Associate Director, Marketplace And Expansion Ops

Summary

Join Careem as the Associate Director – Marketplace & Expansion and play a pivotal role in optimizing Careem's marketplace dynamics and spearheading strategic expansion into new markets and verticals. Reporting to the Head of Central Ops, you will develop and execute growth strategies, balance supply and demand, and ensure a seamless experience for customers and Captains. This role demands close collaboration with cross-functional teams to shape Careem's marketplace operations. You will be responsible for identifying and evaluating new market opportunities, leading go-to-market strategies, and collaborating with various teams to enhance marketplace features and products. Furthermore, you will manage stakeholder relationships, lead and develop a high-performing team, and oversee performance reporting and analytics. This is a high-impact role requiring strong leadership, analytical, and communication skills.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Engineering, or a related field
• MBA or equivalent is required
• 8-10+ years of progressive experience in marketplace strategy, operations, or growth, ideally within tech, e-commerce, or on-demand services
• Proven track record of leading market expansions or large-scale operational initiatives in a fast-paced environment
• Experience managing cross-functional teams and working with diverse stakeholder groups
• Strong proficiency in data analysis and familiarity with tools such as Excel, SQL, or BI platforms
• Demonstrated ability to leverage data insights to drive decision-making and continuous optimization
• Exceptional leadership capabilities with experience building and mentoring teams
• Strong communication, presentation, and influencing skills to align cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders
• Ability to take the initiative, inspire people to raise the bar, and establish new operating standards
• Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment; comfortable with ambiguity and pivoting when needed
• Always thinking about the business, taking ownership, and continuously improving the model
• Super-strong project management skills with a bias for action and practical problem-solving
• Willingness to work hard, embrace open culture, and share information for broader visibility
• Adept at building relationships with diverse groups, both direct and indirect; able to effectively sell ideas and influence stakeholders
• Encourage team members to identify and fix processes or policies, driving positive change across the organization
• Belief in standardizing workflows, processes, and policies to ensure seamless operations and predictable outcomes
• Excellent written and spoken English is required

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategies to optimize marketplace supply and demand, ensuring service reliability and efficiency
• Analyze marketplace metrics (e.g., pricing, incentives, fleet utilization) to identify growth opportunities and improve operational performance
• Work closely with Data & Analytics teams to set KPI targets, forecast trends, and enhance real-time marketplace operations
• Identify and evaluate new market opportunities, from initial market assessment through to launch
• Lead cross-functional teams (Ops, Marketing, Product, Finance) to execute go-to-market strategies in targeted regions or verticals
• Establish goals, roadmaps, and timelines for market expansion and ensure successful delivery against these objectives
• Collaborate with Product and Engineering teams to develop and enhance marketplace-related features, tools, and products
• Partner with Marketing to design growth campaigns that attract and retain Captains and customers
• Work with Finance to create financial models, assess ROI for expansions, and manage budgetary constraints
• Serve as a key liaison between marketplace operations, leadership, and external stakeholders, ensuring alignment on goals and priorities
• Represent Careem’s interests with regulatory bodies, partners, and relevant industry associations as needed
• Present regular updates to senior leadership on marketplace health, expansion milestones, and key performance metrics
• Build and lead a high-performing team, fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and innovation
• Mentor and develop team members, providing clear objectives, career development support, and performance feedback
• Champion Careem’s values of ownership, agility, and customer-centricity, setting a strong example for the team
• Oversee the design and implementation of dashboards/reports that provide real-time visibility into key operational and financial metrics
• Utilize analytics to derive actionable insights, optimize strategies, and drive data-informed decision-making across the organization
• Continuously track and measure the effectiveness of new initiatives, conducting post-mortems to iterate and refine approaches

Preferred Qualifications

• Understanding of MENA (Middle East and North Africa) or other emerging markets is highly desirable
• Proficiency in Arabic or other regional languages is a plus

Benefits

• Work and learn from great minds by joining a community of inspiring colleagues
• Put your passion to work in a purposeful organisation dedicated to creating impact in a region with a lot of untapped potential
• Explore new opportunities to learn and grow every day
• Work 4 days a week in office & 1 day from home, and remotely from any country in the world for 30 days a year with unlimited vacation days per year. (If you are in an individual contributor role in tech, you will have 2 office days a week and 3 to work from home.)
• Access to healthcare benefits and fitness reimbursements for health activities including gym, health club, and training classes