Business Development Representative (SDR/BDR)

About the role

Manara trains people in emerging markets through programmes bought by governments, ministries, enterprises and foundations across MENA. Its deals are long-cycle and multi-stakeholder, so this role builds the pipeline months ahead: finding the right people, starting the conversation, qualifying the need and handing a ready meeting to the Commercial team. It is a full-time, remote position within MENA, reporting to the VP Commercial.

Key responsibilities

• Research and target: build and maintain target account lists by market and segment (government, semi-government, enterprise, foundations), map buying committees and track triggers such as national workforce strategies, new funding programmes and hiring growth.
• Prospect and open conversations: run multi-channel outreach via Apollo sequences, LinkedIn, phone and WhatsApp, write short personalised messages in English and Arabic, use AI tools to research accounts and draft first-touch messages, and follow up respectfully.
• Qualify and hand over: run first discovery calls to confirm need, budget owner, timing and decision process, then hand qualified meetings to the Senior Commercial Lead or VP Commercial with a clear written brief.
• Support event and leadership-travel prospecting by booking meetings ahead of conferences and trips.
• Log every touch, call and meeting in HubSpot the same day, keep data clean, and share weekly updates on what works.

Required profile

• 2 to 4 years in an SDR, BDR, lead generation or inside sales role, ideally B2B SaaS, EdTech or services.
• Fluent English and Arabic, written and spoken.
• Proven record of booking meetings through cold outreach, with numbers to show it.
• Nice to have: experience selling to government or semi-government buyers in the GCC, network in the UAE, Qatar or Saudi Arabia, familiarity with workforce development or talent programmes, and use of AI tools such as Claude.

Required skills

• CRM and sequencing tools (HubSpot and Apollo, or similar)
• Writing short, personalised messages in English and Arabic

What we offer

• Base salary plus commission on qualified meetings and the opportunities they create.
• A modern sales stack from day one: HubSpot, Apollo and Claude.
• Direct coaching from the VP Commercial, with weekly call reviews.
• A clear path to Account Executive for strong performers.

To apply, send your CV and a short note on the best cold outreach you have run, including who you targeted, what you wrote and what it booked.