Managing Director | Digital Marketing Agency | UAE
Location: UAE
Adecco Middle East is partnering with one of its key clients, a fast-growing digital marketing agency in the UAE, to appoint a highly commercial and entrepreneurial Managing Directorto lead the next phase of growth.
Reporting directly to the Founder/Group CEO, the successful individual will assume complete responsibility for the UAE business, including revenue growth, profitability, sales strategy, operational excellence, client acquisition, team leadership, and regional expansion across the GCC.
The Opportunity
This role is designed for a proven business builder with experience scaling agencies, digital businesses, or professional services organisations. The successful candidate will have full P&L ownership and significant influence over the strategic direction of the business.
Key objectives include:
- Deliver approximately 40% operating profitability
- Build and execute a scalable commercial growth strategy
- Expand market presence across the UAE and wider GCC, including Saudi Arabia
- Develop enterprise-level client relationships and strategic partnerships
- Improve recurring revenue, client retention, and account expansion
- Build and lead a high-performing leadership team
- Enhance operational efficiency, productivity, and revenue per employee
- Introduce scalable processes, governance, and performance management frameworks
- Identify new service offerings, verticals, and growth opportunities
- Support strategic initiatives including partnerships, acquisitions, and market expansion
About You
Our client is seeking an individual who has successfully delivered similar growth outcomes before.
Essential Experience
- Senior leadership experience within a digital marketing, advertising, media, SEO, performance marketing, MarTech, technology-enabled services, or agency environment
- Demonstrated track record of scaling businesses through significant growth (2x to 4x+ revenue expansion)
- Strong commercial, sales and business development capability
- Previous responsibility for a meaningful P&L
- Proven experience building profitable recurring revenue businesses
- Strong UAE and GCC market knowledge and networks
- Experience leading and developing senior leadership teams
- Excellent understanding of agency economics, pricing models, utilisation, margins, and client retention
- Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to operate autonomously and make sound commercial decisions
Highly Desirable
- Existing enterprise client network across the UAE and GCC
- Experience leading transformation, turnaround, or scale-up initiatives
- Exposure to investment, M&A, acquisition, or exit-driven growth strategies
Success Measures
The Managing Director will be measured against:
- Delivery of approximately 40% operating profitability
- Revenue and EBITDA growth
- New client acquisition
- Client retention and account expansion
- Margin improvement
- Cash generation and collections
- Revenue per employee
- Leadership team development
- GCC market expansion
Why Apply
This is not a traditional corporate leadership position.
Our client is looking for a proven agency growth leader who wants to build significant enterprise value, influence strategy, and share in the success of the business. If you have successfully scaled a digital or agency business and are excited by the challenge of creating a market-leading UAE/GCC operation, this is a position for you.
