Manager - Product Management SME at Mastercard

Overview

The SME product manager position reports to the SME product lead in EEMEA, who reports to the Head of the product.
The Head of SME EEMEA will have up to 8-10 people reporting directly or indirectly – and therefore the candidate must be capable of operating with high levels of empowerment and accountability. This position stands on its own with no direct reports, and the jobholder must be able to operate at a strategic and operational level.

• Lead accountability for developing and executing an SME Sales strategy which maximizes revenue and profit for SME products across South Africa in SAEM Division.
• This role will be tasked to help achieve the SME Products P&L objectives. The position will also be tasked to support or lead specific regional Expert Sales initiatives that support MasterCard South Africa business and revenue goals.
• Do you have a deep knowledge and understanding of Payment products and services within the SME space?
• Have you ever been into Card industry and related product/project management ?
• Are you excited about bringing global products to market ?
• Are you motivated to be a part of driving a world beyond cash ?

Major Accountabilities

• Lead responsibility across South Africa and SAEM region for developing and executing SME sales strategies
• Provide subject matter expertise and industry thought leadership on all matters pertaining to SME products; Identify product innovation opportunities emerging from the SME segment.
• Define customer business and product requirements for both enterprise-wide and customer specific initiatives and contribute to the customer planning process
• Partner with products team to ensure the development of products, including highly customized products that will best serve the SME segment.
• Ensure business objectives are aligned with, and activity coordinated across, all key stakeholders (e.g. Products, Market Development, Acceptance, Advisors, Customer Delivery, account team, etc.) in order to prioritize initiatives and facilitate their effective implementation.
• Lead and deliver SME projects from concept stage through to execution whilst managing cross-functional partners.
• Make sure our market strategy is aligned with Mastercard’s global and EEMEA strategy and ensure the market gets the central support required
• Act as the lead liaison officer for South Africa & broader MasterCard geographies and stakeholders in relation to the sale of SME Commercial products, to ensure appropriate coordination and ensure awareness and support of business objectives
• Support CSC and account teams with customer facing small business expertise and provide sales support
• Work with CSC and account teams to develop solutions to support customer segment needs and differentiate product offering
• Drive the segment strategy and collaborate with regional management and specific issuers, acquirers & partners on customized programs to optimize existing products for small businesses, including acquisition, usage/spend, & retention tactics.
• Complete opportunity assessments including business cases on new ideas and concepts.
• Develop and execute our Small Business product strategy for SAEM in cooperation with country management, account teams and cross functional teams
• Lead strategic projects and be a pioneer in the field of product development, product differentiation and innovation
• Work with your team and the account teams to build exciting customer pitches including defining the value proposition, business case and overall storyline
• Develop understanding of end-to-end product lifecycle, actively work to improve user experience and processes
• Plan and track our product performance and how we perform against targets
• Prepare launches and monitors product performance, adoption, and operational health
• Support and participate in post-launch, marketing campaigns, reviews and ensures feedback is reincorporated into enhancements
• Work closely with the acceptance team to develop and execute projects that help SMEs get paid digitally
• Strengthen the partnership with Fintech’s to build SME payment ecosystem and offer value added services

All About You
Qualifications Required:

• Deep knowledge and understanding of Corporate products and services (SME Card, Acceptance solutions, security solutions, spend management, card controls), with significant experience in sales and business development within the SME space and relevant tertiary qualifications.
• Progressive business experience, with a strong track record in the payments industry and deep knowledge of consumer payments.
• Strong product sales experience - ability to understand customer and constituent needs, marketplace dynamics, industry trends and the competitive landscape.
• Strong project and relationship management skills - extensive experience and a proven track record of managing simultaneous initiatives, multiple stakeholders in a multicultural environment, across multiple geographic locations, solving problems and applying effective planning skills to deliver multiple initiatives with external and internal clients.
• Strong negotiating and influencing skills, with the ability to execute through others who do not report directly.
• High preference for action - results driven and with a disciplined approach to deliver sales targets.
• Strong analytical and team working skills - ability to identify issues and proactively resolve issues directly or through escalation to appropriate Partners/stakeholders.
• Strong interpersonal and negotiation skills - excellent writing and presentation skills, extensive experience in communicating in international environment at senior management level.