Partnerships Manager / Category Manager – FMCG | Jeddah

Sanabil Venture Studio; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Sanabil Studio is building Tradepay, a B2B trade and working-capital platform for the FMCG sector in Saudi Arabia. We are seeking a commercially driven Partnerships Manager to lead the partnership pipeline, identify the right partners, and position Tradepay's value proposition.

In this hands-on role you will hunt for new business, build relationships from scratch and manage opportunities from first conversation through to commercial agreement and implementation handover.

Qualifications

• 3–6 years of relevant experience in the Saudi FMCG market.
• Experience in business development, key accounts, category management, channel development, trade marketing or distributor management.
• Strong understanding of traditional trade, distributors and supplier-to-retailer value chain.
• Existing relationships with Saudi FMCG manufacturers, distributors, or major suppliers are highly desirable.
• Commercial mindset with confidence discussing margins, volumes, payment terms and partner economics.
• Proven ability to open new accounts, build relationships and convert opportunities.
• Persistent, structured follow-up and closing approach.
• Comfortable working in a fast-moving, early-stage environment.
• Strong Arabic and English communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a pipeline of FMCG manufacturers, brand owners, suppliers and distributors.
• Identify and prioritize partners based on reach, trade exposure, and fit.
• Generate opportunities via outreach, referrals, research and events.
• Engage decision-makers across Sales, Commercial, Finance and senior management.
• Position Tradepay's value proposition to each partner's business.
• Understand partners' route-to-market and credit practices.
• Qualify opportunities and develop compelling partnership propositions.
• Manage opportunities from outreach to meetings, negotiations and agreement.
• Coordinate with Product, Operations, Risk, Finance and Legal as opportunities move to implementation.
• Maintain accurate pipeline stages, next steps, and expected closing dates.
• Provide visibility on pipeline coverage, conversion, and GMV expectations.
• Track sales-cycle duration and pipeline-to-close metrics.

Skills

Business development

Key accounts

Category management

Channel development

Trade marketing

Distributor management

Arabic and English communication

Job description

Sanabil Studio is a venture builder that blends industry expertise, technology, and startup know-how to turn bold ideas into real businesses. We take concepts from zero to launch, and when a venture proves its potential, we back it with seed funding and hands-on support to help it scale.

Tradepay is building a B2B trade and working-capital platform for the FMCG sector in Saudi Arabia. We partner with manufacturers, brand owners, suppliers, distributors and their sales platforms to help small retailers access working capital at the point of purchase - while helping our partners grow sales, improve customer reach and strengthen their route-to-market.

The Role

We are looking for a commercially driven Partnerships Manager with strong knowledge of the Saudi FMCG market.

This is a hands-on business development role focused on building and converting Tradepay's FMCG partnership pipeline.

You will identify the right partners, open doors, understand how their businesses operate, position Tradepay's value proposition and actively manage opportunities from first conversation through to commercial agreement and implementation handover.

We are looking for someone who is comfortable hunting for new business, building relationships from scratch and persistently moving opportunities toward closure.

What You'll Do

• Build and continuously develop a pipeline of FMCG manufacturers, brand owners, suppliers and distributors.
• Identify and prioritize partners based on merchant reach, traditional-trade exposure, sales volumes and strategic fit.
• Generate new opportunities through your existing network, direct outreach, referrals, industry research and events.
• Identify and engage decision-makers across Sales, Commercial, Finance and senior management.
• Introduce Tradepay and tailor the value proposition to each partner's business.
• Understand partners' route-to-market, customer base, payment terms, collections, credit practices and commercial challenges.
• Qualify opportunities and work internally to develop commercially attractive partnership propositions.
• Manage opportunities from initial outreach through meetings, follow-ups, negotiations and agreement.
• Maintain momentum and proactively resolve blockers that could delay closing.
• Coordinate with Product, Operations, Risk, Finance and Legal as opportunities move toward implementation.
• Maintain accurate pipeline stages, next steps, meeting notes and expected closing dates.
• Provide visibility on pipeline coverage, conversion, expected partner volumes and commercial learnings.

What We're Looking For

• 3-6 years of relevant experience within the Saudi FMCG market.
• Experience in areas such as business development, key accounts, category management, channel development, trade marketing or distributor management.
• Strong understanding of traditional trade, distributors and the supplier-to-retailer value chain.
• Existing relationships across Saudi FMCG manufacturers, distributors or major suppliers are highly desirable.
• A strong commercial mindset and confidence discussing margins, volumes, payment terms and partner economics.
• Proven ability to open new accounts, build relationships and convert opportunities.
• Persistent and structured approach to follow-up and closing.
• Comfortable working in a fast-moving, early-stage environment.
• Strong Arabic and English communication skills.

How Success Will Be Measured

Success in this role will be measured through:

• Qualified pipeline generated
• Partner meetings held
• Qualified opportunities progressed
• Signed partnerships
• Expected and activated GMV from signed partners
• Sales-cycle duration
• Pipeline-to-close conversion rate