Head of AI & Agents

The Head of AI & Agents is responsible for leading the commercial growth and market development of Arabic AI and its agent-based solutions. Reporting to the COO, the role develops and executes the AI & Agents commercial strategy, including defining target markets, customer segments, value propositions, market positioning, and scalable routes to market, with accountability for revenue growth, new-customer acquisition, strategic market expansion, and the development and execution of effective go-to-market strategies across enterprise and government customers.

The role leads three complementary functions: Business Development, Partnerships, and Presales. It ensures that direct sales and partner-led opportunities are converted into qualified pipeline and revenue, while the Presales function translates customer needs into technically sound, secure, scalable, and commercially viable AI solutions. The Head establishes clear priorities, performance measures, and collaboration across these functions to strengthen the full commercial lifecycle from market identification and opportunity creation through solution design and deal closure.

Working closely with the COO, the Director of Commercial Shared Services, Product, Engineering, Delivery, and other stakeholders, the Head of AI & Agents ensures the AI commercial strategy is aligned with product capabilities, market demand, and delivery readiness, and that the business builds a repeatable, measurable, and sustainable AI revenue engine. The role drives the continuous optimization of go-to-market strategies to maximize market penetration and commercial growth.

Duties & Responsibilities

AI & Agents Commercial Strategy and Growth

• Develop and execute the commercial strategy and operating plan for AI & Agents in alignment with the company’s overall strategy and the commercial priorities.

• Translate business objectives into revenue plans, target markets, priority industries, customer segments, go-to-market motions, and measurable performance targets.

• Define and oversee the go-to-market (GTM) strategy for AI & Agents, including market positioning, customer segmentation, value propositions, solution positioning, and the selection of appropriate market-entry and growth strategies.

• Identify and prioritize go-to-market opportunities across enterprise and government markets, determining the most effective approaches to market penetration, customer acquisition, and revenue expansion.

• Own the AI & Agents vertical’s agreed commercial outcomes, including new-business revenue, qualified pipeline, conversion, forecast accuracy, and partner contribution.

• Assess market trends, customer needs, competitor offerings, and emerging AI use cases to identify opportunities for growth and differentiation.

• Provide the management with regular reporting on commercial performance, pipeline health, forecast, key opportunities, risks, and resource requirements.

Business Development and Market Expansion

• Lead the Business Development function in identifying, qualifying, developing, negotiating, and closing new enterprise and government opportunities for AI & Agents.

• Ensure target-account plans, prospecting priorities, sales strategies, and opportunity qualification are aligned with the AI & Agents go-to-market strategy.

• Ensure the effective execution of GTM strategies through coordinated market development, customer acquisition initiatives, and targeted commercial activities across priority segments and industries.

• Guide the Business Development Manager on strategic opportunities, complex sales cycles, executive engagement, and deal strategy.

• Promote value-based and consultative selling by connecting customer business challenges to relevant AI solutions, measurable outcomes, and a clear value proposition.

• Build relationships with senior customer stakeholders and support critical negotiations and high-value opportunities as required.

• Coordinate with the Director of Commercial Shared Services to ensure effective SDR support, bidding resources, and Sales Operations support for AI opportunities.

Partnerships and Ecosystem-Led Revenue

• Lead the development of a partner-led growth strategy that turns strategic relationships into qualified pipeline, co-selling activity, and closed revenue.

• Oversee the Partnership Lead’s engagement with hyperscalers, technology partners, systems integrators, consultancies, and other relevant ecosystem partners.

• Ensure partnership plans include clear commercial objectives, target accounts, joint go-to-market activities, opportunity ownership, and measurable outcomes.

• Review partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline, revenue contribution, conversion, and forecast accuracy, and take action to improve performance.

• Support strategic partner negotiations, joint account planning, co-selling initiatives, partner programs, and marketplace opportunities where they strengthen market access or accelerate growth.

• Ensure partner engagement complements direct business development and that opportunities are tracked consistently in the CRM with clear attribution.

Presales, Solution Strategy and Commercial Readiness

• Lead the Presales function to ensure customer requirements are translated into technically sound, secure, scalable, and commercially viable AI solutions.

• Work with the Presales Consulting Manager to align solution discovery, architecture, demonstrations, proof-of-concepts, technical proposals, and solution validation with commercial priorities.

• Ensure proposed solutions address customer business needs and are aligned with product capabilities, technical standards, implementation feasibility, delivery capacity, and commercial objectives.

• Provide oversight of solution risks, assumptions, scope, effort estimates, dependencies, and customer success criteria before major proposals or commitments are submitted.

• Support executive-level customer discussions and strategic opportunities where senior commercial or technical alignment is required.

• Ensure a clear handover from Presales to Product, Engineering, and Delivery teams, including solution documentation, scope, assumptions, risks, and agreed success measures.

• Use customer and market feedback from presales engagements to inform product priorities, solution packaging, reusable assets, and future go-to-market opportunities.

Pipeline, Forecasting and Commercial Governance

• Establish a disciplined operating cadence for pipeline reviews, opportunity progression, revenue forecasting, partner performance reviews, and major-deal governance.

• Ensure accurate and timely recording of opportunities, activities, partner attribution, deal stages, forecasts, and commercial outcomes in Salesforce or other designated systems.

• Monitor pipeline coverage, win rates, deal cycle, conversion, average contract value, revenue contribution, and other relevant commercial KPIs.

• Review pricing, deal economics, commercial terms, and non-standard commitments within delegated authority, escalating material exceptions through the appropriate approval process.

• Work with the Director of Commercial Shared Services to maintain consistent reporting definitions, bid support, lead handovers, and sales-process discipline without duplicating ownership of shared functions.

• Use performance data and win/loss insights to refine go-to-market plans, improve forecast reliability, and strengthen commercial execution.

Cross-Functional Collaboration and Customer Value

• Work closely with Product, Engineering, Delivery, Finance, Legal, Marketing, and other relevant functions to align commercial plans with solution capabilities and business priorities.

• Ensure customer commitments, proposed timelines, technical scope, service levels, and implementation assumptions are validated with the relevant internal teams before being finalized.

• Build effective collaboration between Business Development, Partnerships, and Presales to ensure clear ownership and smooth progression of opportunities throughout the sales cycle.

• Collaborate with the Head of Services when customer opportunities span AI & Agents and Services, agreeing a coordinated client approach and clear commercial ownership.

• Represent the AI & Agents vertical in internal leadership forums and in strategic customer or partner engagements, as required.

Leadership, Team Development and Continuous Improvement

• Lead, coach, and develop the Partnership Lead, Business Development Manager – AI, and Presales Consulting Manager, setting clear objectives, accountability, and performance expectations.

• Ensure each function has clear responsibilities, decision rights, performance measures, and effective ways of working, while maintaining shared accountability for overall commercial outcomes.

• Assess team capability, capacity, and development needs; support succession planning and build a high-performing, collaborative, customer-focused team.

• Promote knowledge sharing across commercial, partner, and technical teams, and encourage the development of repeatable sales motions, solution assets, and best practices.

• Identify opportunities to improve sales effectiveness, partner contribution, presales quality, customer experience, and the efficiency of the commercial lifecycle.

• Carry out other duties necessary for the effective operation of the department.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field; a relevant postgraduate qualification is an advantage.

• At least 15 years of relevant experience across enterprise technology sales, AI business development, strategic partnerships, presales, solution consulting, or commercial leadership, including substantial leadership experience.

• Demonstrated success in achieving enterprise B2B revenue targets, developing qualified pipeline, managing complex sales cycles, and converting strategic opportunities into closed business.

• Strong understanding of AI solutions, Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), agent-based solutions, cloud platforms, APIs, enterprise integrations, and technology-enabled business use cases.

• Experience developing strategic partnerships and partner-led sales motions, including co-selling and joint go-to-market activities with technology partners, hyperscalers, systems integrators, or consultancies.

• Experience overseeing presales and solution consulting activities, including technical discovery, solution design, demonstrations, proof-of-concepts, proposal development, and technical risk assessment.

• Strong commercial acumen, including pipeline management, forecasting, pricing, negotiation, deal economics, and revenue performance analysis.

• Experience engaging senior enterprise and government stakeholders and navigating complex procurement processes, RFPs, and multi-stakeholder decision-making.

• Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, set priorities, develop talent, and drive accountability across commercial and technical functions.

• Strong strategic thinking, analytical, decision-making, communication, and stakeholder-management skills.

• Proficiency in CRM platforms such as Salesforce and Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.

• Professional fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic.

Behavioral Competencies

• Team Building & Management

• Conflict Management

• Time Management

• Results Orientation

• Influencing Others

Technical Competencies

• AI & Technology Commercial Strategy

• Enterprise Business Development

• Strategic Partnerships & Co-Selling

• AI Presales & Solution Governance

• Pipeline, Forecasting & Revenue Management

• Commercial Negotiation & Deal Management

• AI Solution Risk and Delivery Alignment