F.H. Bertling Logistics
Website:
bertling.com
Job details:
Dubai, UAE
Posted on 04.09.2026
Globally set up
Full time
WE ARE HIRING
We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Managing Director to join our team in UAE. Are you up for the challenge? Apply now to join our team!
Purposes Of The Job
To lead and develop Bertling’s UAE business across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, delivering sustainable profitability, strong operational performance and disciplined commercial growth.
The Managing Director will be responsible for converting Bertling’s established customer relationships, quotation activity and project pipeline into recurring gross profit. The role will strengthen the UAE operating platform, particularly its airfreight, project-logistics and vendor capabilities, while ensuring clear accountability, sound financial control and consistently high customer service.
The position reports to the Regional Director – Middle East, with regular engagement with the Group CEO and relevant global product and key-account leaders.
Principal Responsibilities
Business leadership and financial performance
- Assume full responsibility for the UAE P&L, budget, gross profit, overhead, working capital and cash collection.
- Develop and execute an annual UAE business plan with clear customer, product and profitability priorities.
- Improve the quality of earnings by building recurring customer and lane business, rather than relying on isolated shipments.
- Maintain pricing and margin discipline and ensure that revenue growth converts into acceptable bottom-line performance.
- Closely manage customer credit, supplier commitments, accrued costs, unbilled revenue and aged receivables.
- Escalate material credit, bond, contractual or operational exposure in accordance with Group authority limits.
Commercial conversion and market development
- Establish a disciplined process for managing enquiries from receipt through quotation, follow-up, negotiation, award and post-bid review.
- Measure quotation conversion by customer, product, gross profit and salesperson, including clear reasons for wins and losses.
- Replace large, speculative pipeline reporting with credible weighted opportunities, dated actions and realistic expected gross profit
- Ensure the sales team deploy the relevant sales approach internally and externally
- Coach the key sales personnel in their sales methodology and give regular feedback
- Lead the development of selected energy, EPC, industrial and infrastructure accounts in the UAE.
- Personally support major negotiations and senior customer relationships while retaining clear day-to-day account ownership within the team.
- Develop practical growth plans for strategic customers and targets and other agreed accounts.
- Work closely with the wider Bertling network to convert international customer relationships into UAE-controlled freight opportunities.
Product and vendor capability
- Strengthen the UAE vendor platform across airfreight, ocean freight, project cargo, road transport, chartering, customs clearance, warehousing and specialist handling.
- Establish a qualified vendor-capability matrix covering capacity, geographical reach, service reliability, commercial competitiveness, credit terms, HSE and compliance.
- Assist the global teams to build a credible airfreight product capable of supporting regular and urgent shipments from the Gulf to West Africa, Singapore, Western Australia and other important Baker Hughes and industrial destinations.
- Develop direct relationships with airlines, GSAs, charter brokers, handling agents and selected independent forwarding partners.
- Ensure that quoted services are based on verified operating capability rather than unsupported vendor assurances.
- Introduce competitive procurement and documented vendor selection for material expenditure.
Key-account and operational governance
- Protect and develop Bertling’s major UAE accounts,
- Maintain clear and non-duplicative ownership of customers, projects and operational responsibilities.
- Ensure account managers remain accountable for their customers and that project operations support them without bypassing or displacing that ownership.
- Chair regular reviews of major quotations, live jobs, service failures, customer exposure, billing readiness and collection.
- Ensure early escalation of operational difficulties, delays, cost overruns and customer dissatisfaction.
- Maintain consistent operating standards across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
People leadership
- Lead, coach and develop the UAE team, establishing clear responsibilities, objectives and reporting lines.
- Build an effective leadership group rather than personally controlling every customer, quotation or operation.
- Create a culture in which colleagues share information, report problems early and support one another across commercial and operational functions.
- Conduct regular one-to-one reviews and provide direct, balanced performance feedback.
- Identify capability gaps and make well-supported recruitment or development recommendations.
- Develop succession strength within the existing team and give high-potential colleagues meaningful responsibility.
Systems, controls and compliance
- Ensure disciplined use of CRM, BLU and the Group’s financial and operational systems.
- Maintain complete job files, timely cost accruals, billing readiness and reliable management reporting.
- Operate within the Group delegation-of-authority framework and ensure that all significant commitments are properly documented and approved.
- Maintain strong standards of business ethics, anti-bribery compliance, sanctions screening, vendor due diligence, HSE and conflict-of-interest disclosure.
- Ensure UAE activities comply with applicable laws, licences and Group policies.
Initial priorities
First 12 months
- Deliver the agreed UAE revenue, gross-profit, EBIT and cash targets.
- Demonstrably improve quotation conversion and forecast accuracy.
- Establish dependable airfreight and project-logistics propositions on priority trade lanes.
- Produce recurring revenue from a broader mix of customers.
- Strengthen senior engagement with key customers and selected target accounts.
- Create an accountable, cooperative team with clearly defined customer and operational ownership.
- Achieve consistently sound CRM, job-control, billing and compliance performance.
- Maintain the UAE operation as a dependable contributor to regional and Group business.
Experience And Qualifications
- Substantial leadership experience in international freight forwarding or project logistics, including previous responsibility for a country, branch or meaningful business unit P&L.
- Strong knowledge of the UAE and wider GCC forwarding market.
- Demonstrable experience in airfreight as well as project, ocean and multimodal logistics.
- A record of converting commercial pipelines into profitable, repeatable business.
- Established credibility with energy, EPC, industrial or infrastructure customers.
- Experience building and managing carrier, agent and subcontractor networks.
- Sound understanding of pricing, credit, working capital, contracts and operational risk.
- Proven ability to lead a multicultural commercial and operational team.
- Strong systems discipline and willingness to work within Group governance.
- Fluent business English; Arabic or another relevant regional language would be advantageous.
Personal qualities
- Commercially ambitious but financially disciplined.
- Visible, calm and decisive.
- High personal integrity and sound judgement.
- Comfortable challenging customers, suppliers and colleagues when necessary.
- Able to delegate clearly without losing control.
- Open in communication and willing to escalate problems early.
- Hands-on enough to understand operational detail, but capable of leading through accountable managers rather than becoming the principal operator
Are you up for the challenge? Send your CV/Resume to Colin.MacIsaac@bertling.com. providing details of your experience and why you should be considered for this position.
Permanent employment contracts and many opportunities to grow and develop a career
Attractive and competitive salary based on regular
performance reviews
Opportunity to make an impact and contribute to our
responsible logistics solutions
Join our global and multinational team with the option
to gain experience abroad
Flexible work models depending on role and geography
and modern work infrastructure and devices
A modern office environment in a central location
with good transport links
A pleasant and collegial work environment with room for
ideas, feedback and innovation
Staff health initiatives and company-wide training programs
for employee wellbeing
YOU COULD NOT FIND A SUITABLE VACANCY?
Are you passionate about logistics and eager to collaborate on exciting projects with colleagues from around the globe? If so, we look forward to hearing from you. We will contact you if we have a suitable vacancy.
Simply send us an email with your CV and/or link to your LinkedIn Profile and we will get back to you.
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