Senior Manager, Business Development/Sales Operations
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Reporting To: Vice President, Business Development
About
Our client is an advanced technology conglomerate established to develop disruptive solutions for defense and beyond. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi.
Position Overview
The Senior Manager, Sales Operations is a key commercial and operational leader responsible for establishing, scaling, and driving the enterprise-wide sales enablement infrastructure across the organization. Reporting directly to the Vice President, Business Development, this role owns the end-to-end sales and business development operational engine—including CRM management, data governance, forecasting, sales planning, quota assignment, process standardization, and organizational training. Working in close partnership with the Vice President, Business Development and Cluster Business Development Directors, the Senior Manager combines commercial acumen with operational rigor to build capability across the commercial team, ensure pipeline accuracy, elevate sales productivity, and align sales operations across multi-cluster business units and international defense capture teams.
Key Responsibilities
1. BD & Sales Systems Architecture
- Lead the operational strategy, implementation, and optimization of enterprise CRM platforms and integrated Business Development / Capture Management systems.
- Drive technology adoption across commercial, capture, and business development teams across all clusters.
- Evaluate and integrate third-party commercial tools, including market intelligence platforms, proposal management systems, and pipeline analytics.
2. Process, Policy & Systems Enablement (Training & Adoption)
- Design, launch, and execute comprehensive onboarding and continuous training programs for the entire BD/Sales organization on CRM platform usage, system navigation, and data hygiene standards.
- Develop user guides, video tutorials, quick-reference playbooks, and standardized operational manuals to enforce global adherence to sales policies and workflows.
- Conduct recurring refresher sessions and targeted workshops for Cluster BD teams to address operational bottlenecks and rollout system enhancements or process updates.
- Monitor system adoption metrics and user compliance, providing direct coaching and support to ensure full institutionalization of sales tools and procedures.
3. Data Governance & Integrity
- Establish strict data architecture standards and data hygiene protocols to maintain an accurate source of truth for all sales, opportunity pipeline, and customer data.
- Implement automated validation workflows to monitor opportunity stages, deal milestones, contract values, and capture history.
- Ensure compliance with data security policies, export controls, and corporate compliance standards.
4. Process, Policy & Template Standardization
- Define, document, and operationalize standard operating procedures (SOPs), sales policies, governance frameworks, and deal approval matrices.
- Develop standard templates for pipeline reporting, account planning, capture reviews, and commercial proposals.
- Establish streamlined 'Gate Review' frameworks to align sales pursuits with legal, finance, engineering, and leadership sign-offs.
5. Forecasting & Predictive Analytics
- Own the global sales forecasting model; lead weekly, monthly, and quarterly pipeline and revenue forecasting reviews with senior leadership.
- Implement statistical and trend-based analytics to evaluate deal win rates, velocity, slippage, and pipeline coverage ratios across defense programs and commercial portfolios.
- Provide key decision-makers with actionable insights into revenue risks, schedule commitments, and growth opportunities.
6. Performance Management & Quota Allocation
- Design, implement, and manage annual quota assignment models and territory/cluster allocation frameworks.
- Oversee sales incentive and commission structure design in close collaboration with Human Capital and Finance.
- Build key performance indicators (KPIs) and scoreboards to track individual, team, and cluster sales productivity against annual target plans.
7. Strategic Business Planning & Analytics
- Partner with the Vice President, Business Development and Cluster BD Directors to lead annual commercial strategy and revenue budgeting sessions.
- Deliver market segment analysis, capture performance benchmarking, and resource capacity planning to support market expansion.
- Lead cross-functional alignment initiatives with Finance, Legal, Program Operations, and Supply Chain to ensure seamless post-win contract execution.
Required Qualifications & Experience
- Education: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Industrial Engineering, Systems Management, or a related field. (Master's degree / MBA preferred).
- Experience: Minimum 10–12+ years of progressive experience in sales operations, commercial strategy, or business development management, with proven leadership experience.
- Training & Enablement Expertise: Demonstrated track record of designing and delivering technical and process training programs for multi-disciplinary BD and commercial teams across complex organizations.
- Industry Background: Strong preference for experience within complex, technology-driven sectors such as Defense, Aerospace, Systems Integration, High-Tech, or Industrial Manufacturing.
- Systems Expertise: Advanced mastery of enterprise CRM platforms, business intelligence tools (Power BI, Tableau), and ERP systems (SAP/Oracle).
- Analytical Skills: Proven expertise in building financial models, multi-variable sales forecasts, and data visualization dashboards.
Key Competencies & Leadership Attributes
- Strategic Execution: Ability to translate complex corporate revenue goals into clear operational workflows and measurable accountabilities.
- Training & Change Management: Strong facilitation, coaching, and instructional skills to drive cultural shift, system adoption, and process adherence.
- Stakeholder Management: Exceptional influence and relationship-building skills when partnering with the Vice President BD, Cluster BD Directors, functional leaders, and front-line sales teams.
- Agility & Rigor: Thrives in a fast-paced environment characterized by rapid expansion and technology integration.
- Commercial Acumen: Clear understanding of long-cycle, high-value government procurement and B2B defense contracting cycles.
