Manager - SME Acquiring

This role builds noqodi's SME acquiring business, Business-in-a-Box, and owns its P&L. The Manager leads a team of 10-11 Sales Executives and the Outsourced Sales Partners channel to sign, onboard and grow micro and small merchants across the UAE.

The Manager also rebuilds how SME merchants are onboarded, so a signed merchant is live within days rather than weeks. They are noqodi's eyes on the SME market: they feed competitor moves, pricing and market trends back to the Manager - Acquiring Business and the Director - Commercials

Key responsibilities

1. P&L and targets

• Own the SME acquiring P&L: merchants signed and live, TPV, revenue, cost of sale and contribution after team cost.
• Set monthly targets by Sales Executive and by Outsourced Sales Partner, and track delivery weekly.
• Prepare the SME budget and forecast with Finance and Business Intelligence, and explain variances.
• Grow revenue per merchant by cross-selling the full bundle: POS, SoftPOS, online checkout, Pay by Link, business wallet, WPS payroll and cards.

2. Sales team leadership

• Lead, coach and manage 10-11 Sales Executives: territories, daily activity, pipeline reviews and performance management.
• Recruit and onboard new Sales Executives in line with the hiring plan, and keep the team at full productivity.
• Build a sales playbook: target segments, prospect lists, pitch, objection handling and the conversion from noqodi's existing government-fee payers.
• Run sales campaigns through free zones, typing centres, business centres, accountants and associations.

3. Incentive policy

• Design the sales incentive plan for the SME team, and for Outsourced Sales Partners, with HR and Finance, for approval by the Director - Commercials.
• Link incentives to merchants live and transacting, TPV and revenue, not only merchants signed.
• Review the plan every year and track its cost against the revenue it drives.

4. Outsourced Sales Partners

• Select, onboard and manage Outsourced Sales Partners: contracts, targets, commission terms and service levels.
• Train partner staff on noqodi's products, pricing, KYB requirements and onboarding steps.
• Track partner productivity and merchant quality monthly, and replace partners that miss targets.

5. Merchant onboarding revamp

• Map the current SME onboarding journey end to end, from application to first transaction, and remove delays.
• Redesign the process with Operations, Risk and Compliance and Product: simpler KYB, digital applications, e-signatures, risk-based checks and automated MID and terminal setup.
• Set and track an onboarding turnaround target, aiming for T+2 from complete application to live merchant.
• Make sure faster onboarding stays within noqodi's risk, scheme and regulatory requirements.

6. Merchant activation and retention

• Make sure signed merchants start transacting quickly; track activation within 30 days of going live.
• Monitor inactive and declining merchants, and run re-activation and retention actions.
• Gather merchant feedback on products and service, and act on it with Product and Operations.

7. Market and competitor intelligence

• Track competitor offers, pricing and promotions in the SME market: banks, PSPs, fintechs and POS providers.
• Share competitor and market feedback with the Manager - Acquiring Business every month, with Business Intelligence support.
• Recommend changes to SME pricing, products and bundles based on what the market and the sales team see.

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Engineering or a related field.
• An MBA is an advantage.

Experience

• 8-12 years in SME or merchant acquiring sales with a bank, acquirer, PSP or fintech in the UAE.
• At least 3 years leading a field sales team of 8 or more, with a track record of meeting merchant acquisition targets.
• Experience managing third-party or outsourced sales agents, including their commission structures.
• Has designed or run a sales incentive plan.
• Has improved an onboarding, sales or operations process with measurable results.

Technical and payments knowledge

• SME acquiring products: POS, SoftPOS, payment gateway, Pay by Link and QR.
• Merchant onboarding requirements: KYB, documentation, risk checks, MCC and MID setup.
• SME pricing: MDR, fixed fees, bundles and terminal economics.
• Adjacent SME services: business accounts and wallets, WPS payroll and business cards are an advantage.
• Working knowledge of CRM and sales dashboards.

Skills

• Strong sales leader: sets clear targets, coaches daily and holds the team to account.
• Process thinker: sees where a journey slows down and fixes it with the teams that own it.
• Builds strong relationships with partners, merchants and internal teams.
• Commercial judgement: knows when a merchant and a deal make money.
• Fluent English; Arabic is an an advantage in the UAE SME market.