Talent Spotlight: SDR Manager Dalin Jaafir on Culture and Career Potential at Navan’s Berlin Office

Dalin Jaafir is aboard a rocket ship — and loving every minute of it. After joining Navan in December 2021 from Google, this sales development manager (SDR) for UK/I and DACH has gone places she never expected. 

“The Navan product is what first attracted me to the company,” says Jaafir, “But I was also attracted to the company's growth and potential, and I stayed because of the people. That’s what Navan is really all about.”

Jaafir started as a senior SDR in Dublin; just six months later, she heard about the need for a new SDR manager — one upside of working in person — and got the promotion. Her role then expanded to managing a growing sales development team across all segments for the UK/I & DACH market and supporting EMEA go-to-market efforts in Berlin and London. She moved from Dublin to Berlin in October 2022, just as the Navan office opened.

Jaafir didn’t expect to be working back in her home country so soon, but she’s excited by the opportunity to disrupt an outdated market. Navan was reason enough to try Berlin. 

“In Germany, we’re not just fighting against legacy TMCs but also manual offline booking controlled by individual gatekeepers,” she said. “We’re giving Germans the opportunity to drastically improve processes and decrease the time spent on manual tasks.”

Jaafir’s first-hand knowledge of German culture and tendencies is helpful in developing the right communication for potential clients. Most Germans, she said, wouldn’t trust an AI product that does everything for them, but they’re still interested in increasing their efficiency and control with new technology.

“You can do whatever you need to do, but do it better, do it more efficiently, and do it faster,” said Jaafir, who is excited to see more German companies shift to Navan — especially unexpected ones. “We’re just started to scratch the surface. The market is virtually untouched.”

While the market opportunity is unbeatable, it’s the culture inside the company that Jaafir believes will drive its ultimate growth.

“Everyone is open to being critically challenged daily,” said Jaafir. “It feels like I can disagree with my VP or GM or anyone more senior than me. It’s actually encouraged. We also receive a lot of feedback to improve. We’re all working together as one big team to become better than we were before.”

An Enablement Program That Changes Careers

Jaafir is actively hiring sales development representatives in the DACH region to maximize the opportunity in the market. She looks for three elements in new hires: drive, coachability, and intellect.

“What I mean by intellect is the ability to think creatively outside the box — entrepreneurial-spirited people who want to take ownership of a job,” said Jaafir. “I’m looking for people who want to grow in a sales organization and build their careers.”

She is confident that anyone stepping onboard the Navan rocketship will walk away with more knowledge, experience, and growth than at any other company — and that’s largely due to the rigor and diligence of Navan’s enablement team.

“Navan emphasizes enablement,” said Jaafir. “New hires can sometimes get thrown into roles at other companies where it's sink or swim, but without any of the actual guidance that they need to succeed. It’s a sink-or-swim scenario at Navan, but new hires receive much guidance in learning, growing, and improving their skills gap. Even employees who leave Navan can take on bigger responsibilities in future roles because of the training they received here.”

Jaafir emphasizes Navan’s enablement program when speaking to new candidates and is excited about the company’s future.

“We’re disrupting industries and markets — I love that Navan is headlining the news with an innovative product that’s never been done before. But I’m also excited about growing internally at the organization. We grow as the company grows and the product gets better and bigger.

Navan is actively hiring for sales roles globally. See available roles at Navan.