About the Opportunity

Rotana Hotels is seeking a Director of Business Development to join its team in Medina, Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia. This is a full-time position for a commercially astute leader who will drive the property's commercial growth agenda within a dynamic market.

Role Overview

The Director of Business Development will lead the property’s sales team and be responsible for its commercial performance. This high-ownership role requires a leader capable of setting strategic direction, building a robust business pipeline, and maintaining rigorous performance standards across the team. The successful candidate will be a passionate commercial leader focused on delivering high levels of customer service and implementing all business requirements for the organization.

Core Responsibilities

• Develop a deep understanding of the religious tourism (Umrah/Hajj) ecosystem, including operator functions, booking cycles, seasonality peaks (Ramadan, Hajj, winter Umrah season), and contracting methods (allotments, series groups, ad-hoc).
• Leverage an established network with Umrah/Hajj operators, DMCs, and travel agents, maintaining existing relationships with top Saudi, Gulf, South Asian, and international Umrah wholesalers and tour operators.
• Secure and manage business with government and institutional accounts, including Saudi ministries, quasi-government entities, and religious authorities (*, Ministry of Hajj and Umrah-linked business).
• Manage high-volume, high-ADR group contracts profitably.
• Apply commercial and revenue acumen to business-mix decisions (group vs. FIT, series vs. ad-hoc), collaborating closely with revenue management to impact RevPAR and profitability.
• Lead and build the sales team, setting clear goals and targets, holding individuals accountable, and rigorously evaluating performance.
• Allocate resources smartly, identifying genuine needs and deploying them accordingly (*, representation or focused effort in key feeder/source markets).
• Plan commercial strategy around the peak/trough patterns of the religious calendar, adapting to seasonality and demand volatility.
• Maintain working knowledge of the Nusuk platform and Ministry of Hajj & Umrah regulations, understanding their impact on allotments, group registration, and compliance.
• Exercise financial and credit-risk awareness with agents, making sound judgments on credit terms, deposit structures, and payment risk to protect cash flow.
• Develop a local corporate and diversification pipeline beyond religious tourism to balance seasonality and reduce dependence on pilgrim volume.
• Utilize data and CRM systems to track performance, forecast pace accurately, and report pipeline visibility.
• Demonstrate a strong command of channel distribution, staying informed on evolving trends for the pilgrim market across OTAs, wholesale, direct, GDS, and emerging booking platforms.
• Consistently benchmark against the competitive set and adjust strategy proactively.
• Effectively use all systems, CRM, and commercial tools to drive productivity and decision-making.

Qualifications and Experience

• A minimum of 10 years of experience in a commercial leadership role.
• Proven command of sales strategy.
• Deep-rooted relationships within the religious tourism sector and relevant institutional accounts.

Essential Skills and Attributes

• Strong leadership and team-building capabilities.
• Commercial and revenue acumen.
• Adaptability to market seasonality and demand volatility.
• Financial and credit-risk awareness.
• Data and CRM discipline.
• Strong command of channel distribution.
• Benchmarking and market awareness.
• Fluency within brand governance and commercial doctrine.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will possess a proven command of sales strategy, deep-rooted relationships within the industry, and fluency in brand governance and commercial doctrine. This role offers an opportunity to shape the commercial destiny of a significant property in the region.