Vice President, Specialist Sales, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) - Africa

Required Qualifications

Experience & Skills

• Extensive experience in financial services or payments technology, with strong team management and leadership qualities.
  
• Proven track record of consistently exceeding sales targets and driving business growth in complex B2B environments
  
• Understanding of the African payments landscape, card issuing, and acquiring businesses with a focus on SME solutions
  
• Experience working with or selling to SME-focused financial service providers, including banks, fintechs, and accounting software companies
  
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to create compelling value propositions for sophisticated clients targeting SME customers
  
• Experience selling to C-level executives at financial institutions, fintechs, and multinational corporations
  
• Demonstrated understanding of the SME market in multiple African countries and their specific financial needs
  
• Exceptional leadership skills with demonstrated ability to motivate and develop high-performing teams
  
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data and generate actionable insights
  
• Experience developing and implementing successful sales strategies in competitive markets
  

Languages

• Fluent in English (written and verbal)
  
• Proficiency in at least one additional language is required
  

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute comprehensive regional sales strategies aligned with Mastercard's Africa business objectives
  
• Lead a high-performing team of 4+ sales professionals, providing coaching, mentoring and performance management
  
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify market opportunities and drive revenue growth
  
• Establish and maintain strong executive-level relationships with key clients and partners
  
• Represent Mastercard at industry events and speak authoritatively on payment trends and innovations
  

Client Solutions

• Understand the complex needs and pain points of fintechs and large issuing banks across diverse Africa, specifically as they relate to their SME customer base
  
• Create differentiated value propositions that address client challenges in serving SME customers and deliver measurable business outcomes
  
• Oversee the development of strategic account plans for key clients, ensuring alignment with their SME business priorities
  
• Drive adoption of Mastercard's innovative payment solutions for SME customers across Africa
  
• Develop and articulate compelling business cases to prospective clients that showcase the value of Mastercard solutions for their SME offerings
  
• Expertise in SFDC management
  

Team Development

• Build and maintain a high-performance sales culture focused on client outcomes and revenue growth
  
• Recruit, develop and retain top sales talent across Africa
  
• Implement rigorous sales methodologies and best practices aligned with the Sales Transformation programme
  
• Lead by example, demonstrating exceptional sales skills and client relationship management
  
• Regularly review team performance against targets and implement improvement plans where needed
  

Market Intelligence

• Maintain in-depth knowledge of the African payments landscape, including regulatory developments, competitive threats and emerging technologies affecting the SME sector
  
• Monitor and analyze SME banking and payment trends across Africa
  
• Identify opportunities for Mastercard to add value within the SME ecosystem through partnerships with accounting software providers (Zoho, etc.)
  
• Monitor competitive activity in the SME payment space and develop effective counter-strategies
  
• Collaborate with product teams to ensure solutions address evolving SME market needs
  
• Provide regular market intelligence updates to senior leadership on SME payment trends and opportunities