Senior Director, Business Development, MEA

About Circle

Role overview

Business development

• Develop and execute business development strategy across Africa to grow adoption of Circle payment solutions.
• Identify opportunities and negotiate and structure strategic partnerships with PSPs, fintechs, mobile money providers, and payments businesses.
• Build commercial models, financial models, and forecasts for opportunities and strategic decisions.
• Develop go-to-market plans for existing products and validate new products through signed agreements.
• Provide market intelligence and competitive feedback to inform product and business strategy.

Partner management

• Own post-close partner relationships across MEA as Circle’s primary contact.
• Develop joint business plans with milestones, KPIs, and growth targets.
• Drive partner activation, onboarding, product integration, and time-to-revenue.
• Review partner performance, identify gaps, and pursue growth opportunities.
• Coordinate with product, compliance, legal, and marketing teams on partner needs and issues.
• Build a tiered partner ecosystem and develop high-potential partners.
• Track partner performance and pipeline with CRM and analytics tools, using AI-augmented features where useful.

Experience and expertise

• 13+ years in business development and/or partner management in financial services, fintech, or digital assets, with a strong regional record.
• Track record closing complex, high-value deals and growing strategic partner relationships after closing.
• Deep understanding of MEA financial services, including mobile money, banking infrastructure, cross-border payments, and emerging fintech.
• Strong regional network of financial institutions, fintechs, and enterprise partners.
• Experience with joint business plans, partner performance, and measurable revenue outcomes.
• Understanding of digital assets and cryptocurrency, including key players, products, and trends.

Tools and capabilities

• Practical fluency using generative AI and large language models for research, drafting, synthesis, and productivity; able to prompt effectively and validate outputs.
• Familiarity with AI/ML and analytics workflows, including predictive forecasting, cohort analysis, and model-driven segmentation, is requested.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills; cross-cultural competence and an entrepreneurial, hands-on approach.

Language requirements

• Business-level English is required.
• Arabic or French is a plus.

Compensation information

• Compensation ranges and total packages are based on factors including experience, skills, qualifications, and organizational needs.
• Compensation ranges may differ by candidate location; no specific amount or pay cadence is stated.