Senior Manager - Financial Partnerships

Careem is building the Everything App for the greater Middle East — making it easy to move around, order food and groceries, manage payments, and more. Our purpose is simple: to simplify and improve people’s lives and build an awesome organisation that inspires.
Since 2012, Careem has enabled earnings for over 2.5 million Captains, simplified the lives of more than 70 million customers, and built a platform where the region’s best talent and entrepreneurs thrive. We operate in 70+ cities across 10 countries, from Morocco to Pakistan.

We’re now entering our next chapter — one powered by AI. We’re looking for AI talent: curious problem-solvers who know how to apply AI to build tools, automate workflows, and create real impact. Whether it’s streamlining operations, enhancing customer experience, or reimagining internal systems — we want people who can make Careem work smarter and move faster.

About the Team

The Central Partnerships team is the engine room for Careem’s strategic growth across all verticals. We don’t just sign deals; we build ecosystems. We focus on high-impact, long-term collaborations that integrate Careem into the daily financial lives of our users. As a Senior Manager, you will be the lead architect of our most critical vertical: Financial Institutions.

About the Role

We are looking for a seasoned, commercially-driven Sr. Manager of Partnerships to lead our UAE banking and card-product strategy. This is not just a relationship role—it is a Commercial & P&L role. You will own the roadmap for how Careem collaborates with financial institutions to drive user acquisition, retention, and transaction volume through innovative card products and financial integrations.

You bring an experience of working with the UAE financial ecosystem such as banks and fintech partners. You will be responsible for the entire lifecycle: from high-stakes negotiation and commercial modeling to long-term P&L performance.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Commercial Leadership

• UAE Banking Strategy: Own the end-to-end strategy for financial partnerships in the UAE, specifically focusing on Cards and Portfolio management with a keen vision for consumer growth.

• P&L Ownership: Take full accountability for the commercial performance of your partnerships. You will build complex business cases, manage budgets, and ensure every partnership delivers a clear ROI and contributes to Careem’s bottom line.

• High-Stakes Negotiation: Lead complex negotiations with C-suite and Senior VP-level stakeholders across major UAE financial institutions to secure market-leading terms.

Partnership & Product Excellence

• Card Product Innovation: Work with banks to design "Careem-first" value propositions on their card portfolios, leveraging our multi-service platform (Super App) to drive spend.

• Lifecycle Management: Move beyond the "launch" phase—proactively manage the portfolio to ensure sustained engagement through data-driven campaigns and product enhancements.

• Ecosystem Expansion: While Finance is the priority, you will identify high-value "Power Partnerships" in adjacent sectors (D2C, loyalty, platforms) that complement the financial ecosystem.

Operational & Data Governance

• Performance Analytics: Oversee rigorous pre- and post-campaign analysis. You must be able to translate raw transaction data into strategic narratives for leadership.

• Cross-Functional Orchestration: Act as the bridge between Product, Marketing, Legal, and Finance to ensure technical integrations and commercial launches are flawless.

What You’ll Need

• Experience: 8+ years of professional experience, with at least 5 years specifically in the UAE market within Partnerships, Business Development, or Card Products.

• Banking Domain Expertise: A proven track record of working extensively with UAE banks on card products (e.g.cashback programs, co-branded cards, or payment incentives).

• Commercial Acumen: Strong understanding of PnL management. You should be comfortable discussing interchange, acquisition costs, and lifetime value (LTV).

• The "Closer" Mentality: A strong sales/commercial background with the ability to navigate the bureaucracy of large financial institutions to get deals signed and launched.

• Analytical Rigor: Expert-level ability to build business cases in Excel and present strategic visions in PowerPoint to executive leadership.

• Influence: Exceptional communication skills in English (Arabic is a plus) with the presence to influence senior stakeholders both internally and externally.