Commercial Manager - Payments & SME Business

Job description

Purpose As Commercial Manager – Payments & SME Business, you will be the engine driving revenue growth and customer acquisition across Ooredoo Fintech’s multi-market ecosystem. Spanning Qatar, Oman, Tunisia, Maldives, Iraq, and future expansion markets, you will own the development of key business lines including B2B Payments, SME Financial Services, Wage Protection System (WPS), and Merchant Acquiring. Embedded within the Revenue team and operating in a matrix organisation, you will partner closely with country teams to co-create and launch revenue-generating initiatives. Your role is data-first – using analytics and market intelligence to identify opportunities, shape pricing strategies, support partner negotiations, and accelerate commercial growth across every market. You will be a bridge between local execution and global strategy, turning insight into action and ambition into revenue. Context Ooredoo Fintech International (OFTI) is the fintech holding entity of the Ooredoo Group, operating across multiple markets under localised fintech brands including Ooredoo Money and Walletii. With a mission to democratise financial services for underserved and underbanked populations, OFTI builds regulated, scalable digital financial platforms. Across Qatar, Oman, Tunisia, Maldives, Iraq, and additional markets in its expansion roadmap, OFTI combines the brand trust and infrastructure of a leading telco group with the pace and innovation culture of a growth-stage fintech. Products span digital wallets, domestic and international remittances, bill payments, merchant acquiring, WPS, SME financial services, and emerging propositions in microlending and card issuance. Role Accountabilities B2B & SME Commercial Development Develop and execute commercial strategies to grow Ooredoo Fintech’s B2B and SME revenue base across all active markets, working hand-in-hand with country teams Identify SME segments with the highest product-market fit for digital financial services (payments, WPS); build market-specific commercial playbooks for rapid deployment Design and negotiate commercial models, fee structures, and bundling strategies for SME payment acceptance, wallet solutions, and business accounts Lead commercial onboarding discussions with SME partners, merchant aggregators, and B2B clients; support country teams in closing commercial agreements Monitor SME acquisition funnels, activation rates, and revenue contribution by market, implementing commercial interventions to improve conversion and retention WPS (Wage Protection System) Growth Own commercial development of the WPS business line across all markets where Ooredoo Fintech operates or plans to launch WPS services. Build scalable WPS commercial propositions and bank partnerships tailored to local labour regulations and employer needs in each country Support country teams in acquiring WPS clients – from SMEs to large corporates – with commercial frameworks, pitch materials, and negotiation support Analyse WPS transaction trends, employer retention, and salary disbursement volumes to identify commercial optimisation opportunities Develop employer incentive programs and employee benefit add-ons (e.g., advances, savings, card products) to increase WPS stickiness and cross-sell revenue Acquiring Business Drive the commercial rollout and revenue growth of merchant acquiring services Support the country teams in leading merchant acquiring commercial initiatives: define merchant fee strategies, merchant rollout incentives, and payment gateway commercial terms in collaboration with country and product teams Identify and commercially onboard new acquiring partners, payment facilitators, and card scheme relationships to expand acceptance footprint Data-Driven Commercial Intelligence Build and maintain multi-market dashboards tracking revenue performance, customer acquisition, channel efficiency, and product penetration across all business lines. Conduct deep-dive analyses on transaction data, customer cohorts, and market benchmarks to surface commercial opportunities and pricing optimisations Develop forecasting models for revenue potential, customer growth, and market opportunity sizing to support investment decisions and country prioritisation Use A/B testing frameworks, pilot result analysis, and cohort tracking to validate commercial hypotheses before full-market rollout. Generate actionable intelligence from data to support leadership decision-making on partner negotiations, product bundling, and market entry sequencing Innovation & New Commercial Initiatives Identify and evaluate emerging payment technologies, financial services trends, and business models that can generate incremental revenue or customer growth. Champion data-and-innovation-led commercial thinking – proactively proposing new products, channels, or partnership models based on market evidence and customer data. Lead or co-lead commercial pilots for new business lines, structuring tests with clear KPIs, success criteria, and scale-up triggers. Stay ahead of competitive dynamics across all active markets, providing regular intelligence on competitor product launches, pricing changes, and partnership moves. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Joint ownership of P&L for each country across product lines SME & B2B Customer Acquisition: Setup of SME business in multiple countries + number of new SME clients onboarded per market per quarter WPS-Salary Payment Transaction Volume & Employer Retention Rate across active relevant markets Merchant Acquiring Volume Growth and new merchant acquisition numbers by market Commercial Initiative Launch Velocity: Time-to-market for new partnerships and commercial programs related to B2B Payments, SME and merchant acquiring business Experience Master's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or related discipline; MBA or advanced degree preferred 8+ years of experience in SME banking, lending business or commercial management within fintech, banking, or digital financial services Demonstrated experience working in matrix organisations spanning multiple geographies, with exposure to GCC, MENA, and/or South-East Asian markets Proven track record in commercial P&L ownership across multiple financial services products Hands-on experience with merchant acquiring, or WPS business development Advanced proficiency in data analytics tools (e.g. Power BI, Tableau, SQL, Excel modelling) with a track record of data-driven commercial decisions Experience structuring and negotiating commercial partnerships with banks, payment aggregators, and/or fintech partners Familiarity with regulatory frameworks governing digital payments and financial services across GCC/MENA markets Minimum Entry Qualifications 6+ years of P&L ownership and experience in commercial/business management within fintech, banking, or digital financial services Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or related discipline; MBA or advanced degree preferred Experience in at least two of the following: B2B Payments, WPS, SME Financial Services, Merchant Acquiring Comfortable working in a multi-country, cross-functional environment with multiple simultaneous commercial initiatives Strong analytical and data literacy skills; able to build and interpret commercial dashboards and performance models Personal Profile Matrix Navigator: Thrives in complex, multi-stakeholder environments; able to drive commercial outcomes without direct authority, building influence across geographies, functions, and seniority levels. Data-Driven Decision Maker: Instinctively reaches for data before forming a commercial view; builds models, dashboards, and analyses that others act on; balances rigor with speed. Innovation Mindset: Brings creative commercial thinking to established categories – finding new ways to bundle products, structure partnerships, or enter markets that competitors have not yet considered. Commercial Sharpness: Result-oriented; understands unit economics, pricing dynamics, and partner incentives; knows how to structure deals that create sustainable, mutual value. Multi-Market Agility: Comfortable switching contexts across very different regulatory, cultural, and competitive environments; adapts commercial playbooks without losing strategic coherence. Communication Excellence: Able to distil complex commercial situations into clear, compelling narratives for senior leadership, partners, and operational teams – in written reports, dashboards, and live discussions. Integrity & Compliance Awareness: Holds high ethical standards in all commercial dealings; understands the importance of regulatory compliance in licensed financial services environments and proactively escalates risk. Customer-Centric: Grounds commercial strategy in a genuine understanding of what SME, B2B, and individual customers need