Retail Partnerships Lead – UAE Nationals Only – Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways is hiring a Retail Partnerships Lead, a role reserved for UAE Nationals, responsible for the Lifestyle and Localization Partnerships vertical within Etihad Guest. This role is about building and managing commercial partnerships with retail, lifestyle, and local brands that let loyalty members earn and redeem points beyond flights themselves, shopping, dining, entertainment, and other everyday spending categories.

Expect the role to involve identifying and negotiating new partnership opportunities, managing existing retail partner relationships, and making sure partnership offers are genuinely attractive enough to drive member engagement rather than sitting unused in the loyalty catalogue. This requires strong Microsoft Office skills for reporting and proposal work alongside genuine commercial negotiation ability.

Etihad Guest’s loyalty ecosystem benefits significantly from strong non-flight partnerships, they keep members engaged with the program between trips and make the loyalty currency more valuable and more frequently used. A strong candidate brings commercial partnership or business development experience and genuine comfort negotiating deals with retail and lifestyle brands.

Loyalty programs are significantly more valuable to members, and therefore more valuable to the airline, when members can earn and redeem points in their everyday lives, not just on flights they may only book a few times a year. A Retail Partnerships Lead who builds strong, genuinely attractive local and lifestyle partnerships keeps Etihad Guest members engaged with the program year-round, which increases member stickiness and reduces the risk of members drifting toward competitor loyalty schemes with more frequent-use benefits. Well-negotiated partnerships also generate direct commercial value for Etihad through partnership fees, co-marketing arrangements, or points-breakage economics, revenue streams that exist independently of ticket sales. On the flip side, weak or unattractive retail partnerships sit unused in the loyalty catalogue and do nothing to strengthen member engagement, representing a missed opportunity relative to what a well-managed partnerships function could deliver. Because this role touches the broader retail and lifestyle landscape in the UAE, strong execution also builds Etihad Guest's reputation as a loyalty program genuinely integrated into everyday local life, not just a travel-specific rewards scheme, which matters for long-term member relevance and retention.

Retail and lifestyle partnership management is a genuinely valuable commercial skill set, combining business development, negotiation, and relationship management in a way that transfers easily across industries well beyond aviation loyalty specifically. Building this experience within Etihad Guest's partnerships vertical gives a UAE National professional exposure to deal-making with a wide range of retail, dining, and lifestyle brands across the UAE, a network and skill set that holds real value for future roles in business development, brand partnerships, or commercial strategy more broadly. Because this role is reserved for UAE Nationals within a flagship national airline, it also offers a prestigious, high-visibility platform for career development, success here is genuinely noticed within Etihad's broader commercial organization. Strong performers in partnership roles like this one often progress into senior commercial partnerships, business development, or loyalty strategy leadership positions over time, both within Etihad and across other major loyalty or retail-adjacent organizations in the region. The negotiation and relationship-building skills developed here are also durable career assets that serve well in virtually any future commercial role. For a UAE National interested in commercial deal-making with genuine external visibility, this role offers an excellent, well-regarded starting point, with a brand name on the business card that opens doors in its own right.

• UAE National (Emirati) candidates only, per this position’s requirements
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field
• Experience in partnership management, business development, or commercial negotiation
• Strong Microsoft Office Suite skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) for reporting and proposals
• Ability to identify and evaluate attractive retail and lifestyle partnership opportunities
• Strong relationship management skills with external brand and retail partners
• Commercial judgment to negotiate terms that benefit both Etihad Guest and the partner