Director, Digital Partnerships

Department: Business Development

Reports to : Abed Alkarawani, VP Business Development

Location: Dubai, UAE (regional travel required)

Coverage: MENA

Type: Full-time, permanent

Role purpose

The Director – Digital Partnerships builds and runs STARZPLAY's partnerships with digital platforms across MENA. The role opens new subscriber acquisition channels through bundles, integrations and co-marketing with digital players. It owns the full deal cycle, from pipeline to signed agreement to revenue delivery.

Key responsibilities

• Define and deliver the digital partnerships strategy, with clear annual subscriber and revenue targets
• Identify, pitch and close partnerships with super-apps, e-wallets, digital payment providers, e-commerce platforms, loyalty programmes, gaming and social platforms, and other digital ecosystems
• Structure commercial models such as wholesale, revenue share, hard and soft bundles, and promotional campaigns
• Lead negotiations and work with Legal and Finance to close agreements on time and within approval policies
• Coordinate technical integrations (APIs, billing, single sign-on, entitlement) with Product and Technology
• Plan go-to-market and co-marketing with partners and the internal Marketing team
• Track partner performance and report KPIs to the VP: activations, revenue, retention and churn
• Manage existing digital partner relationships to grow and renew them
• Build the digital partnerships function, including future hiring as the channel scales
• Follow internal governance on deal approvals, discounts and commercial terms

Key performance indicators

• New partnerships signed and launched
• Subscribers and revenue delivered through digital partners
• Partner retention and renewal rates
• Time from first meeting to launch

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Engineering or a related field; MBA preferred
• 10+ years in business development or partnerships, with at least 5 years in a senior role
• A proven record of closing digital partnerships in streaming, media, telecoms, fintech or consumer tech
• Strong network across MENA digital platforms, wallets and e-commerce players
• Solid understanding of subscription economics, bundling and API-based integrations
• Excellent negotiation and commercial structuring skills
• Fluent English; Arabic strongly preferred
• Ability to work across Product, Technology, Marketing, Legal and Finance

What success looks like in the first 12 months

• A clear digital partnerships strategy and target list agreed with the VP within the first 90 days
• First new digital partnerships signed and launched
• A regular KPI report on the channel's subscribers and revenue