Business Development Manager

Grant Thornton Abdulaal Bahrain is hiring on behalf of a highly respected client in Bahrain, offering a unique opportunity to lead business development efforts in the exhibitions and international events sector. This role is ideal for a dynamic professional with a strong understanding of global event trends, sales strategy, and stakeholder engagement. Fluency in Arabic language with native level proficiency is mandatory.

The successful candidate will be responsible for driving the full sales cycle, from prospecting to post-event evaluation, and will play a key role in attracting international exhibitions to Bahrain. This position offers the chance to work closely with high-level stakeholders, represent Bahrain at global events, and contribute to the growth of the country's events industry in alignment with national strategic priorities.

Roles and responsibilities:

• Lead the end-to-end sales cycle for attracting first-time exhibitions and international events.
• Deliver on KPIs: revenue, sqm occupancy, conversion rate, event days, visitor impact.
• Map and analyse global business event trends and align with Bahrain's priority sectors.
• Build strategic pipelines of organizers and events.
• Coordinate with EDB, BTEA, Chamber, Customs, Immigration, etc. to remove market-entry barriers.
• Provide leadership in preparing high-quality proposals, negotiations, and contracts.
• Manage client relations from prospecting to post-event evaluation.
• Lead site inspections with international organisers.
• Ensure CRM usage, compliance, and accurate reporting.
• Represent EWB at international exhibitions and sales missions.
• Support the Director of BD in planning, reporting, and capability building.
  
  

• Bachelors degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Sales, or related field.
• Professional certification in sales/ BD/ exhibitions (Will be an added advantage).
• Fluency in Arabic with native level proficiency is mandatory. The candidate must be currently based in Bahrain.
• Minimum 3 to 5 years of experience in sales, business development, or exhibitions (With proven track record of securing international exhibitions and events).
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.
• Proven ability to secure international exhibitions.
• Strong pipeline development and lead conversion experience.
• Time management, planning, and multitasking.
• Proficiency in MS Office and CRM tools (e.g. Salesforce).
• Ability to mentor and collaborate with support staff.
  
  

• Customer & Market Orientation: Strong exhibition and business events sales experience, global organiser engagement.
• Strategic & Commercial Acumen: Ability to build ROI-driven business cases, sector-focused strategies.
• Innovation & Agility: Ability to adapt to shifting market trends, design creative proposals.
• Operational Excellence & Accountability: Strong execution, CRM discipline, ISO compliance.
• Stakeholder Influence & Collaboration: Skilled at engaging government/industry stakeholders.