Sports Business Strategist

DPL; Riyadh; Sur place; SAR 300 000 - 420 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

DPL in Riyadh is seeking a Sports Business Strategist to join our team. This role sits at the intersection of data, sport and commercial performance, translating venue ambitions into integrated business and technology blueprints.

You will collaborate with architects, product teams and engineers to drive revenue and fan engagement across major developments. You will lead ROI narratives, design operating models, and shape proposals for federations, clubs and developers.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in sports and/or live entertainment.
• Strategic and analytical mindset with business outcomes focus.
• Experience designing technology-enabled experiences for large assets.

Responsabilités

• Lead sports data and business use cases that translate to measurable results.
• Map data flows across venues and digital platforms.
• Build operating models to scale solutions.
• Lead asset reviews in entertainment districts, identifying gaps and opportunities.
• Design and stress test business cases for digital ecosystems and new assets.
• Own proposals, tenders and executive workshops for clients.

Connaissances

Strategic mindset

Analytical thinking

Client facing

Executive communication

Presentation skills

Arabic language

Outils

Data analytics platforms

ROI modelling

Description du poste

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Posted on 10/04/2026

This won’t just be your next job. Or your first. It will be the turning point of your story.

At DPL, we’ve spent over 20 years doing things differently. Challenging outdated norms and fostering a culture that prioritizes people.

We’re here to help you grow. Not just as a professional but as a person. That’s what drives us.

You won’t find rigid hierarchies here. You’ll find teams that organize themselves, voices that actually get heard, and space to experiment, learn, and try again.

We work with AI, IoT, and 4IR technologies. Not just to keep up with the future but to help shape it. And we do it with curiosity, creativity, and a deep sense of purpose.

Our goal is simple and ambitious. To become the most transformative technology services company in the world.

It’s not just talk. We’re proud to be the only South Asian company in Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces (2025). A sign we’re on the right path.

If you’re looking for a place to reach your best potential, come and join the rebel movement.

Job Description

We are hiring an analytical, consultative Sports Business Strategist who works where data, sport and commercial performance meet. This is not a purely technical position. You will understand how a stadium, a high performance centre or an entertainment district earns revenue, retains fans and athletes, and operates day to day, and you will be able to hold a credible conversation with architects, product teams and engineers about the technology behind it.

This is not an engineering role. You are the person in the room who turns the ambition of a rights holder, operator or developer into a combined business and technology blueprint, then pressure tests both until they stand up together.

Most of your time will go to major sports and entertainment developments across the Kingdom, assessing, designing and reshaping sports assets such as stadiums, arenas, training and performance centres , fan zones and academies, along with the digital, commercial and operating models around them.

Key Responsibilities

Sports data and business use cases

Lead initiatives in fan engagement, crowd analytics and athlete performance that convert data into measurable business results.

Map how data flows across physical venues and digital platforms.

Build the operating models needed to scale these solutions.

Asset assessment and due diligence

Lead or co-lead reviews of sports assets within entertainment districts and major developments, covering venue type, capacity, event mix, technology plan, operating model, revenue streams and fan and athlete journeys.

Compare against leading global venues and operators to spot gaps, over specification and missed commercial opportunities.

Deliver clear, well supported recommendations for developers, operators and investors.

Experience and business design

Contribute to designing the full technology enabled experience for fans, athletes, staff, partners and tenants, together with the business model behind it: ticketing, hospitality, sponsorship, retail, food and beverage, media, memberships and data monetisation .

Build and stress test business cases and ROI narratives for digital ecosystems, unified data platforms and new commercial assets.

Pre-sales and strategic advisory

Own the sports and venue content in proposals, tender responses and executive workshops for federations, leagues, clubs, operators and developers.

Run discovery and strategy workshops with senior client stakeholders, shaping open ended briefs into scoped, sellable engagements.

Serve as the industry voice alongside solution architects, product leads and delivery teams.

Innovation and thought leadership

Follow and assess emerging venue and sports technology, including smart buildings, connectivity, access and identity, immersive media, performance analytics and AI agents, and turn it into practical proposals.

Represent the practice with clients, partners such as architects, technology vendors and governing bodies, and at industry events.

Required Experience and Skills

Strategic, analytical mindset: Consultative and numbers driven, with enough technical understanding to challenge a design while keeping the focus on business outcomes.

At least 7 years in sports and/or live entertainment, with a firm grasp of how venues, clubs, leagues and operators earn revenue, run events and look after fans and athletes.

Hands on involvement in designing or evaluating the technology and commercial experience of a large entertainment asset such as a stadium, arena, performance centre , theme park, cruise ship, convention centre , resort or mixed use district.

Technical fluency gained from the business side: enough time alongside engineering and product teams to understand architectures, data platforms, integration, connectivity and vendor ecosystems, and to recognise what is unrealistic or not worth pursuing. You do not need to be an engineer.

Proven client facing experience shaping solutions: writing proposals, leading workshops, building business cases and presenting to C-level audiences.

Ability to design scalable operating models from a blank page.

Excellent written and spoken English, with confidence producing executive standard documents and presentations.

Right to work, and willingness to be based onsite in Riyadh for the length of the engagement.

Backgrounds That Often Fit

Technical account managers, solution strategists, forward deployed strategists, solutions consultants or customer strategy leads at technology firms serving sports, venues or live entertainment.

Product or engineering professionals who have moved into commercial or strategy roles in sports, venues or entertainment.

Strategy, innovation or digital leaders at clubs, leagues, federations, venue operators, venue architects or entertainment developers.

Experience on large scale developments in the Gulf, or in delivering major events such as World Cups, Olympics or continental tournaments.

Familiarity with sports data platforms, ticketing and access ecosystems, sponsorship and fan engagement products, or smart venue infrastructure.

Arabic and/or Spanish language ability.

Consulting or professional services experience.

Who This Role Is Not For

Pure engineers or architects without commercial and industry understanding.

Sports marketing or commercial professionals who are uncomfortable with technical detail.

Candidates who need a fully scoped brief before they can begin.