The Business Leader, Prepaid Product Management & Sales – SSA would be responsible for prepaid product segment development and management, of a defined portfolio of Prepaid products, specifically in Sub Saharan Africa. Sub Saharan Africa
The Business Leader, Prepaid Product Management & Sales – Sub Saharan Africa, would be tasked with assignments that support local alignment of product development, product management, product sales and implementation activities with a customer-focused strategy. The individual will assist in supporting business development with our Customer Banks, Processing partners, Non Bank financial institutions, Travel Service providers and Corporates, in Africa.
The Business Leader, Prepaid Product Management – Sub Saharan Africa, will work closely with local Product Sales, Customer Account Management and country management to assure that customer planning considers the full revenue potential of Prepaid products and programs. The individual will be responsible to management and oversight of the Sub Saharan Africa Prepaid product plan in conjunction with Product Delivery and business development staff.
Accountabilities:
• Lead responsibility for Sub Saharan Africa, for developing products and executing sales strategies which maximize revenue and profit of Prepaid products.
• Identification of product and service features and benefits required for the domestic market and gaps in MasterCard’s Prepaid product offerings, identification key product vertical opportunities.
• Ongoing oversight, execution and refinement of the prepaid strategy as it relates particularly to the Africa market
• Support new business opportunities with new issuing banks, other non-bank financial institutions, Corporate and Government entities and expansion of new business development with existing issuing banks, prepaid partners, processors and program managers.
• Lead responsibility for development and expansion of prepaid sales with Third Party Program Manager, Processors, Non-Bank financial institutions
• Ongoing management of the MasterCard Preferred Processor Partnership program as it relates to Sub Saharan Africa , including relationship management, information exchange on business development opportunities, domestic and international market intelligence and accountability to service delivery excellence by the MasterCard Prepaid partners to MasterCard customers within Sub Saharan Africa
• Identification of key business partners, development of engagement strategies and collaboration with the sales team to assess the appropriate engagement strategy
• Liaison with Global Prepaid Product Management in Purchase and Regional GP&S staff on policy definition, change requirements, waiver requests and strategy development
• Liaison with Franchise Development in Singapore and Purchase on Prepaid program rules and policy requests, BIN management, Product Code management
• Support Sales function where required with product management assistance, best practice case studies, product definition and assistance with deck preparation
• Revenue performance of assigned segments of a defined Prepaid product portfolio, with goals cross-tied to customer plans
• Monitoring and reporting to region Regional GP&S Product Management on competitive products and industry trends
• Supporting the development of strategic business plans for Prepaid products, including rigorous analysis of revenue opportunities and related costs
• Development of all collateral required to develop, launch and support a program, including sales tools, reference guides, research analysis and business case development
• Collaboration with Consumer and Customer Marketing colleagues to support the launch of assigned Prepaid products
• Commissioning and oversight of research to evaluate the business opportunities for new product development and the creation of executable evaluations of the research findings
Key Skills & Experience
• Tertiary qualifications with a management degree and 10-12 years of progressive business experience, with a strong track record in the payments industry and exposure to the Prepaid Cards business
• Demonstrated Product development and Product Management skills related to Payment products
• Deep knowledge and understanding of Prepaid products and Solutions, preferable
• Strong relationship management skills – experience of managing multiple stakeholders in a multicultural environment, across multiple geographic locations.
• Strong negotiating and influencing skills, with the ability to execute through others who do not report directly.
• Strong project management skills – extensive experience and a proven track record of managing simultaneous initiatives, solving problems and applying effective planning skills to deliver multiple initiatives with external and internal clients.
• Strong analytical skills – ability to identify issues before they develop into problems and to proactively resolve issues directly or through escalation to appropriate partners/stakeholders.
• Strong team working skills – ability to work collaboratively and both independently and in a team environment.
• Leadership experience in product management and/or development
• Understanding of competitive offerings and industry trends
• Ability to keep abreast of the external forces which affect issuing prepaid program entities, and to assess the impact of these on MasterCard’s business opportunities

The job holder will carry out responsibilities detailed below in the assigned location within West Africa markets

• Deliver against sales targets for MasterCard products & services and net revenue targets from new and existing business
• Design specific strategies that deliver customized solutions for the business that drive profit, revenue growth and value creation for both MasterCard and the customer
• Collaborate with the account team and customer to establish and execute annual business plans and quarterly review sessions to establish, monitor and report progress against joint objectives that include business development, advertising, marketing and product management activities
• Assist with analysis of the customer’s business through profitability modeling, financial forecasting and competitive analysis
• Obtain or exceed assigned revenue quota
• To ensure delivery of the financial goals as stated in the multiple Business Agreements with these customers
• Deliver the best of MasterCard to these customers by leveraging local and regional resources to maximise development opportunities and provide excellent customer service
• Be the responsible “face of MasterCard” to the Customer through high level interactions with key stakeholders such as, mid to senior bank executives and representatives of marketing and card vendors as well as third party processing companies.

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Major Accountabilities:

This individual will take on a key customer relationship management role for our anchor tenant banks. The person will need to be able to balance the need to have strategic conversations with senior clients, guide mid level executives on portfolio optimization and manage the resolution of a number of business and operational issues.
In addition, the successful candidate may later take on CRM responsibilities for other banks in the West Africa markets.

Other Responsibilities
• Manage the overall MasterCard / Customer relationships with financial institutions as stated above (“the Customer”), taking responsibility for
• Understanding the business drivers and payment priorities for the Customer
• Preparing and executing against an Account Plan, that focuses on initiatives that will drive mutual growth for both organisations
• Developing a Contact Management plan, to ensure active & relevant communication with executives from the Customer, as part of MasterCard’s overall Customer Relationship Management strategy
• Identifying and developing new business opportunities, which could include new products and/or new technology
• Chair the very important MasterCard/Customer Joint Executive Steering Committee meeting, held quarterly to review key performance, priorities and projects. Prepare Agenda and co-ordinate all presentations.
• Ensure the relationship with the Customer delivers on MasterCard’s financial goals
• Develop financial models based on estimated Customer gross dollar volumes to structure new deals and alliance agreements and ensure their approval by MasterCard Finance
• Structure deals and alliance agreements with the Customer to support brand positioning and corporate objectives of achieving financial goals, increasing card gross dollar volume and card market share
• Negotiate and agree the terms of these deals and alliance agreements with the Customer, with the support of the MasterCard Legal team
• Review and track Customer Business Agreement contract commitments, including the timely submission and summation of all rebates & incentive payments. Ensure these payments are communicated fully to senior management, track key MasterCard and Customer card metrics on a monthly and quarterly basis, and benchmark performance to other Customers in East & West Africa. In instances of underperformance create plans to increase performance and / or highlight gaps for executive management attention
• Analyse the ‘Customer Operating Statement’ that records all MasterCard revenue and incentives relating to the Customer on a quarterly basis, comparing to plan and updating the forecast as necessary. This responsibility extends to managing the MasterCard P&L relating to the Customer
• Analyse the Customer’s cards related business performance with respect to card gross dollar volume and card market share vs. Market data
• Deliver the best of MasterCard to the Customer by leveraging local and regional resources to maximise development opportunities and provide excellent customer service
• Actively engage and coordinate efforts with other Customer-facing MasterCard resources including Product Sales Specialists, Customer Marketing Specialists, MasterCard Advisors Account Specialists, Regional Implementation Support, Strategic Operations and processing resources
• Establish market and Customer specific business development/marketing strategies to build the MasterCard brand via syndicated marketing
• Provide oversight for project plans developed by MasterCard in association with Customers.
• Communicate and consult with the customer regarding product and card industry knowledge.
• Ensure that all MasterCard corporate policies and procedures are followed.
• Contribute sense of positive enthusiasm to the Customer in all interactions

Key Competencies sought:

• Business Acumen
• Knowledge leadership
• Finance and planning
• Solution drive
• Results orientation
• Strong Analytical ability

Professional Qualities:

• Leadership
• Influence; assertiveness; initiative
• Autonomy; independence; accountable and responsibly
• Quantitative, qualitative and analytical insight
• Commitment; passion and energy

Experience Required:

• Bachelor’s degree required, MBA preferred.
• 10 years experience in consumer banking and the payments industry
• A good track record of P&L management
• Basic knowledge of payment products and solutions
• Able to integrate knowledge across key disciplines (i.e., marketing, operations, and risk) and must demonstrate effective leadership, negotiation and problem resolution skills.
• Demonstrated maturity and ability to interact and effectively build relationships across all levels of client organization including senior management
• Demonstrated project delivery and project management skills
• Assertive, proactive personality; with strong presence – demonstrated persistence resolving issues and developing opportunities.
• Creative individual, strong team player, decisive and results driven with high energy levels and initiative
• Thorough understanding of Sales Discipline Framework
• Strong commercial, financial acumen and good data analytical skills
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Solid client relationship management skills
• Very strong demonstrated inter-personal skills

• Develop sales pipeline leveraging all available resources in coordination with the product development and account management teams
• Work with Customer Account Managers and Country Managers to identify opportunities to sell new products to existing customers
• Participate in high-level, interactive conversations with key decision makers around new or emerging product opportunities
• Analyze customers’ existing business through profitability modeling, financial forecasting and competitive analysis and recommend opportunities for additional revenue
• Develop long-term growth strategies to optimize mutual profitability across debit and credit business lines
• Work with virtual team of MC subject matter experts to strategically articulate value propositions to close new business opportunities
• Develop financial modeling and business cases for identified opportunities
• Execute and manage the customer contract agreement process, ensuring global linkage of resources and information sharing
• Be the responsible “face of MasterCard” to the prospect/customer through high level interactions with key stakeholders such as senior bank executives, country regulatory contacts, representatives of marketing and card vendors as well as third party processing companies.

Major Accountabilities:

This individual is the ‘Go To’ person for Business Development across the assigned location within West Africa ensuring alignment between the location’s ‘go-to-market’ approaches and the overall MEA Business Development strategy, taking into account the region’s longer term strategic initiatives.

Establish new partner / vendor/ enabler / joint venture integration with capabilities to sustain MasterCard’s competitive advantage and tracking performance against key objectives. This individual will have responsibility for establishing and maintaining strong business relationships with Issuers, vendors, the banking industry and the regulators across the assigned location.

Fundamental to accelerating the development of the business in the allocated location, is a backbone of strong issuance strategy in partnership with key Banks. The individual will be responsible for developing a dedicated Issuance plan and strategy across the assigned location.

In addition, the successful candidate must have a sound knowledge of the payments industry P&L and how to maximize revenue through an effective issuance strategy.

The individual will support in the development of the allocated location’s Interchange strategies, in collaboration with all regional cross functional teams. The successful candidate will be required to support in the assigned location’s Regulatory dialogue and support Country Management, on all matters relating to national and regional interests.

Key Competencies sought:

• Business Acumen
• Knowledge leadership
• Finance and planning
• Solution drive
• Results orientation
• Strong Analytical ability

Professional Qualities:

• Leadership
• Influence; assertiveness; initiative
• Autonomy; independence; accountable and responsibly
• Quantitative, qualitative and analytical insight
• Commitment; passion and energy

Experience Required:

• Bachelor’s degree required, MBA preferred.
• 10+ years experience in the financial services and payments business
• Deep business development and marketing experience
• Strong project management, problem solving, analytical and organizational experience
• Experience in merchant acquiring, retailing and / or corporate transactional banking will be advantageous
• Demonstrated experience in managing multiple stakeholders in a multicultural environment across multiple geographic locations
• Excellent writing and presentation skills, extensive experience in communicating in international environment at senior management level
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills
• Organization and time management skills; ability to multi-task
• Exceptional business judgment and strategic planning skills
• Business Case development, including financial analytics
• Budget preparation and management
• Ability to work collaboratively
• Solid solution development skills and effective working both independently and in a team environment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including presentation skills
• Strong client management skills
• Strong teamwork skills