Director, SME Specialist Sales – France

Job description

Our Purpose Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential. Title and Summary Director, SME Specialist Sales – France Director, SME Specialist Sales – France About Mastercard Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Through secure data, partnerships and innovation, we enable businesses to grow and thrive. Position Overview We are seeking a commercially driven Director to lead SME Specialist Sales execution across whole sale trade verticals in France. The role is accountable for identifying, developing and converting high-value B2B payment flows, from Small and Medium Business to Wholesale trade industry suppliers into carded flows. Reporting into the European SME Specialist Sales leadership, this Director will act as the market-facing commercial lead for France, working closely with local market teams, and ecosystem partners to unlock card-based B2B payment flows. The role requires strong knowledge of B2B payments, AR/AP flows, working capital dynamics and the ability to translate operational pain points in wholesale trade and SME environments into clear commercial propositions. Key Responsibilities Commercial Delivery & GDV Growth • Own and execute the SME Whole Sale trade plan for France, aligned to the European GDV growth strategy. • Build and convert a high-quality pipeline of wholesale trade and B2B payment opportunities. • Identify invoice-based, account-to-account and manual payment flows where Mastercard solutions can drive card adoption and incremental GDV. • Support complex deal origination, business case development, partner negotiation and commercial execution. Market Coverage & Local Execution • Develop market-specific sales plays for France, reflecting local payment behaviours, regulation, issuer priorities and SME needs. • Partner with country teams to prioritise target verticals, accounts and ecosystem partners. • Build trusted relationships with banks, fintechs, acquirers, ERP/accounting platforms and relevant trade ecosystem participants. • Provide clear market feedback to European leadership on barriers, competitor activity and growth opportunities. Client Value Proposition • Position Mastercard solutions as tools to improve payment efficiency, reduce manual collections activity and support working capital optimisation. • Engage with CFOs, Treasurers, Heads of AR/Collections and finance operations stakeholders to demonstrate commercial value. • Create practical business cases showing impact on DSO, cost-to-collect, cash conversion and supplier/customer payment experience. • Translate complex AR/AP and B2B payment flows into simple, compelling sales narratives for clients and partners. Wholesale Trade & SME Segment Expertise • Develop deep insight into wholesale trade value chains across France, including distributors, suppliers and high-volume B2B merchants. • Identify repeatable sales motions where card solutions can replace or complement A2A, bank transfer, direct debit and manual processes. • Capture learnings from local execution and contribute to reusable European playbooks. Required Qualifications Experience & Skills • Experience in payments, AR/AP Wholesale trade industries, financial services, fintech, SME banking, B2B sales or working capital solutions. • Demonstrated ability to deliver commercial growth, manage complex pipelines and execute multi-stakeholder deals. • The ability to create value propositions, based on working capital metrics, from card based economics. • Strong understanding of B2B payment flows, invoice cycles, AR/AP processes and working capital levers. • Proven ability to sell to senior stakeholders across finance, treasury, payments, operations and commercial teams. Knowledge & Expertise • Knowledge of card acceptance, commercial cards, account-to-account payment alternatives and receivables digitisation. • Understanding of SME and wholesale trade payment behaviours in France. • Ability to build commercially credible value propositions using data, customer insight and operational pain points. • Familiarity with ERP, accounting, invoicing or finance workflow platforms would be advantageous. Personal Attributes • Commercially sharp, execution-focused and comfortable operating with pace and ambiguity. • Strong relationship builder with credibility across senior client and internal stakeholders. • Analytical and structured, with the ability to turn data and customer insight into action. • Collaborative team player able to influence across markets, functions and partner organisations. Travel Requirements • Willingness to travel across France, with occasional wider European travel as required. What We Offer • A high-impact commercial role focused on three of Mastercard’s most important European SME markets. • The opportunity to shape how Mastercard grows in B2B, SME and wholesale trade payment flows. • A visible role working across markets, partners and senior stakeholders to deliver measurable GDV growth. Corporate Security Responsibility All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must: Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices; Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed; Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.