Head of Distribution, UAE (Opening Online & Quick-Commerce Channels)

Distribution Lead, UAE (Opening Online & Quick-Commerce Channels)

Dubai | Full-time, contractual or outcome-based

About Xeliport

Xeliport is a young startup that takes consumer brands from India into the UAE. We have 14 signed brands across food, FMCG and other consumer categories, with over $25 million in combined annual sales in India. The team is small, we move fast, and everyone does a bit of everything.

The role

This is a business development role. You'll open up distribution channels for our brands on Amazon.ae and Amazon Now, noon and noon Minutes, Talabat Mart, Careem Quik, InstaShop and Kibsons, and later supermarkets and hypermarkets. There's no playbook and no team under you yet. You'll build it.

It isn't a marketplace operations role. You won't run our Amazon account or manage listings, ads or orders.

What a week looks like

• Pitching our brands to category and vendor managers, and following up until the channel is open
• Getting restricted categories ungated, such as Grocery & Gourmet Foods on Amazon.ae
• Chasing label approvals and registration paperwork with our team and partners
• Putting together pitch decks, pricing and margin sheets for buyers
• Finding importer partners for regulated categories
• Meeting supermarket buyers once the online channels are moving

Skills

You're a fit if you

• Have 3–6 years in business development, at an agency or a distributor, working for multiple brands
• Have opened channels for brands on at least a few UAE e-commerce or quick-commerce platforms
• Know people at some of these platforms, and can find your way to the rest
• Are a people person who enjoys building relationships with buyers
• Are a generalist: you're as comfortable chasing a document as you are running a buyer meeting
• Move fast, take ownership and don't wait to be told
• Want to build something from zero rather than run an established process
• Are based in the UAE

Nice to have

• Supermarket or hypermarket buyer contacts
• Experience bringing brands from India into the UAE
• Arabic
• Contacts in KSA and the wider GCC

This role probably isn't for you if

• You're looking for a senior leadership role with a team and a budget
• You'd rather manage people who do the work than do it yourself

What success looks like in 90 days

• 2 new online or quick-commerce channels open for our brands
• A retail chain listing secured or progressing
• A repeatable pipeline of buyer conversations