Senior Business Development Manager at American Express

How you will make an impact in this role?

• Ensuring ‘best-in-class’ relationship management of the partnerships including managing multiple relationships with the partner businesses acting as the key point of contact.
• Accountability for delivering across all key business metrics particularly supporting merchant coverage objectives.
• Identifying new opportunities for growth and working closely with the Business Development Director in signing and launching new partnerships or extending existing ones.
• Ensuring both prospects and partners are in full alignment with risk and control policies and processes at all times.
• Supporting the launch of new partners and working closely with them to meet new business objectives.
• Working with the partners and the African marketing team in AXP to develop our brand presence, plus an issuing and/or merchant growth plan.
• Supporting the broader Africa team to identify strategic opportunities in the West African payments space, assessing them, and gaining leadership approval to invest and deliver against these.
• Keeping up-to-date with the regulatory environment in the region and briefing AXP stakeholders on the potential impacts to the AXP business. Engage with country regulators as necessary.
• Working with AXP stakeholder groups (e.g. Partner Business Solutions, legal, control management, finance) to ensure smooth implementations for new partners on the network and ongoing operational efficiency.

Minimum qualifications:

• First class relationship skills gained through interacting at all levels both internally and in partner organizations.
• Highly analytical and numerical, ability to clearly communicate complex issues.
• Proven ability to create winning strategies.
• Strong planning and organisational skills, ability to manage and see delivery of projects through to an end.
• Broad financial services industry knowledge, ideally gained through experience in either card issuing or merchant acquiring in Africa, ideally both.
• Strong influencing and communication skills to promote ideas, products and services internally and to the partner.
• Entrepreneurial spirit, financial acumen and ability to drive and deliver results, resilient attitude in challenging business environments.
• Ability to operate independently with a high degree of self-direction. Maintain the very highest degree of integrity in all business dealings with colleagues and external parties.
• Travel – Approximately 10%.