Role overview
What you'll be stepping into
At Airtel Africa, passion, energy, innovation, and an entrepreneurial spirit drive the way we work. The company is committed to anticipating customer needs, adapting to market changes, and delivering solutions that enrich the communities it serves.
Airtel Africa is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Job Purpose
The Head – Enterprise & SME will be responsible for managing the Airtel Money Payments segment, particularly remote payments such as utilities, bill payments, school fees, and other payment services.
The role involves managing the payments ecosystem and partnerships, driving product development and enhancements, acquiring and onboarding payment partners, managing relationships, growing revenue and the customer portfolio, and improving customer experience.
The role will also oversee business case development, product concept development, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), technical integrations, contracting, training, product launches, usage, retention, and partner support.
The position holder will serve as the first point of escalation for payments partner queries and coordinate all queries through to satisfactory resolution.
Key Responsibilities
Business Development & Client Acquisition
Grow the existing client base within the assigned segment in line with business targets.
Identify and engage prospective business partners to expand Airtel Money payment use cases.
Understand prospective clients' business needs and recommend appropriate Airtel Money payment solutions.
Manage the end-to-end client onboarding process, including acquisition, product design, development, UAT, contracting, client training, product usage, and retention.
Conduct market research with clients and the Airtel Group to identify new product innovations.
Recommend products and services that can improve revenue and customer experience.
Develop initiatives, campaigns, products, and solutions aimed at driving business and revenue growth within the payments segment.
Product Development & Management
Develop business cases to support new product development within the assigned segment and Airtel Money generally.
Work with IT to prioritise products and services for development.
Coordinate with Group Airtel Money to secure support and customise products according to market and customer needs.
Develop project plans for new products and manage them through to Go-Live.
Coordinate the complete lifecycle of new products and services.
Monitor and evaluate the performance of payment partnerships, products, and services after rollout.
Develop product guides, reference guides, and other relevant documentation.
Develop training content to support customer engagement and market rollout.
Revenue & Performance Management
Monitor Airtel Money unique users of payment products and services.
Develop and implement campaigns to increase unique users and maximise revenue from the existing Airtel Money customer base.
Monitor consumption and revenue growth trends to inform business growth plans.
Conduct daily, weekly, and monthly performance reviews against business targets.
Implement corrective or remedial actions where revenue performance falls below expectations.
Work with the Usage & Retention team to develop initiatives that increase usage of Airtel Money payment services.
Prepare timely weekly and monthly management reports highlighting performance against agreed Key Result Areas (KRAs) and Annual Operating Plan (AOP) targets.
Partner & Relationship Management
Own and maintain payment partner relationships to maximise business opportunities for Airtel Money.
Serve as the first point of escalation for partner queries and support requests.
Track partner queries, support requests, and escalations through to satisfactory resolution.
Communicate resolutions clearly to partners.
Manage partner communications, engagements, and meetings within the assigned segment.
Maintain an up-to-date database of all partners in the assigned segment.
Develop a comprehensive understanding of each partner's business processes and needs to recommend suitable Airtel Money solutions.
Take full responsibility for client usage and retention within the assigned segment.
Customer Retention & Churn Management
Ensure client churn remains below the acceptable threshold defined in the business plan.
Identify partners at risk of churning and develop appropriate churn-management plans.
Ensure partners likely to churn are promptly brought to management's attention.
Monitor partner usage and develop initiatives to improve retention and long-term engagement.
Other Responsibilities
Perform any other duties assigned by the Line Manager from time to time.
Qualifications and Experience
Must Have
A Bachelor's degree in Business, Social Studies, Commerce, or a related field.
A postgraduate qualification in Business, Commercial, or Banking-related fields is an added advantage.
At least 7 years of experience in commercial, business development, sales, or relationship management roles.
Strong understanding of the payments ecosystem, product lifecycles, and relationship management.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Good understanding of the market and customer needs.
Key Skills and Competencies
The ideal candidate should demonstrate:
Excellent negotiation and project management skills.
Strong business acumen.
Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills.
Excellent planning and organisational skills.
Excellent interpersonal and relationship-management skills.
Strong training and coaching skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Excellent presentation skills.
Creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
Strong commercial acumen.
Strong customer-service orientation.
How to apply