Head Of Partnerships (automotive Oems/suppliers) - KSA

Head of Partnerships 

(Automotive OEMs/Suppliers)

Location: Saudi Arabia

About the venture:

Our venture is a venture studio-backed digital-native automotive leasing company for corporations in Saudi Arabia. Enabled by optimizing technology and lean back-end operations, we provide companies with a quicker, more affordable, more flexible, and hassle-free way to lease their fleet of vehicles. While our platform is currently under development, we are actively seeking to develop our supply-side partnerships (Automotive OEMs, traders, dealers, wholesalers, etc.) in order to refine our operations and embed our technology, ultimately ensuring a state-of-the-art user experience for our customers. Such partnerships will allow us to ensure we can source and deliver the best vehicles on a whim and at affordable rates.

Role Overview:

We are seeking a highly skilled and well-connected Head of Partnerships with a deep specialization in and affinity for the automotive leasing or rental sector. The role involves securing strategic partnerships and pilot agreements with automotive suppliers (including but not limited to OEMs, traders, wholesalers, dealers, etc.), as well as establishing connections with key partners and negotiating rates to ensure we deliver on our key value propositions. The successful candidate will be instrumental in establishing our foundational supply-side partnerships and optimizing our early-stage core operating model, enabling us to provide our customers with their favorite cars faster and at cheaper rates and a seamless user experience.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop relationships with automotive suppliers: Develop and maintain relationships with key decision-makers at major automotive suppliers (including OEMs, traders, wholesalers, dealers, etc.) to secure commercial partnerships and pilot program agreements.
• Develop and implement comprehensive business development strategies: Identify key stakeholders to approach, define a prioritization framework, and deploy creative outreach methods; coordinate with the business team to shape the content marketing and acquisition strategy.
• Coordinate and conduct high-impact pitch presentations that effectively communicate the value proposition of our solutions.
• Lead commercial agreement & negotiation efforts: Lead business development meetings and partnership negotiations with potential automotive suppliers, ensuring alignment with both parties' strategic goals; propose and structure preferential commercial terms while ensuring flexibility.
• Secure LOIs/preliminary commercial agreements: Enter, close, and secure preliminary commercial agreements with automotive suppliers by signing LOIs or other such promissory agreements, setting us on course for mutually beneficial partnerships down the line.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in partnerships, business development, or sales within the Saudi automotive industry, with a proven track record in managing and growing supply-side partnership relationships. Startup experience is a plus.
• Extensive network within the automotive industry and a deep understanding of market dynamics and decision-making processes.
• Strong negotiation skills with a history of successfully closing deals and forming strategic partnerships.
• Exceptional presentation and communication skills, capable of conveying complex data-driven insights in a clear and persuasive manner. Capable business development analytics skills (e.g. dashboard building incl. conversion funnels) is a plus.
• Knowledge of market trends and business intelligence in the automotive industry, as well as customer relationship management.
• Proficiency in Arabic is highly advantageous but not required.
• Experience working in Saudi Arabia. Additional MENA/GCC experience is a plus.