Principal at MasterCard Nigeria

Directly Reports To: Region Cluster Lead
Direct Reports: None

Job Description

• MasterCard Advisors is the services arm of MasterCard Worldwide and, since 1997, has been at the forefront of MasterCard's differentiation, innovation and success. MasterCard Advisors is comprised of three synergistic business units with distinct P&Ls: Consulting Services, Information Services, and Managed Services.
• These business units are supported by Development Services, Advisors Promotion & Marketing, Information Technologies & Advisors Technology Integration, Data Acquisition & Business Development, Human Resources & Development, Finance, Operations, Law and a Project Management Office.
• Consulting Services is charged with combining professional problem-solving skills with deep payments expertise to address the challenges and opportunities of its clients, enhance MasterCard's strategic and tactical performance and establish MasterCard's global thought-leadership preeminence.
• Information Services is responsible for the direct monetization of MasterCard’s differentiated data asset.
• Managed Services is charged with providing superior executional services and turn-key solutions by leveraging MasterCard’s unique differentiated data asset and exceptional modeling and analytical capabilities on behalf of large and small clients.
• Development Services is charged with servicing Consulting Services, Information Services and Managed Services by centralizing and optimizing the superior analytical, modeling, software coding, data sourcing, product development, product management, econometrics and associated delivery capabilities of the Advisors organization.

Role Description and Major Responsibilities
Overview for internal purposes, not to be posted on position description: Runs projects or big piece of very large project. Directs team including senior assets on selling, design, people, quality control, client management. Sales responsibility for SVP clients including influence network and sales process:

• Identify the most critical aspects of a problem
• Develop new insights into issues and examine them from different angles
• Translate objectives into key hypotheses and structure work for small projects or big piece of large projects
• Design and oversee key analyses to formulate recommendations
• Synthesize and defend all findings and recommendations across projects
• Identify creative and useful additional analyses required and suggest new paradigm for recommendations
• Lead team in formulating, articulating and prioritizing key conclusions
• Play key role in designing and leading interview programs
• Write well-structured and persuasive end products
• Play a significant supporting role in formal and informal presentations
• Develop effective working relationships with mid-senior level client management
• Identify and pursue related sales with client senior executives
• Sales responsibility for SVP level clients including influence network and sales process
• Support sales calls and new client development including proposal contribution
• Identify new business opportunities and communicate to executives to pursue
• With guidance, align efforts for sales success, including managing external obstacles and maintaining leadership alignment and support
• Plays key role in capture of assignment knowledge and drives to ensure it is available firm-wide
• Leads projects and contributes to the development of Intellectual Capital in Special Interest Groups
• Directs team in the search and use of already documented Intellectual Capital in new and unique assignments
• Analyze multiple aspects of clients’ organizational systems and culture that serves as input into the sales process
• Leverage deep knowledge of all the MasterCard Advisors capabilities and how they fit together to create customized and relevant solutions for clients
• Leverage subject matter experts to develop best customized solutions for the clients
• Actively participates in recruiting, training and developing others

Key & Core Competencies:

• Behavioral and leadership knowledge, skills, and abilities that contribute to an individual’s success on the job

Core Consulting Skills:

• Analytics & Insights
• Initiates needed changes in direction
• Leads team to find and apply leading edge tools/techniques
• Incorporate subject matter expertise into findings and recommendations
• Communications & Presence
• Credible and persuasive in face to face settings
• Delivers difficult messages to clients with sensitivity
• Actively listens, understanding and valuing others’ views
• Demonstrates high emotional intelligence by identifying the best ways to communicate with and influence the MasterCard Advisors team and clients.

Team Contribution & Engagement Management:

• Leads team thinking
• Involves team members in all aspects of project
• Motivates team to produce superior end products
• Maintains balance between delegation and control
• Proactive “on-the-job” trainer and coach
• Writes high quality and timely project appraisals

Client Management:

• Engages client leaders in transformation activities
• Confident and in control, even with difficult audiences
• Presents information credibly and answers tough questions well
• Turns presentations into constructive dialogue
• Has peer relationships with some key players beyond the immediate scope of engagement
• Develop strong bonds with clients that endure beyond a particular assignment
• Serves as a resource for client staff and is sought out for knowledge of industry and firm
• Establishes and leverages a network of client contacts and relationships to seek new business opportunities
• Exhibits knowledge of how Advisors is a differentiator vs. the competitor offerings
• Exhibits knowledge of master contracts in place with each client
• Effectively influences MasterCard Worldwide Client Relations Managers during deal structuring

Knowledge Management:

• Actively participate in assigned Special Interest Groups
• Proactively seek new knowledge with a focus on developing expertise in a subject matter expertise area
• Actively share tools, methodologies and best practices across projects
• Is considered to be expert/point of contact in some areas
• Implements, modifies and applies Intellectual Capital, methodologies and tools from other projects

Corporate Leadership Principles:

• Set of principles designed to guide employee’s leadership performance and behavior

Encourages Thoughtful Risk Taking:

• Promotes constructive dialogue and debate
• Uses & shares data to objectively assess risk
• Treats failures as learning opportunities

Education, Qualifications And Experience

• Undergraduate degree required
• MBA or relevant post graduate degree recommended
• 4+ years in a management consulting firm (manager or higher) and/or 8+ years in relevant industry if graduate degree held
• If no graduate degree, 6+ years in a management consulting firm (manager or higher) and/or 10+ years in relevant industry
• Internally, may be promoted from the Managing Consultant level
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent analytical skills
• Ability to work on a team or independently
• Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
• Advanced Word, Excel and PowerPoint skills
• Attention to detail
• Local language required
• English required
• Additional languages desired