Acceptance and Acquirer Management Executive

JOB PURPOSE

To manage acquirer and acceptance relationships, merchant engagements, rewards, establishing partnerships for Verve acceptance and usage growth within the rest of Africa. To engage in the development and execution of acceptance and acquirer strategy and plan for the assigned country against key metrics. To expand acceptance, usage, and acquirers’ network to deliver sustainable revenue growth and improved brand’s reputation. To work cross functionally to identify complex and evolving acquirers’ needs and issues to develop innovative solutions and cultivate growth opportunities. To manage and grow internal and external resources and cross functional relationships that help in meeting or exceeding business development quotas in payment tokens industry.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Key Account Management

• Maintain relationships with customers such as small- to medium-sized companies, either personally or by supervising an account management team.
• Work within established systems to develop solutions, generate new opportunities and ensure all customer demands are met.
• Act as a subject expert matter on Verve International payment tokens and adjacent product offerings.
• Communicate and articulate all aspects of Verve value proposition to acquirers.
• Consultatively identify and prioritise acquirer needs and craft customised solutions that drive specific commercial metrics and increase merchant satisfaction.
• Lead merchants and acquirers’ acquisition, cross-sell, and / or retention initiatives through providing tracking information as well as insights based on acquirer escalation analysis.
• Identify key strategic issues and generate and deliver creative and innovative solutions to problems and opportunities.

Customer Relationship Management / Account Management

• Develop and implement a relationship management plan for existing customer accounts to identify and build relationships with relevant decision makers and influencers within the customer organisation and to enable effective two-way flow of information and resolution of issues.
• Act as first point of contact for customer queries and complaints and resolve these, referring complex issues to others and ensuring that the customer receives an appropriate response.
• Deepen customer relations with acquirers and other stakeholders in the markets to achieve brand preference, including initiatives related to acceptance, new products, marketing and technology.
• Assist with the development of internal communications and work collaboratively with colleagues to build strong external customer relationships and meet customer needs.
• Align objectives, priorities, and resources between Verve International and acquirers.

Promoting Customer Focus and Sell Customer Propositions

• Collaborate internally and work as the customer champion in cross-functional teams to build strong external customer relationships.
• Use personal expertise to identify the complex standard products and services offered by the organisation that meet the customer's needs, together with quantities and product configurations.
• Present these to the customer with a clear rationale and at standard commercial terms, referring to senior colleagues where necessary to ask for concessions (e.g., price reduction) that gain the customer's agreement.

Business Development and Planning

• Monitor and assess sales and market data and produce reports that will assist management in formulating strategy and identifying areas in the market where business can be developed.
• Contribute to the development of acceptance plan and budget by analysing market, customers, and acquirers data to identify merchant and acquiring development opportunities in line with the plan and by proposing enhancements as deemed necessary as market conditions evolve.
• Identify, develop and implement growth opportunities with financial institutions, acquirers and processors to expand Verve International services aimed at helping acquirers and partners meet merchant and market needs.
• Optimise acquirer investments by driving sales of Verve International payment tokens products, developing appropriate business cases and forecasts, advocating for funding, identifying and deploying resources to address objectives, track performance and use learnings to inform future investments.

Performance Improvement through Business Intelligence

• Partner with different business stakeholders and internal clients to ensure the collection of data in accordance with model standards.
• Act as an advocate for Verve International’s brand, evangelise insights on what is working and what is not to help drive incremental gains in pipeline and revenue.
• Collect feedback from identified customers or customer segments to ensure their needs are met, providing themes, summary analyses, and recommendations for changes based on customer input.

Stakeholder Engagement and Management

• Contribute to stakeholder engagement through identifying stakeholders, finding out their needs / issues / concern and reacting to these by arranging meetings and events and drafting supporting materials to promote understanding and commitment.
• Plan and deliver stakeholder engagement activities to develop effective project working relationships and to ensure that stakeholder needs and concerns are identified and met.
• Partner cross-functionally with internal teams to coordinate and execute the acceptance activities in accordance with acceptance strategy, governance, regulations, relevant processes, and standards, while managing budget and time constraints.

 

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

Understands Customer Needs

• Uses comprehensive knowledge and skills to act independently while guiding and training others to articulate the customer needs in the customer's business language and business context.
• Understands customer context; Uncovers customer Key Performance Indicators; Articulates customer objectives; Adds value to partnerships.

Understands Issues / Motivations

• Uses comprehensive knowledge and skills to act independently while guiding and training others to quickly identify and accurately articulate why a client does or does not want a change based on their business objectives and challenges.
• Adapts to changing goals / objectives; Maintains focus on win-win goal; Identifies key interests; Recognises key negotiation points; Shares goals and recognises value.

Customer-Focused Approach

• Works without supervision and provides technical guidance when required to orient the seller's organisation around delivering to the key needs of their customers.
• Keeps customer at centre of sale; Collaborates with customers; Elevates partner insights; Uses common terminology.

Knows Buying Influences and Manages Indifference

• Works without supervision and provides technical guidance when required to accurately identify and understand the key buying influences pertaining to an opportunity.
• Works without supervision and provides technical guidance when required to acknowledge and ask questions to understand the circumstances surrounding client indifference.
• Identifies all buyers and their level of influence; Assesses each buyer's sense of urgency and readiness; Seeks to understand each buyer's desired business results and concerns; Assesses buyer feelings about the proposed solution; Secures a coach within the buyer organisation to facilitate introductions and access; Leverages a strategic coach to support the partner relationship; Acknowledges indifference; Probes for relevance to proceed; Probes to understand indifference; Identifies new needs or opportunities.

Understands Buying Influencer Needs

• Works without supervision and provides technical guidance when required to quickly and accurately define the needs of the key buying influencers.
• Seeks to understand buyer needs; Determines the root of buyer needs; Uncovers buyer's goals; Seeks buyer need priorities; Assesses channel relationship needs and expectations.

Account / Client Management

• Works without supervision and provides technical guidance when required on managing client accounts in a way that provides benefits both for the organisation and its clients. 

Customer and Market Analysis

• Conducts research and analyses data without supervision while providing technical guidance as needed in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of customer and market conditions that enables maximum return on investments.

Stakeholder Expectation Management

• Works with full competence to identify potential stakeholders, analyse their expectations, and develop strategies for managing stakeholders and their expectations.
• Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Communications management plan; Conflict management; Conflict resolution techniques; Expectation management; Managing relationships; Relationship building.

Measure Solution Performance

• Works with full competence to identify appropriate measures for assessing solution performance and limitations, validate with key stakeholders, and collect appropriate performance measures to assess overall solution performance to recommend specific actions to increase solution value.
• Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Determine acceptance and evaluation criteria

Prospecting and Qualifying

• Works without supervision and provides technical guidance when required to identify ideal potential clients.
• Works without supervision and provides technical guidance when required to spend the appropriate time for the size and potential of each opportunity.
• Identifies and communicates benefits; Identifies budget and timing; Identifies competition; Invests appropriate effort; Qualifies opportunities; Defines ideal client; Evaluates partnership's value contribution; Identifies client-organisation fit; Identifies long-term clients.

Presents Solutions and Closes Effectively

• Works without supervision and provides technical guidance when required to clearly present solutions that link directly to the key objectives and challenges important to the client.
• Works without supervision and provides technical guidance when required to arrive at mutually beneficial commitments that help move the sales / client relationship forward.
• Aligns stated needs with solution benefits; Communicates offerings in a compelling way; Compels clients to a desire to act; Conveys initiatives to partners; Explains how the solution aligns with needs; Invests appropriate time to understand core needs; Offers solutions at the optimal time; Closes calls with mutually beneficial commitments; Focuses toward mutual profitability; Pre-plans for commitment.

 

EDUCATION 

• General Education - University First Degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, Marketing and Sales or Finance-related field.

 

EXPERIENCE

• General Experience - At least 6 years' relevant experience in customer relationship management and business development with a good technical understanding of Payments, including a minimum of 3 years in merchant acquirer business within Financial or FinTech sector