Account Manager, Partner Strategy, Middle East and Africa

Please Note: This role requires the ability to work on site 3 days per week per company policy.

The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the international organization for public-private cooperation.

The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Why we are recruiting:

As a partnership organization and through the  Business Engagement teams, the World Economic Forum engages the private sector to address industry, regional and systemic issues. Partners benefit from and contribute to the global knowledge base through working closely with the World Economic Forum to set the intellectual agenda of Forum gatherings, drive the insight agenda of its publications and steer the impact of its initiatives.

Structured geographically, the Regional Business Team is responsible for building and managing the world’s premier communities of business executives from emerging markets, and seek to bring diversity, inclusion, and relevance to global industry conversations.

We are currently seeking a Partner Lead (account manager/executive), Middle East & Africa, who will be primarily tasked with supporting partner engagement and retention. The successful candidate will support current team members in the management of a portfolio composed of some of Africa and the Middle East’s largest companies in the Institutional Investors and Energy industries, collaborating internally with relevant colleagues and consulting externally with senior corporate executives to execute on year-round engagement plans. Overall, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to fundamentally shape the future of the World Economic Forum’s partner base in the Middle East, which is a driving force behind fulfilling the World Economic Forum’s mission to improve the state of the world.

Reporting Lines and Interactions

The Partner Lead (account manager) will report into the Regional Manager for the Middle East & Africa. Internally, the successful candidate will work with colleagues from various Government, Centre , Industry and Servicing groups, and externally with a range of business executives and experts.

Main responsibilities

• Partner (account) Management: supporting senior members of the team in managing trusted, long-term relationships with key partners from the region; collaborating closely with relevant internal teams to design comprehensive, impact and action-driven partnership engagements; conducting regular analysis of the quality and success of the partnerships; contributing to consultations with high level executives in partner companies to ensure that they derive the highest value from their partnerships; monitoring progress against KPIs; ensuring a consistent and coordinated approach to value delivery within assigned portfolio and in tandem with the Partner Servicing team; maintaining strong renewal and retention rates.
• Research & Analysis: researching, analysing, and understanding strategic business priorities of current partners from the portfolio and in emerging markets more broadly; keeping abreast of key industry and technological trends, as well as political and social changes that might create new opportunities or pose risks to the Forum’s footprint in the region; advising on broader strategy for the World Economic Forum in the Middle East & Africa region.
• Country/industry strategy building: Contribute to the development of country and industry strategies by conducting research aimed at enhancing the pipeline development within pivotal markets and sectors. This role entails thorough analysis of prominent trends and opportunities, along with the identification of essential stakeholders necessary for effective engagement.

The successful candidate will be assessed on

• Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with C-suite executives gain understanding of their key priorities.
• Ability to collaborate internally to engage and retain partners within the assigned portfolio; key indicators include quality of engagement plans, partner renewal and retention rates, as well as feedback from constituents and colleagues.
• Ability to closely monitor and evaluate key industry and regional developments, media reports and policy changes that impact business leaders from the portfolio.
• Ability to maintain the Forum’s database updated for all current partners.

Preferred Requirements and Experience

• Broad intellectual background with a master’s degree in a relevant field of study
• Strong understanding of the current regional economic landscape in emerging markets, particularly the Middle East, with proficiency in analysing complex industry issues and in synthetizing appropriate recommendations to management.
• 7+ years of professional experience in Institutional Investors and/or Energy industries with expertise in Portfolio Management, Account Management, Market Research, and/or Consulting.
• Excellent communication skills and command of English and Arabic; fluency in another language is a plus.
• Mastery of Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Excel, Word); experience with Salesforce a plus.
• Motivated self-starter and team player who enjoys working in a highly collaborative and dynamic environment.
• Able to respond appropriately to high-level demands under pressure.
• Committed to the Forum’s mission to improving the state of the world.

Why work at the Forum:

The Forum believes that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to improve the state of the world by building awareness and cooperation, shaping mindsets and agendas, and driving collective action. Join us and become a driver for positive change!