Basin Manager, KSA East Coast

Role Overview

Basin Manager, KSA East Coast at Air Liquide. This role serves as the primary commercial owner and strategic leader for the assigned industrial basin on the KSA East Coast, with end-to-end responsibility for a high-value portfolio of industrial, refining and petrochemical customers.

Role Purpose

To maximize portfolio profitability, protect revenue and cash performance, ensure strong customer retention, and execute the localized commercial strategy. The role bridges day-to-day commercial operations with long-term growth, working closely with Operations, Finance, Legal and Business Development while upholding corporate safety, compliance and governance standards.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial & Basin Ownership

• Drive day-to-day commercial performance across the KSA East Coast basin portfolio as the primary commercial point of contact and end-to-end owner, maintaining a balanced focus on profitability, contractual obligations, customer retention, and service quality.
• Conduct regular customer business reviews to monitor contractual performance, service reliability, customer satisfaction, commercial risks, and agreed joint actions.
• Lead full contract lifecycle administration, including negotiations, amendments, renewals, extensions, and commercial settlements, ensuring timely action ahead of contractual milestones and protecting the company's long-term position.
• Maintain complete oversight of customer and company obligations, formal contractual notices, payment terms, indexation, volume commitments, and proactive mitigation plans for commercial, contractual, or operational risks.

Commercial Strategy, P&L & Working Capital Management

• Formulate and execute the localized East Coast commercial strategy reflecting customer priorities, market conditions, competitive dynamics and long-term asset positioning.
• Own and actively manage revenue, margin and operating income, pricing, volume performance and commercial cost drivers, while preparing annual budgets, rolling volume and revenue forecasts, and monthly actual-versus-forecast variance analyses.
• Implement approved pricing strategies, contractual indexation, and minimum volume and Take-or-Pay mechanisms to safeguard profitability, prevent revenue leakage, and ensure audit readiness.
• Validate monthly billing inputs including fixed and variable charges, indexation, penalties, and adjustments, and coordinate with Finance to ensure accurate, timely invoice issuance and prompt resolution of billing disputes.
• Maintain commercial ownership of accounts receivable, monitor Days Sales Outstanding and overdue aging, lead collection escalations, and partner with Credit Management to evaluate and mitigate payment exposures.

Business Development, Growth, Operational Execution & Commercial Governance

• Partner with Business Development and Technical teams to evaluate expansion projects, greenfield opportunities, and decarbonization initiatives, preparing business cases and commercial validation packages for Cluster and Group approval.
• Serve as the commercial lead during supply disruptions, major turnarounds, or operational events, driving commercial risk mitigation and managing claims or disputes to protect customer relationships while enforcing contractual discipline.
• Champion customer requirements internally across Operations, Supply Chain, and Technical teams to translate feedback into service reliability improvements and seamless onboarding of newly commissioned projects.
• Ensure strict adherence to corporate governance, anti-bribery regulations, internal delegation of authority, and safety and environmental health and safety standards, while maintaining accurate CRM records, contract documentation, and reporting to the Commercial Director.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Engineering, or a related technical or commercial field. An MBA or Master's degree is desirable.
• Minimum 6–10 years of progressive experience in B2B commercial management and complex industrial sales.
• Proven background in industrial gases, petrochemicals, energy, refining, or heavy industrial manufacturing sectors.
• Demonstrated success in long-term supply agreements, complex negotiations, profitability management, customer retention, and cross-functional commercial leadership.

Skills & Competencies

Technical & Commercial Skills

• Advanced financial acumen covering commercial P&L, margin analysis, revenue assurance, receivables, Days Sales Outstanding, forecasting, and pricing and indexation mechanisms.
• Strong grasp of commercial law principles, contract drafting, contractual risk, claims, and long-term supply agreement mechanics.
• Proficiency in Customer Relationship Management systems, ERP, reporting and analytics tools for data-driven commercial management.
• Deep understanding of regional B2B industrial markets, customer operating models and the commercial impact of operational events.

Core & Behavioral Competencies

• Strategic Negotiation & Influence: ability to steer high-stakes negotiations, manage conflicts and achieve sustainable win-win outcomes with senior stakeholders.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: ability to lead by influence across Operations, Finance, Legal, Supply Chain, Technical and Business Development without direct reporting lines.
• Customer-Centricity: strong focus on customer value, service reliability, responsiveness and long-term retention.
• Commercial Discipline: high attention to contractual obligations, billing accuracy, collections, financial exposure, governance and execution follow-through.
• Resilience & Decisiveness: capable of making sound commercial decisions under pressure, particularly during supply constraints, disputes or operational disruptions.
• Fluent Arabic and English required; French is desirable.

Additional Information

Air Liquide is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace that embraces the diversity of employees, customers, patients, community stakeholders and cultures across the world. The company welcomes and considers applications from all qualified applicants, regardless of their background.