Card Acquiring Relationship Manager at Absa Bank Limited

Job Summary

• Responsibility for growth of new merchants, retention of existing and growth of the Liability book under the portfolio. Each Relationship Manager proactively manages all merchants in their area of execution. Some will cover vast areas according to merchant segmentation and will therefore need to be flexible to travel as required by the business and be able to deal with customers remotely.
• To proactively recruit profitable new businesses and establish, manage, and develop long-term, Profitable Relationships, ensuring the provision of first-class customer service and maximizing business opportunities to achieve business objectives and goals.

Job Description

Key Accountabilities/Deliverables

Business Growth and Retention; Time split 50%

• Proactively create and develop business relationships with companies.
• To manage and sustain a relationship with Merchants building long-term relationships founded on efficient and reliable support for their business. This is achieved particularly through quick risk decisions and managing consistency and quality of operational service
• Build close working relationships with other internal teams, and external key business influencers to create business opportunities.
• Identification of cross-sale opportunities and introduction of leads to other functions within Absa.
• Implement activities to deliver value-added products and services, generating increased income and revenue from existing merchants.
• Fully understand the workings of Absa, merchant pricing, and risk issues.
• Negotiate pricing and contracts with customers, engaging line managers at senior management or director level if called for towards the achievement of business objectives.
• Make sound commercial judgments in order to retain and fully develop a customer base.

Customer contact: Time split 30%

• Customer contact is at low and medium management levels and involves discussions and negotiations with customers on commercial and operational issues.
• The role holder is responsible for managing and responding to customer requirements, queries, and complaints.
• Establish, build, and maintain ongoing relationships with customers to develop and protect business income.
• Develop a deep understanding of the needs and requirements of customers’ businesses.
• Provide evidence of customer demand to influence new products /enhancements/solutions.
• Apply knowledge and skills in resolving any challenges the merchant may face when using the Point-of-Sale terminals. It is important that each Relationship manager knows PDQ functionalities and acquiring systems to be able to manage customer expectations during their visits.
• Maintain and understand the business environment in which the customer operates.
• Constantly update knowledge on all products and services offered by Absa.

Planning and Execution; Time split 20%

• Responsible for developing a personal sales plan to achieve targeted objectives and goals.
• Personal time management of day-to-day activities to maximize return on resources.
• Keeping fully updated on customer activities, challenges, and demands in line with business demands.
• Constant evaluation of portfolio to achieve profitability and culling process.
• Governance, Control, and Risk; Time split 5%
• Ensure compliance  with Bank controls, policy service standards, and procedures as laid down by the bank
• Ensure all mandatory training is completed to the deadline and understood within given timescales.
• All risk events (incidents) or control failures are to be escalated, investigated, reported, and fixed the root cause to prevent reoccurrence.
• Successful independent conformance assurance (e.g., RCA, BIA, Regulatory Compliance, PwC)

Role/person specification

Preferred Qualification

Preferred Experience

• 3 years minimum sales experience with a proven track record of achievement and high performance

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Full and extensive knowledge of Absa products and services
• Working knowledge of acquiring industry dynamics, interchange, etc.
• In-depth knowledge of competitor solutions
• Knowledge of the Business-to-Business sector
• Fully aware of industry trends (in the country and overseas)
• Knowledge of Absa Group strategies both locally and overseas
• Working knowledge and practical understanding of Law legislation and regulations as they apply to the local market.
• Knowledge of card scheme policies and acquiring systems
• Knowledge of card processing
• Satisfies the FSA criteria for an approved person, both initially and ongoing
• Proven success rate in negotiation in a corporate environment

Preferred

• Knowledge of relevant third-party suppliers (e.g., technology)
• Knowledge of industry-related developments
• May have experience in the Business-to-Business Financial Services Sector
• Knowledge of the Card Acquiring industry would be an advantage but not essential.

Competencies

• Communication skills
• Relationship Management skills
• Planning
• Interpersonal skills
• Sales skills
• Negotiation skills

Education

• Further Education and Training Certificate (FETC): Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)