business, economics, finance, or equivalent — and have up to five years of experience.

Why Deriv

• Direct commercial ownership and visible business impact from day one
• Exposure to global growth markets and large-scale partner ecosystems
• A lean, high-performance environment with fast decision-making
• Collaboration with product and engineering teams building AI-enabled operational systems
• Opportunity to contribute to how one of the industry's largest partner ecosystems scales globally
• Meaningful performance-driven growth opportunities tied to commercial result

The Environment

This is a high-accountability commercial role with measurable growth and revenue targets. Success requires strong judgment, a willingness to learn fast, and consistent execution across complex international markets.

In return, you'll have meaningful ownership, exposure to GP leadership, and the opportunity to influence how Deriv scales partner growth globally through both commercial execution and AI-enabled operations.

Location

This role is based in Dubai, UAE, with regular travel required across Lusophone Africa.