Group Commercial Executive

Group Commercial Executive

Duties and Responsibilities

Commercial Strategy and Revenue Management

• Develop and implement a rolling three-year Group commercial strategy, supported by annual plans by subsidiary, product, customer segment and geography.

• Set commercial budgets, revenue targets, pricing policies and growth initiatives jointly with business-unit heads and Group Finance.

• Analyse revenue mix, gross margins, recurring income, customer profitability and commercial risks; implement corrective actions where required.

• Lead cross-selling and integrated customer propositions across the Group.

• Establish a commercial performance framework covering pipeline, conversion, revenue quality, collections, renewals and profitability.

New Business Origination and Deal Execution

• Build and maintain a qualified sales pipeline and formal stage-gate process, from prospecting through contracting, implementation and collections.

• Personally lead material tenders, proposals, negotiations and strategic sales opportunities.

• Develop institutional sales playbooks, commercial proposals, bid-pricing frameworks and deal-approval memoranda.

• Establish forecasting, conversion metrics, sales reviews and clear ownership for each opportunity.

• Ensure disciplined follow-through from initial engagement to signed contract, revenue recognition and client onboarding.

Client Relationships and Key-Account Management

• Maintain a ranked strategic-account register, supported by account plans and assigned relationship owners.

• Lead executive client engagements, renewals, retention interventions, upselling and complaint escalation.

• Act as the primary executive commercial contact for key clients, referring only reserved or strategic matters to the CEO.

• Ensure contractual commitments are translated into accountable service-delivery plans with the COO and operating teams.

• Build long-term, trusted relationships with institutional clients, corporates, financial institutions, regulators, market participants and strategic partners.

Marketing, Brand and Corporate Communications

• Direct Group positioning, marketing strategy, campaigns, product launches, public relations and corporate communications.

• Align marketing investment with measurable lead generation, adoption, conversion and commercial outcomes.

• Oversee digital channels, thought leadership, investor and issuer education, events and media coordination.

• Maintain brand consistency while supporting distinct business-unit and product identities.

• Ensure commercial messaging is accurate, credible and compliant with applicable regulatory and contractual requirements.

Regional Markets and Institutional Partnerships

• Develop market-entry and commercial partnership strategies for priority African markets.

• Lead negotiations for exchange, registry, fintech, distribution, banking and development-finance partnerships.

• Track MOU-to-contract conversion, funded deployments, revenue contribution and partnership profitability.

• Supervise regional business-development personnel and coordinate with local regulatory and legal advisers.

• Build a structured partner ecosystem that supports distribution, market access, client acquisition and recurring revenue.

Product Commercialisation and Distribution

• Lead market validation, commercial business cases, pricing, customer segmentation and launch plans for new products.

• Drive adoption and monetisation of new fintech innovations alongside existing platforms.

• Develop partnerships with banks, mobile-network operators, merchants, employers, advisers and institutional distribution channels where relevant.

• Coordinate closely with product and technical owners to ensure commercial readiness, customer fit and delivery capability.

• Support, but not assume responsibility for, regulated product approvals, investment management or technology engineering.

Commercial Contracts, Collections and Governance

• Own the central commercial contracts register, renewal calendar and delegated commercial approval process.

• Work with Group Legal on contractual protections, compliance, dispute management and commercial risk.

• Coordinate with Finance on timely billing, receivables recovery, contract profitability and revenue leakage.

• Ensure marketing claims, partnership arrangements and regulated-product distribution comply with applicable requirements.

• Maintain clear escalation, approval and reporting protocols for material commercial commitments.

People Leadership, Reporting and CEO Leverage

• Lead, coach and performance-manage the Group commercial and marketing teams, with clear individual targets and accountability.

• Chair weekly sales and key-account reviews; submit monthly commercial dashboards to EXCO.

• Own follow-through on CEO-sponsored commercial commitments and ensure clear handovers.

• Reduce routine CEO commercial-meeting involvement through delegated authority, escalation thresholds and disciplined reporting.

• Build a high-performing, commercially disciplined culture characterised by ownership, urgency, ethical conduct and measurable execution.

Qualifications and Experience

• Degree in Finance, Economics, Commerce, Business, Marketing, ICT or a related discipline.

• MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification is desirable.

• Typically 12–15 years’ progressive commercial experience, including at least five years in senior leadership.

• Proven origination and closure of complex institutional or enterprise deals, preferably in banking, capital markets, fintech, payments, enterprise technology or market infrastructure.

• Experience operating across African markets, with an understanding of institutional, regulatory and development-finance environments.

• Strong executive networks and a credible track record negotiating with CEOs, boards, regulators, financial institutions and strategic partners.