Business Development Manager

About azakaw

azakaw is a purpose-built RegTech compliance platform for financial institutions, fintechs, and professional services firms. Core modules include Digital KYC/KYB, AML Screening, Transaction Monitoring, and Corporate Compliance. The platform is backed by j. awan & partners and supported by more than 50 compliance specialists.

azakaw is entering its next growth phase, including new markets, accelerated client acquisition, and a scaling commercial team. The commercial function has proven unit economics per BDM and is expanding simultaneously across GCC, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Brazil, and Eastern Europe. Operating markets sit within a two-hour time zone spread. This role exists to lead the sales team through that expansion.

Culture and Values

• Growth mindset, resilience, accountability, and adaptability in a fast-paced scaling environment.
• Professional maturity and integrity in handling sensitive client and regulatory information.
• Client-first philosophy: every interaction, starting with the first sales conversation, reflects the accuracy, proactivity, and integrity of the group's advisory heritage.
• Trust and credibility built through consistent follow-through, transparency, and candid communication.

Mission

A high-impact, full-cycle sales role for a BDM who builds pipeline from scratch, runs a disciplined sales process, and closes deals independently. You own every stage from cold outreach through tailored demos, influencer mapping, commercial negotiation, and contract close across startups, fintechs, mid-market, and enterprise. Global scope with key target markets in UAE, KSA, the wider GCC, Africa, South America, UK, and Europe.

The ideal candidate sells with insight, not just effort. Leading with a point of view on the prospect's regulatory exposure, reframing how they think about compliance risk, and positioning azakaw as the solution to a problem they may not have fully articulated. How we sell is how the client experiences us from day one.

12-18 Month Mission Outcomes (What Success Looks Like)

Client-Centric Excellence

Every prospect experiences azakaw's advisory heritage from the first conversation. Engagement tailored to jurisdiction, regulatory exposure, and operating model. Demo-to-proposal conversion at or above 60%. Post-sale handoffs clean, documented, and confirmed by delivery.

Pipeline Ownership

You own your pipeline. 3x quota coverage maintained monthly through own prospecting, referrals, events, and network. Outbound-sourced pipeline exceeds 70% of total. No reliance on inbound or marketing to hit target. Conversion rates improving quarter over quarter.

Revenue Delivery

100% of quarterly revenue target through consistent monthly deal flow, not end-of-quarter compression. Deal volume targets met. Sales cycle at or below 60-90 day benchmark. Revenue is predictable, not volatile.

Market Entry and Territory Growth

Active qualified pipeline across assigned target markets. Territory strategy built top-down by leadership, supported and refined bottom-up by the BDM, documented and presented to line manager

Competitive Displacement

Prospects using incumbents (World-Check, LexisNexis, Sumsub, or manual processes) engaged, qualified, and converted. azakaw positioned credibly against established competitors without disparagement. Competitive win stories documented and shared with the team.

Commercial Integrity

Deals closed on value, not discounts and average deal size maintained or growing.

Account Expansion

Upsell and cross-sell identified within 90 days of initial close. Clients expanding module adoption (KYC to AML, AML to Transaction Monitoring, single to multi-jurisdiction). Expansion revenue tracked quarterly and growing.

Market Intelligence

You are azakaw's eyes and ears in the market. Regulatory shifts, enforcement actions, competitor moves, and pricing trends reported monthly. Field insights converted into prospecting triggers, messaging refinements, and product feedback.

Event Impact

Industry events generate measurable pipeline, not just visibility. Target pre-scheduled meetings. Event-sourced pipeline tracked quarterly. Structured follow-up within 48 hours.

Technology & Platform Proficiency

HubSpot pipeline, forecasting, and reporting executed with full accuracy and discipline. azakaw platform demonstrated fluently in every client-facing interaction. All mandated firm technology (ClickUp, WebHR, and others as introduced) adopted and maintained at 90%+ proficiency.

Function BuildingYou are building a commercial engine, not just carrying a number. Playbook contributions logged quarterly. Battle cards, objection handling, and demo scripts refined from live deals. New BDMs and SDRs onboarded with your support.

Key Responsibilities

Pipeline Generation and Market Intelligence

Execute disciplined outbound prospecting to build a self-sustaining pipeline at minimum 3x coverage. Map buyer personas by firm size. Monitor regulatory developments and competitor activity as prospecting triggers. Shape event strategy, pre-schedule meetings, and execute follow-up within 48 hours.

Strategic Selling and Demos

Own the full sales cycle from outreach through close. Lead with regulatory insight, deliver demos tailored to each prospect's jurisdiction/industry. Multi-thread across buying committees. Build quantified business cases using cost savings calculators and ROI modelling.

Revenue Delivery and Deal Closure

Achieve monthly and quarterly revenue and deal volume targets. Negotiate with confidence across all segments. Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities within 90 days post-close. Seamless handoffs to delivery teams.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Provide structured feedback to marketing on messaging and lead quality. Partner with product as a voice-of-customer channel. Engage compliance SMEs for complex deals. Coordinate with delivery pre-close on scope and timelines.

CRM Discipline and Forecasting

Maintain clean, current HubSpot records updated within 24 hours of any stage change. Submit weekly pipeline updates and bi-weekly detailed forecasts with deal-level commentary and risk flags.

Sales Enablement

Flag when battle cards, positioning, or demo scripts need updating. Share winning talk tracks through deal reviews and playbook contributions. Support onboarding of new team members as the team scales

This Role is Not for You If...

• You rely on inbound leads. This role requires a self-generated, outbound-first pipeline.
• You are uncomfortable selling into regulated environments where compliance frameworks shape every conversation.
• You prefer transactional, feature-led selling. We sell with insight, data, and a point of view.
• You close a handful of large, slow-moving deals per year. This is a high-velocity environment with consistent monthly deal flow.

Core Competencies

• Hunter Mentality: Self-starting, fully accountable for pipeline generation and revenue delivery. Treats the pipeline as a personal asset, not an organisational resource.
• Full-Cycle SaaS Sales Mastery: Proven ability to own every stage from outbound to contract close across startup, mid-market, and enterprise.
• Insight-Led Selling: Skilled at perspective-based methodologies that lead with regulatory insight, reframe buyer assumptions, and create urgency where none existed.
• Storytelling and Narrative Selling: Connects the prospect's current state (manual processes, regulatory exposure, audit risk) to a future state with azakaw. Makes the business case feel inevitable, not optional.
• Multi-Stakeholder Navigation: Navigates buying committees involving COMLROs, Heads of Compliance, CFOs, COOs, legal, and board-level stakeholders. Multi-threads to reduce single-point-of-failure risk.
• Competitive Displacement: Positions azakaw credibly against incumbents. Reframes competitive comparisons, anticipates objections, and navigates multi-vendor evaluations without disparagement.
• GRC and Regulatory Acumen: Credible understanding of compliance requirements across jurisdictions. Speaks the language of COMLROs and compliance officers, not just procurement.
• Negotiation and Commercial Closing: Negotiates with confidence across complex, multi-stakeholder deals. Holds the line on value without aggression. Structures creative terms when needed.
• Resilience and Rejection Tolerance: Maintains energy and performance through high-volume outbound, extended sales cycles, and frequent rejection. A lost deal does not derail pipeline discipline.
• Data-Driven Commercial Acumen: Uses benchmarks, cost-of-compliance data, FTE burden calculations, and ROI modelling to build business cases that resonate with CFOs and COOs.

Education and Experience

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, or a related field.

Experience: Minimum 5 years in a full-cycle B2B SaaS sales role with a demonstrable track record of consistently meeting or exceeding quota.

Preferred: GRC, compliance, or RegTech sales into regulated financial services. Familiarity with DFSA, FSRA, CBUAE, SAMA, CMA, FSCA, FICA, FCA or equivalent. HubSpot CRM experience. Arabic or local/native country based language proficiency is a strong advantage.

Rewards and Growth

• Competitive base salary with uncapped commission and accelerators for overperformance.
• Clear career progression: high-performing BDMs move into senior sales, team leadership, or regional ownership as the commercial team scales.
• Join a commercial team that is being built, not maintained. You will have a direct hand in defining territory strategy, pricing approach, and the go-to-market playbook.
• Structured professional development including product certification, sales methodology training, and regulatory immersion.
• International exposure through client engagements and events across the GCC, Africa, South America, UK, and Europe.
• Medical insurance, paid leave, and additional benefits detailed during the offer stage.