Manager, Specialist Sales, Prepaid Management Services, Southern Africa

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Mastercard is seeking a commercially focused payments professional to support the growth of Processing and Programme Management solutions across Africa.

This role combines business development, customer relationship management, programme leadership and industry engagement. The successful candidate will be responsible for building and managing sales opportunities, driving customer acquisitions and renewals, developing strategic client relationships, and supporting the successful delivery of customer programmes.

Working closely with customers, partners and internal stakeholders, this individual will play a key role in expanding Mastercard's presence across banks, fintechs, programme managers, retailers, airlines, corporate issuers and other participants within the payments ecosystem.

The role will also support the growth and expansion of existing customer relationships across Africa, partnering with customers to identify new opportunities, enhance programme performance, unlock additional revenue streams and accelerate payment innovation within their markets.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys building relationships, identifying commercial opportunities, solving customer challenges and delivering measurable business outcomes in a dynamic and evolving industry.

Role

Commercial Growth & Business Development

• Build, develop and manage a robust pipeline of Processing and Programme Management opportunities.
• Identify, qualify and pursue new business opportunities across existing and emerging customer segments.
• Develop and execute growth plans across financial institutions, fintechs, programme managers, retailers, airlines, corporate issuers and other ecosystem participants.
• Develop compelling value propositions, proposals and business cases that address customer needs and support commercial growth.
• Partner with Account Management, Sales, Product and Customer Solution Centre teams to originate, develop and close opportunities.
• Support commercial negotiations, contract discussions and customer engagements through successful execution.
• Drive portfolio expansion through cross-sell and upsell initiatives while contributing to revenue and growth objectives.

Client Relationship Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with customers, partners and key stakeholders across the payments ecosystem.
• Act as a trusted partner by understanding customer objectives and helping navigate payments and programme management challenges.
• Develop and execute account growth plans focused on retention, expansion and long-term value creation.
• Support customer renewals, strategic engagements and high levels of customer satisfaction.

Programme Management & Delivery

• Support customers throughout the programme lifecycle, from opportunity assessment and solution design through implementation and commercialisation.
• Coordinate internal and external stakeholders to ensure successful programme delivery and positive customer outcomes.
• Support governance, implementation activities, programme reviews and operational readiness.
• Identify risks, manage escalations and drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance programme performance and customer experience.

Partner & Ecosystem Management

• Build and maintain relationships with processors, fintechs, technology providers and strategic ecosystem partners.
• Monitor partner performance and identify opportunities to strengthen Mastercard's ecosystem and market reach.
• Work closely with partners to support commercial growth, service quality and customer outcomes.

Market Engagement

• Represent Mastercard at industry conferences, customer events and ecosystem forums across Africa, developing relationships and identifying new opportunities.
• Maintain awareness of industry developments, emerging technologies, competitive dynamics and regulatory changes impacting the payments ecosystem.
• Share market insights and customer feedback to support future growth initiatives.

All About You

You have experience within payments, banking, fintech, issuing, processing, programme management or a related financial services environment and have demonstrated an ability to deliver commercial and customer outcomes.

You possess a strong understanding of the payments ecosystem, including card programmes, issuer processing, BIN sponsorship and programme operating models. You are confident engaging with both business and technical stakeholders and can represent Mastercard credibly in customer, partner and industry engagements.

Experience working across African payments markets is highly desirable, with an understanding of the diverse opportunities and challenges that exist across the continent.

You are a commercially minded problem solver who enjoys building relationships, identifying opportunities and converting them into tangible business outcomes.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong relationship management, influencing and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Commercially minded with sound judgement and strong business acumen.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and operate effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication, negotiation and problem-solving capabilities.
• Self-motivated, proactive and comfortable working independently and collaboratively.

What Success Looks Like

The successful candidate will become a trusted partner to customers, a valued contributor within the regional team and a recognised specialist within Africa's payments ecosystem. They will build a sustainable pipeline of opportunities, strengthen strategic customer relationships, support successful programme delivery and contribute meaningfully to revenue growth and customer retention across the region.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;

• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;

• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and

• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.