General Manager of Ads

Careem is building the Everything App for the greater Middle East — making it easy to move around, order food and groceries, manage payments, and more. Our purpose is simple: to simplify and improve people’s lives and build an awesome organisation that inspires.
Since 2012, Careem has enabled earnings for over 2.5 million Captains, simplified the lives of more than 70 million customers, and built a platform where the region’s best talent and entrepreneurs thrive. We operate in 70+ cities across 10 countries, from Morocco to Pakistan.

We’re now entering our next chapter — one powered by AI. We’re looking for AI talent: curious problem-solvers who know how to apply AI to build tools, automate workflows, and create real impact. Whether it’s streamlining operations, enhancing customer experience, or reimagining internal systems — we want people who can make Careem work smarter and move faster.

Location: Dubai, UAE

Reporting to: Bassel Alnahlaoui, Chief Business Officer

Careem is building the region’s next breakthrough advertising platform and Careem Ads is at the very beginning of that journey. We’re looking for a high-calibre General Manager to lead Careem’s Ads business, a strategic, fast-growing pillar of the Careem Super App. This role is ideal for a commercially-driven leader with a strong track record in sales, partnerships, and influencing product strategy, particularly in retail or digital media.

As GM of Ads, you’ll be responsible for scaling the Careem Ads platform, defining its go-to-market strategy, and building deep relationships with agencies and brands to unlock significant revenue growth.

This is not a traditional GM role, it’s a hands-on, market-facing leadership opportunity that blends strategic thinking with operational hustle. You’ll work across the business, from C-level stakeholders to cross-functional teams, as you help shape a multi-million dollar revenue stream that sits at the heart of Careem’s long-term strategy.

What you'll do:

• Own and drive the commercial strategy and execution for Careem Ads, with a focus on closing high-value deals.

• Build and scale strategic relationships with media agencies, holding companies, DSPs, and top-tier brand advertisers across the region.

• Lead revenue growth by identifying, pitching, and closing high-impact media partnerships and always-on campaigns.

• Partner with product, data, and operations teams to shape our advertising roadmap, optimize inventory monetization, and deliver measurable outcomes for clients.

• Represent Careem Ads at industry events, forums, and within executive-level agency/advertiser meetings to position us as a leading retail media and super app ad network in MENA.

• Manage, coach, and grow a high-performing commercial team with an entrepreneurial, results-driven culture.

• Own quarterly forecasting, pipeline health, and commercial reporting, ensuring performance aligns with aggressive growth targets.

What you'll need:

• 10+ years of experience in digital advertising or retail media, including senior-level commercial roles.

• Deep relationships with media agencies, trading desks, and senior marketing decision-makers (with a strong preference for relationships across the MENA region).

• Proven track record of building and closing large-scale advertising deals.

• Expertise in digital ad sales, media planning/buying, and ad monetization models (CPC, CPM, CPA, sponsorships).

• Strong strategic thinking, financial acumen, and the ability to translate business goals into scalable commercial plans.

• Entrepreneurial mindset and a hands-on approach. You thrive in fast-paced environments and are comfortable with ambiguity.

• Excellent communication and influencing skills with the ability to engage C-level stakeholders both internally and externally.

What we’ll provide you

We offer colleagues the opportunity to drive impact in the region while they learn and grow. As a full time Careem colleague, you will be able to:

• 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.