Business Development Manager

Oman Investment Authority; Muscat; On-site; OMR 23,070 - 30,760; Full time

Job summary

The Oman Investment Authority is seeking a professional for a strategic role in business development. The ideal candidate will manage the front end of MDO's growth funnel by generating and qualifying opportunities within approved investment geographies. Key responsibilities include building relationships with mining counterparties and representing the organization at various industry events.

The ideal applicant should have a Bachelor's degree in relevant fields and at least 8 years of experience in commercial mining or corporate development, coupled with strong relationship management skills.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of business development or commercial mining experience.
• Demonstrable network in priority geographies.
• Bilingual in Arabic/English is a strong advantage.

Responsibilities

• Generate qualified opportunities consistent with investment thesis.
• Build and maintain high-value relationships with stakeholders.
• Lead early commercial conversations with potential partners.

Skills

Network across mining companies

CRM discipline

Strategic mindset

Conference representation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in mining engineering, geology, business, economics, finance, or international relations

Master’s degree (MBA, mineral economics, or international development)

Job description

Reports to

Growth & Partnership Director

Job Purpose

Own the front end of MDO's Growth funnel. Generate and qualify opportunities consistent with the approved investment thesis and geographies. Proactively identify access and shape high‑quality opportunities in priority geographies and commodities, build and maintain strategic relationships with mining counterparties, host‑country authorities, intermediaries and co‑investors, and advance opportunities to the point where they are ready to be passed into structured execution.

Key Accountabilities

• Origination and Pipeline Development
  • Generate qualified opportunities consistent with MDO's approved investment thesis: copper, gold, chromite, industrial minerals and approved geographies: Oman, Africa, Central Asia.
  • Proactively identify and originate opportunities not formally in the market, including off‑market early‑stage and strategic transactions.
  • Maintain a live origination pipeline and prioritize coverage of high‑potential counterparties, intermediaries and sovereign peers.
• Relationship Management
  • Build and maintain high‑value relationships with mining counterparties, host‑country authorities, intermediaries and co‑investors at the executive and ministerial levels.
  • Represent MDO at industry conferences, ministerial meetings, bilateral engagements and sovereign‑investor forums.
• Market Intelligence
  • Track commodity, country and corporate developments relevant to MDO’s pipeline.
  • Maintain country dossiers and competitive intelligence on peer sovereign and private mining investors.
• Initial Commercial Dialogue
  • Lead early commercial conversations with counterparties, including initial term‑sheet positioning and indications of interest.
  • Collaborate with the Technical Commercial Evaluator and the Investments and M&A Manager for clean handoff into structured execution.
• Brand and Positioning
  • Position MDO credibly with counterparties as a sovereign partner of choice – neutral, long‑horizon and technically capable.
  • Contribute to MDO's external communications in coordination with the CEO Office: conference presentations, partnership announcements and selected thought‑leadership content.

Key Performance Indicators

• Number of qualified opportunities generated per quarter against the pipeline plan.
• Conversion rate from origination to term‑sheet stage.
• Geographic coverage depth across MDO’s priority markets.
• Counterparty relationship coverage versus a defined target list, CRM‑tracked.
• Quality of clean handoff to the Investments and M&A Manager, measured by execution‑stage rework.

Working Relationships

• Internal:
  • CEO Office
  • Growth & Partnership Director
  • Investments and M&A Manager
  • Technical Commercial Evaluator
  • Legal
  • Communications
• External:
  • Mining counterparties
  • Intermediaries
  • Host‑country ministries and embassies
  • Sovereign‑investor peers
  • Industry associations
  • Conference organizers

Decision‑Making Authority

• Engage external counterparties at the executive level on behalf of MDO within the approved investment thesis and geographies.
• Commit MDO to industry conferences, bilateral meetings and origination spend within the approved budget.
• Escalate to the Growth & Partnership Director any opportunity that falls outside the approved thesis or requires Board & OIA visibility before further engagement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mining engineering, geology, business, economics, finance, or international relations. Master’s degree (MBA, mineral economics, or international development) preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of business development, corporate development, or commercial mining experience with a strong relationship and origination orientation.
• Demonstrable network across mining companies, intermediaries, and host‑country authorities in at least one of MDO's priority geographies.
• Direct experience originating mining transactions, even where execution was led elsewhere, is essential.
• Exposure to sovereign‑investor or state‑owned‑enterprise environments is valued.
• Comfort operating at the ministerial and C‑suite level is essential.
• Arabic/English bilingual is a strong advantage. French (Francophone Africa) or Russian (Central Asia) is valued.

Knowledge, Skills & Competencies

• Technical Commercial fundamentals of mining: commodity dynamics, mine economics, royalty and fiscal regimes, ownership structures.
• Country and political‑risk literacy across MDO's priority geographies.
• CRM discipline and structured pipeline management.
• Term‑sheet literacy sufficient to position MDO credibly in early commercial conversations.
• Conference and stakeholder representation skills.

Behavior

• Build networks – the central muscle of the role.
• Strategic mindset; originates ahead of the market rather than behind it.
• Persuades through evidence‑based, well‑prepared argument.
• Global perspective across cultures, regulatory regimes, and commercial norms.
• Instills trust – represents a sovereign investor where reputational capital compounds over time.