Business Development Specialist

Business Development Specialist — Restaurant Partnerships (Saudi Arabia)
About Pleny
Pleny is the social network for foodies. By tapping into the power of food to bring people together, we've built a space to discover, engage, and connect — linking food lovers and bloggers, surfacing new dishes, and creating personalized food experiences. We're disrupting the F&B scene in Saudi Arabia by partnering with restaurants to showcase them, share their offers, and tell their stories.
The Role
You'll be the person opening doors with restaurants across the Kingdom — finding them, reaching them, and convincing them to partner with Pleny.
This is a partnerships role, not a transactional sales role. Nothing you secure costs the restaurant money, and there are no contracts to chase. What you're trading is exposure: placement in front of an engaged foodie community, and features across our app, YouTube, and social channels. Your job is to create demand for that exposure and convert it into live partnerships.
Role Focus
1. App Listings — Get restaurants onboarded and showcased on Pleny. Pitch the value of being discoverable to a community actively looking for their next meal, and get the venue live with the content and details we need.
2. Offers & Exclusives — Secure promotions from partner restaurants for Pleny users, including offers available exclusively on Pleny. Shape offers that are genuinely attractive to users while making commercial sense for the venue.
3. Content Partnerships — Bring restaurants into our branded programs and campaigns, such as Secret Menu Society, where we film an episode on-site and feature them across YouTube, social media, and the app. You'll pitch the concept, get owner buy-in, and coordinate access for the shoot.
Job Responsibilities
Source your own leads. There's no list waiting for you. You'll build the pipeline from zero — field visits, Instagram, Google Maps, F&B groups, industry events, and referrals.
Find your own contacts. Getting past the gatekeeper to the owner, marketing manager, or F&B group head is part of the job.
Create the demand. Restaurants aren't waiting for your call. You'll need to make the case for why Pleny exposure is worth their time, their offer, and their kitchen access.
Run your pipeline to targets. Own it from first contact to a live listing, a live offer, or a booked shoot — and hit monthly acquisition KPIs.
Keep partners engaged. Check in on how offers and features are performing, and keep merchants happy enough to renew, upgrade, or refer others.
Work with marketing. Partner with the local Saudi marketing team to make sure high-value exclusives and episodes get the visibility they deserve.
Read the market. Track Saudi dining trends and what competing platforms are promoting, and bring back campaign ideas worth running.
Requirements
Location: Current resident of Saudi Arabia (valid transferable Iqama or Saudi national preferred).
Language: Fluent Arabic — essential for merchant conversations — and proficient English.
Experience: 2–4+ years in business development, merchant acquisition, partnerships, or brand/influencer collaborations — ideally in F&B, food delivery, deal platforms, hospitality marketing, or media.
Persuasion without leverage: A track record of getting people to say yes on the strength of the idea and the audience, not a cheque. Comfortable with heavy cold outreach and consistent rejection.
Industry network: Existing restaurant contacts in Riyadh, Jeddah, or the Eastern Province is a strong plus.
Soft skills: Proactive, self-directed, target-driven, and genuinely good with people.

Work arrangement
No