Exhibition Director - Arabic speaker

Role Overview

Exhibition Director – Arabic speaker at Informa Group Plc. Located in Saudi Arabia, reporting to senior leadership within Tahaluf, the largest B2B live and on-demand events organiser in Saudi Arabia.

Company Overview

Tahaluf is a joint venture between Informa PLC, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP), and the Events Investment Fund (EIF). The organization operates a portfolio of record-breaking B2B events including LEAP (technology), Cityscape (real estate), Black Hat MEA (cybersecurity, Guinness World Record holder for largest CTF competition), and CPHI Middle East (pharmaceutical). Tahaluf fosters a culture of collaboration, creativity, and teamwork, partnering with government and non-government organisations across Saudi Arabia's events sector.

Role Purpose

The Exhibition Director is a pivotal leadership role responsible for driving long-term growth and commercial success of the assigned event. The role balances two key contributions: developing strategic direction for future growth and ensuring the highest standards of event delivery through effective execution. The Exhibition Director carries full accountability for commercial and operational performance, including exhibition sales, sponsorship, visitor marketing, conference and content development, and on-site event delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Growth

• Develop and implement a rolling strategic plan to drive continued growth and success of the event.
• Define the strategic direction, positioning, and profile of the event in line with evolving industry needs and audience requirements.
• Position and maintain the exhibition as the leading event within its sector, strengthening market share, brand recognition, and customer value.
• Maintain thorough understanding of the industry, including market trends, customer requirements, and competitive landscape, to inform strategic decision-making.
• Understand current affairs, market trends, regulatory developments, and the wider political landscape, translating these insights into successful event strategies and commercial opportunities.
• Develop commercially viable solutions that deliver value to key customer communities.

Financial Management

• Prepare, manage, and deliver the annual budget and quarterly forecasts, ensuring financial targets are achieved.
• Establish trusted leadership partnership with the EVP and AVP, collaborating on portfolio strategy, financial planning, budgeting, and quarterly forecasting.
• Ensure the event achieves its revenue, expenditure, and operating profit targets.
• Demonstrate strong commercial acumen with experience in financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and P&L management.

Stakeholder & Commercial Relationships

• Act as an ambassador for the event by building and maintaining strong relationships with clients, government stakeholders, industry associations, business leaders, partners, and suppliers.
• Develop a strong and collaborative partnership with the Commercial Director, ensuring the sales team and external sales agents remain focused, motivated, and equipped to achieve agreed commercial objectives.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with internal stakeholders across Tahaluf and Informa Markets.
• Work collaboratively with government stakeholders and the wider Informa Markets business, including Media, Data, and Client Solutions teams, to support overall objectives of both the event and the wider organisation.
• Identify opportunities to grow the brand globally.

Leadership & Team Development

• Champion and foster a positive, collaborative team culture where colleagues feel engaged, motivated, and valued.
• Create an environment where people feel motivated, valued, supported, and empowered to perform at their best.
• Lead the development of team members through regular performance reviews, coaching, mentoring, and career development in line with company guidelines.
• Lead, motivate, and develop high-performing teams.

Content & Product Innovation

• Use market intelligence to shape compelling event content, enhance the customer experience, and develop new products or multi-platform brand extensions.
• Demonstrate a creative and innovative mindset in response to customer and industry needs.

Qualifications & Experience

• Minimum 5 years' experience leading large-scale B2B exhibitions with a proven track record of delivering commercially successful events.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Proven experience as an Exhibition Director or in a comparable leadership role with full commercial and operational responsibility.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute strategic plans that drive business growth and market leadership.

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with ability to influence and engage stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong networker with ability to build, maintain, and leverage long-term relationships with customers, partners, industry bodies, and key stakeholders.
• Collaborative leadership style with ability to work effectively across cross-functional teams and build trusted internal and external partnerships.
• Highly adaptable, resilient, and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities.
• Arabic language proficiency (spoken and written) is highly desirable and would be advantageous when engaging with government stakeholders, industry partners, and regional customers across the Kingdom.

Additional Information

Desirable Experience

• Previous experience working within the Middle East.
• Experience within the safety, security, fire protection, emergency management, or chemical resilience sectors.

Core Benefits

• Medical insurance for individual and family.
• Annual leave of 28 days.
• School fees contribution of 40,000 SAR per child per year, up to a maximum of three children.
• Wellbeing benefits.
• Remote working on Sundays.
• Working anywhere – 2 months every year.
• Family visa costs (up to a maximum of three children), if eligible.
• Individual annual flight allowance for expat staff, if eligible.

Local Relocation Package (if eligible)

• Paid flight to Riyadh for you and your dependents.
• 30 days accommodation or suitable serviced apartment from arrival date. Alternatively, if you already have accommodation in Riyadh and do not require a hotel or serviced apartment, a one-off payment of 5,000 SAR is provided.
• 2,500 SAR towards shipping goods or excess baggage costs on production of receipts or invoices.

International Relocation Package (if eligible)

• Paid flight to Riyadh for you and your dependents.
• 60 days accommodation or suitable serviced apartment from arrival date. Alternatively, if you already have accommodation in Riyadh and do not require a hotel or serviced apartment, a one-off payment of 5,000 SAR is provided.
• 2,500 SAR towards shipping goods or excess baggage costs on production of receipts or invoices.