You open the door to Manara's enterprise and government deals: you find the right people, start the conversation, qualify the need and hand a ready meeting to the Commercial team.
- Title: Business Development Representative (SDR/BDR)
- Team: Commercial
- Reports to: Abdelrahman Ayman, VP Commercial
- Works with: Senior Commercial Lead, Sales Ops, Marketing
- Markets: GCC, with a current focus on Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar
- Buyers: Governments and ministries, semi-government entities, enterprises and foundations
- Type: Full-time
- Location: Remote within MENA
Manara unlocks talent in emerging markets to grow, lead and thrive. We upskill people at scale through programmes bought by governments, ministries, enterprises and foundations across MENA.
Our deals are long-cycle and multi-stakeholder, so pipeline has to be built months ahead. This role is the engine at the top of that funnel: consistent, well-researched outreach that turns cold accounts into qualified meetings for the Commercial team.
What you'll doYour job is to create qualified first meetings with the people who decide on workforce and talent programmes.
Research and target- Build and maintain target account lists by market and segment: government, semi-government, enterprise and foundations
- Map buying committees at each account: HR and L&D leaders, workforce and talent directors, digital transformation heads, and the budget owner
- Track triggers that make an account timely: national workforce strategies, new funding programmes, hiring growth, leadership changes
- Run multi-channel outreach through Apollo sequences, LinkedIn, phone and WhatsApp where appropriate
- Write short, personalised messages in English and Arabic that link Manara's programmes to each account's goals
- Use Claude to research accounts, draft first-touch messages and prepare call notes faster, without losing the personal touch
- Follow up with persistence and respect for local business etiquette
- Run first discovery calls to confirm need, budget owner, timing and decision process
- Hand qualified meetings to the Senior Commercial Lead or VP Commercial with a clear written brief
- Support event and leadership-travel prospecting: book meetings ahead of conferences and trips in each market
- Log every touch, call and meeting in HubSpot the same day
- Keep contacts, companies and deal stages accurate so pipeline reporting can be trusted
- Share what's working (messages, channels, segments) in a short weekly update
We want a hunter who enjoys the volume, keeps going after a no, and writes like a person, not a template.
Must-haves- Minimum 5 years of experience in an SDR, BDR, lead generation or inside sales role, ideally B2B SaaS, EdTech or professional services
- Fluent English and Arabic, written and spoken
- Proven record of booking meetings through cold outreach, with numbers to show it
- Comfortable with a CRM and a sequencing tool (HubSpot and Apollo, or similar)
- Resilient and self-driven: you set your own daily rhythm and hit it
- Experience selling to government or semi-government buyers in the GCC
- Network or market knowledge in the UAE, Qatar or Saudi Arabia
- Familiarity with workforce development, L&D or talent programmes
- Already using AI tools such as Claude in your daily workflow
We review everyone against the same seven values. Here is what each one means in this role.
- Urgency: Outreach starts in week one; replies get a same-day response
- Experimentation: Test new messages, channels and segments every month, and report what you learn
- Ownership: Your pipeline numbers are yours; you flag gaps before anyone asks
- Responsiveness and over-communication: A clear weekly update on activity, meetings and what's working
- Continuous feedback (Tough Love): Tell the team which messages and segments aren't landing, and ask for direct feedback on your calls
- Scale: Turn what works into repeatable sequences and templates others can use
- Brand Ambassador: Every first touch represents Manara to a ministry or a CEO; make it worth their time
Send your CV and a short note on the best cold outreach you've run: who you targeted, what you wrote and what it booked.
Skills Required
- 2 to 4 years of experience in an SDR, BDR, lead generation, or inside sales role
- Fluent English and Arabic, written and spoken
- Proven record of booking meetings through cold outreach, with measurable results
- Experience with a CRM and sequencing tool, such as HubSpot and Apollo or similar
- Resilient and self-driven, with the ability to manage daily activity independently
- Experience selling to government or semi-government buyers in the GCC
- Network or market knowledge in the UAE, Qatar, or Saudi Arabia
- Familiarity with workforce development, learning and development, or talent programs
- Experience using AI tools such as Claude in daily workflows
What We Do
Manara is a social impact startup whose mission is to unlock human potential and diversify the global tech sector while uplifting the economies of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), with a focus on Palestine and women. We identify the top computer scientists in the region, teach them how to pass interviews, vet them, and help them find remote or on-site jobs. At Google 71% of our referrals pass on-site interviews. Our investors include Stripe, Y Combinator, Seedcamp, Reid Hoffman, Paul Graham, and Jessica Livingston.
