Commercial Manager
At Manna, we’re changing how the world receives things — by taking delivery to the skies.
Our mission is simple but ambitious: to make high-speed suburban delivery affordable, green, and safe. We design and build our own aviation-grade drones that deliver food, coffee, groceries, and more directly from local stores and vendors to people’s doors in just a few minutes.
We’re a team that Drive with Impact, are Safety Focused, and knows that the best ideas come from Team Players who show up as their Authentic Selves. We move fast, we are passionate about what we do, and we’re always pushing a growth mindset to be better in everything we do.
If you want to build world-changing technology with real-world impact (and have a bit of fun while doing it), you’ll love it here.
Welcome to Manna — where we deliver the future.
Role Purpose
We are hiring a Commercial Manager to prepare new UAE markets for launch. In this role you are accountable for external engagement: securing permission to use required locations, proving food supply through local merchants or third-party partners, and engaging with customers and local communities before the service is introduced.
This role requires direct, hands-on engagement with property owners, merchants, partners, and local stakeholders who may be unfamiliar with drone delivery. The objective is to ensure new markets are commercially viable, locally understood, and ready for rollout.
Key Responsibilities
- Act as General Manager (company law) and Accountable Manager (aviation regulation)
- Identify and secure permission from landlords, aviation regulators, property owners, or site controllers required for new locations.
- Engage directly with decision-makers to explain how the service operates and address concerns.
- Progress site access agreements through to completion in coordination with internal stakeholders.
- Establish merchant supply in new UAE markets, either through direct restaurant relationships or third-party delivery platforms.
- Set up and manage partnerships with aggregators where appropriate.
- Ensure participating merchants understand how the service works prior to customer introduction.
- Lead early customer and community engagement in new areas.
- Act as a point of contact for local stakeholders and address questions or objections clearly and factually.
- Work with communications and support teams to ensure accurate local messaging.
- Capture learnings from early UAE market entry and help make expansion into additional markets more repeatable over time.
Requirements
This role does not require prior experience in all areas listed below. Candidates may come from a range of backgrounds, provided they have demonstrated the ability to learn quickly, operate independently, and represent a business credibly in unfamiliar settings.
Relevant experience may include some combination of the following:
- Experience introducing a new service, platform, or physical operation into UAE markets.
- Experience working directly with external stakeholders such as landlords, aviation regulators, property owners, merchants, partners, or local authorities.
- Experience progressing agreements or partnerships where there is limited precedent or an undefined playbook.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain unfamiliar concepts clearly and without jargon.
- Willingness to travel regularly and spend time on the ground in new locations.