Sr. Director Local Shops - MENA

About the opportunity ROLE SUMMARY We are looking for a commercially driven and strategically minded Senior Director - Local Shops to lead and scale our Local Stores (Grocery & Retail Marketplace) vertical across our 8 markets. This is a critical regional leadership role responsible for driving exponential GMV growth, gross profit performance and growth and expansion strategy across our local shop verticals. You will work cross-functionally with local market teams, regional P&T, regional LS operations and content and Delivery Hero Local Stores teams to unlock new growth levers — from choice and assortment expansion strategy to launching new shops, ensuring talabat pro vendor penetration and scaling up talabat’s Health & Beauty vertical. The ideal candidate brings deep experience in commercial strategy within marketplace, grocery, or retail businesses, with a strong track record of managing P&L metrics at scale and leading high-performing teams across multiple geographies. WHAT'S ON YOUR PLATE? Owning the regional Local Shops P&L and country team reporting lines including Instashop UAE and Egypt: Own the regional Local Shops P&L consolidated for the markets with a strong sense of understanding of commission revenue structure, NCR and NMR, logistics & order fulfilment related costs, talabat pro subscription commercials, basket value / basket size and the vertical and country mix impact. As you own the P&L, the country LS Heads report into this role; you are responsible for managing the reporting of 8 country heads and the 2 Instashop markets (UAE and EG). Strategic Account Management: Own the regional commercial relationship with key strategic accounts (AAA accounts). Drive GMV growth, gross profit improvement, and NCR investment efficiency across markets. Lead the development and execution of regional Joint Business Plans (JBPs) and Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with top accounts, ensuring alignment between regional strategy and local execution. Commercial Performance: Take accountability for regional LS GMV, GP, and NCR investment targets versus plan. Develop and implement commercial strategies that optimize the balance between growth and profitability. Monitor and analyze performance across markets, identifying gaps and deploying corrective actions with urgency. Enablement of the next generation of order fulfilment and shopping journey tech for your peers in P&T, Regional Operations and Content teams: Co-own the strategy and execution of inventory management and fulfillment with the regional Ops team enabling them and ensuring local market and commercial goals align with the strategy. The end result is ensuring the regionally defined operations, content and product strategy will drive the right commercial performance. talabat Pro - program management and vendor penetration: Drive vendor penetration and enablement for talabat Pro and other key company-wide initiatives within the Local Stores vertical. Ensure strategic accounts are activated and optimized to maximize the value of subscription and loyalty programs. Ensure new loyalty program enablers (Pro Exclusive Deals) are properly deployed in the markets driving overall success for local shops and the talabat pro subscription program. Health & Beauty Scale-Up: Lead the regional scale-up of the Health & Beauty category by coordinating between local markets, Regional P&T, Regional LS, and DH LS. Define the category growth playbook, identify key brands and partnerships, and drive execution across markets. Marketplace Expansion - New Verticals Strategy: Own the strategy for expanding into new retail verticals within the marketplace model. Identify whitespace opportunities, build the business case, and lead cross-functional execution from pilot to scale. 3rd party Loyalty & Special Integrations: Co-own the integration and commercial activation of loyalty programs and other special platform integrations within the LS vertical. Work closely with product and central teams to ensure seamless rollout and adoption across markets. QBR Governance & Regional Coordination: Establish and maintain a rigorous QBR governance framework across top regional account groups. Ensure consistent cadence (4 QBRs per year per top group), quality of insights, and follow-through on action items. Serve as the regional point of coordination between local commercial teams and central stakeholders. Team Leadership: Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of 2 direct reports. Foster a culture of ownership, analytical rigor, and commercial excellence. Develop talent and create clear career progression paths for team members. What you need to be successful WHAT DID WE ORDER? - Bachelor's degree in Business, Commerce, Economics, or a related field; MBA is a plus. - Minimum of 10 years of experience in commercial, account management, or business development roles within marketplace, grocery, retail, or e-commerce industries. - At least 3-5 years in a senior leadership role with