Business Development Manager – Geoscience

  • Khobar, Saudi Arabia
  • Full-Time
  • On-Site
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Job Description:


Role Summary

The Business Development Manager – Geoscience is responsible for selling and developing the full range of Front End's geoscience services and growing the order book through new business, strategic accounts, and long-term contracts. The role owns the commercial relationship with E&P operators, mining companies, offshore and marine operators, EPC contractors, government entities, and major infrastructure and giga-project developers — translating complex technical capabilities into winning proposals and signed contracts.

This is a hunter–farmer role: approximately 70% focused on opening new opportunities and markets, and 30% on growing and protecting strategic accounts and framework agreements.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development & Sales

  • Develop and execute a sector strategy and sales plan to grow geoscience revenue against company targets across energy, mining, offshore, and infrastructure.
  • Identify, qualify, and convert opportunities; build and maintain a strong, well-managed pipeline through prospecting, networking, and targeted account engagement.
  • Map key accounts and decision-making units, building trusted relationships with exploration, drilling, projects, engineering, procurement, and C-level stakeholders.
  • Represent Front End at industry events, technical forums, and with professional bodies (e.g., SPE) to build presence and generate leads.

Solution & Consultative Selling

  • Sell Front End's full geoscience portfolio, including:
    • Subsurface & Seismic: 3D/4D seismic survey design, full waveform inversion processing, vertical seismic profiling using distributed acoustic sensing, high-resolution seismic imaging, seafloor multiphysics and controlled-source EM.
    • Site & Geotechnical Studies: geotechnical surveys, trenching, burial and foundation design, pipeline soil-interaction studies, reconnaissance/route/site surveys, bathymetric surveys (ports, harbors, dredging), as-built verification, and geotechnical desk and FEED studies.
    • Airborne & UAV Surveys: UAV LiDAR and imaging, airborne EM/magnetic/gravity/radiometric surveys, hyperspectral imaging, and drone-based terrain, construction, and environmental inspections.
    • Ground-based Geophysics: resistivity and IP, magnetotelluric/AMT, time- and frequency-domain EM, gravity and magnetic, GPR, seismic refraction and surface-wave methods (MASW, HVSR), and ambient noise tomography.
    • Advanced Analytics: geophysical data processing, interpretation and mapping, AI-enhanced interpretation, geological modeling, and digital subsurface analytics.
  • Lead the discovery process with clients to understand strategic objectives, operational dynamics, and technical environment, and shape tailored solution scopes with the technical team.
  • Translate technical methods and deliverables into clear commercial value, business cases, and proposals.

Contract & Commercial Development

  • Lead and manage tender and proposal processes end to end — coordinating technical, pricing, HSE, and approval inputs into compliant, competitive bids.
  • Negotiate and close service contracts, framework agreements, and Master Service Agreements (MSAs), protecting margin while remaining competitive.
  • Develop long-term contract pipelines and recurring-revenue arrangements with key accounts.
  • Identify and structure partnerships, consortia, and principal/agency arrangements that strengthen Front End's competitive position.

Market Intelligence & Strategy

  • Track market trends, project pipelines (including giga-projects and infrastructure programs), competitor activity, and regulatory and local-content developments.
  • Provide accurate forecasts, pipeline reports, and market insight to leadership; recommend new services, technologies, and partners to expand the portfolio.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

  • Maintain accurate pipeline, activity, and forecast data in the CRM.
  • Work closely with geoscientists, survey and project teams, operations, finance, supply chain, and HSE/quality to ensure deliverable, profitable commitments and smooth handover from sale to delivery.
  • Support post-deployment account growth in line with Front End's Optimize & Scale model.

Target Sectors & Clients

  • Energy / Oil & Gas: national and international E&P operators, drilling and development teams, pipeline and facilities projects (onshore and offshore).
  • Mining & Minerals: exploration and resource-development companies and national mining champions.
  • Offshore & Marine: offshore energy operators, ports, harbors, and dredging/marine infrastructure.
  • Infrastructure & Giga-projects: EPC contractors, developers, and government entities requiring subsurface, geotechnical, and survey intelligence.

Qualifications & Experience

Required

  • Bachelor's degree in Geophysics, Geology, Geoscience, Civil/Geotechnical Engineering, or a related technical discipline (a commercial postgraduate qualification is a plus).
  • 5–10 years of B2B technical sales / business development experience selling geoscience, geophysical survey, geotechnical, or related subsurface/engineering services.
  • Demonstrated track record of winning contracts and consistently meeting or exceeding sales targets, including major tenders and framework agreements.
  • Solid working understanding of geophysical and geotechnical survey methods and the project lifecycle (exploration development asset optimization).
  • Experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles and contract negotiations.

Preferred

  • Established network within KSA energy, mining, offshore, and infrastructure accounts.
  • Familiarity with KSA procurement and prequalification processes, local content (IKTVA), and Vision 2030 project programs.
  • Experience working with international principals, survey contractors, or technology partners.
  • Valid KSA driving license; willingness to travel to field and offshore sites.

Skills & Competencies

  • Strong technical credibility paired with consultative, value-based selling.
  • Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder management, including at C-level.
  • Strong commercial acumen, tendering, negotiation, and business-case development.
  • Clear, persuasive written and verbal communication; confident in proposals and presentations.
  • Self-driven, resilient, and organized, with disciplined CRM and pipeline management.
  • Fluency in English required; Arabic strongly preferred.
  • Proficiency in MS Office and CRM tools.

Key Performance Indicators

  • Geoscience revenue and gross-margin growth against target.
  • New accounts opened, tenders won, and contract/framework value secured.
  • Pipeline value, conversion rate, and sales-cycle efficiency.
  • Forecast accuracy and CRM data quality.
  • Strategic-account retention and share-of-wallet growth.