Job Purpose:The Group Business Development Director - MENA is responsible for identifying, originating and securing major infrastructure investment opportunities across Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The role leads deal sourcing and relationship development with government entities, strategic partners, project developers, current asset owners and operators, and co-investors. The role drives revenue generation through direct deal origination and supports opportunity assessment, commercial negotiation, diligence, transaction structuring and closing in collaboration with the investment deal team.
Responsibilities:Deal Origination & Business Development• Lead deal origination across Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, building and maintaining a robust pipeline of investment opportunities across ports, airports, power generation, oil and gas, refinery, water, agriculture, real estate, mining and pipeline sectors.• Develop and execute a comprehensive regional business development strategy to source opportunities through direct engagement with governments, current asset owners and operators, strategic partners and project developers.
Strategic Stakeholder & Government Relations• Establish and nurture strategic relationships with government officials, regulatory bodies, public-sector stakeholders, asset owners and operators to understand priorities and secure direct access to investment opportunities.• Manage relationships with current asset owners and operators, identifying partnership, acquisition and investment opportunities, with deal-team support for detailed technical and financial diligence.• Build and maintain relationships with co-investors and strategic co-investment partners Opportunity Assessment & Investment Preparation• Identify and qualify investment opportunities through market research and direct stakeholder engagement, assessing commercial and structural feasibility.• Prepare investment opportunity assessments and memoranda for the Investment Committee, detailing market context, opportunity characteristics and proposed structure.
Capital Investment Project Development• Partner with sector verticals to design and implement stage-gate processes for capital investment project maturation, establishing clear quality gates, decision criteria, and approval protocols aligned with sector-specific requirements.• Support sector implementation of cost estimation methodologies and documentation standards aligned with best practices; establish guidance frameworks that enable sector teams to manage cost estimate progression from preliminary Class 4 to Class 1 bankable estimates, including audit trail, assumptions documentation, and risk registers at each gate.• Develop sector-specific project governance templates and escalation protocols defining roles, approval authorities, and documentation requirements; support sector adoption and provide Bridge Holding governance interface for alignment with investor and lender requirements.• Establish bankability assessment frameworks and gate-review criteria in partnership with sectors; support readiness validation for Investment Committee approval and third-party financing; ensure best in class capital project development standards are met.• Build and maintain project intake, tracking, and documentation systems that support sector pipeline visibility, stage-gate compliance, and Bridge Holding oversight; generate quarterly reports on project maturation progress by sector, gate approval rates, cost estimate confidence evolution, and bankability metrics; serve as primary interface between sector origination teams and central Investment Committee.
Commercial Negotiation & Deal Execution Support• Lead commercial negotiations of term sheets, framework agreements and transaction arrangements with governments, current asset owners, project developers and co-investment partners, with support from legal and transaction teams.• Collaborate with financial analysts, technical specialists and legal advisers on opportunity evaluation, providing market insight and commercial perspective.• Support financial, technical, legal, tax, regulatory, sanctions and integrity diligence and coordinate inputs from internal specialists and external advisers.• Assist with transaction structuring, financial analysis, term-sheet review, negotiations, documentation and closing processes.
Co-Investor & Financial Institution Engagement• Build and maintain relationships with co-investors, co-investment partners and financial institutions to facilitate deal execution and investment syndication. Market Intelligence & Strategic Advisory• Travel across assigned regions, estimated at 20 to 30 percent of time, to maintain stakeholder relationships, identify emerging opportunities and manage critical negotiations.• Monitor market trends, regulatory developments, competitive landscape and sector dynamics in target geographies to identify emerging investment opportunities.• Provide market insight and strategic recommendations to senior management for fund-strategy refinement and opportunity identification. Team Leadership & Capability Development• Lead and mentor the business development team, supporting origination, relationship management and opportunity-evaluation activities
Job Knowledge & Skills:• Infrastructure investment acumen: Deep understanding of infrastructure investment strategies, sector dynamics, risk profiles and return drivers across ports, airports, power, energy, water, agriculture, mining and real estate, including greenfield, brownfield and acquisition opportunities.• Deal origination and market sourcing: Ability to identify, qualify and originate high-quality infrastructure investment opportunities through direct engagement with governments, asset owners and developers and to assess commercial viability and structuring potential.• Asset-owner and operator relations: Ability to build productive relationships with existing asset owners, operators and managers, understand their business drivers and identify partnership and acquisition opportunities.• Commercial negotiation and deal structuring: Ability to negotiate commercial terms, concession agreements, joint-venture arrangements and purchase agreements, with an understanding of pricing mechanisms and governance frameworks.• Regional market and political expertise: Deep knowledge of Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa political economy, macroeconomic trends, regulatory frameworks, currency dynamics, key sectors and major asset owners and developers.• Project stage-gate and cost estimation: Understanding of cost classification standards and stage-gate project maturity frameworks; ability to guide and support sector teams in designing and implementing stage-gate processes that drive project cost estimates from Class 4 through Class 1 bankability.• Bankability assessment and project documentation: Ability to work with sectors to assess projects against investor, lender and sector-specific bankability criteria; expertise in developing and socializing project charter, basis-of-estimate, risk framework, and covenant documentation templates that meet institutional financing standards.• Sector-specific project standards and governance: Knowledge of cost estimation methodologies, technical requirements, permitting processes, and governance frameworks across assigned sectors (energy infrastructure, mining, ports/airports, agricultural supply chains, digital infrastructure); ability to translate sector-specific standards into scalable, repeatable project processes.
Job Experience:• Infrastructure investment and project development: Minimum 15 years of professional experience in infrastructure investment, project development or related sectors, including at least 10 years in a senior business development, deal origination or investment role focused on infrastructure, private equity or project finance.• Deal origination and transaction track record: Proven record of originating and closing major infrastructure deals exceeding USD 100 million in transaction value in MENA, Africa and/or emerging markets, with direct experience building relationships with government stakeholders, current asset owners and operators, and project developers.• PPP, concession and multi-stakeholder experience: Demonstrated experience in energy, mining, ports, airports, water, agriculture and/or transportation infrastructure, including public-private partnerships, concessions and complex multi-stakeholder negotiations.• Languages: Fluency in English is required. Arabic language capability is a significant advantage.
Education & Qualifications:• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Engineering, or related discipline from a recognized institution• MBA or advanced degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Engineering, or related discipline from a recognized institution