🚀 We’re Hiring: Strategic Alliance Partnership Manager

📍 Location: Johannesburg (National; executive-level travel required)
📂 Business Unit: Merchant Division
🏷️ Brand: Alternative Distribution – Integration & Strategy Office
👤 Reports to: Chief Strategy Officer

⭐ Primary Focus

To design, negotiate, and scale high-impact, revenue-linked strategic alliance partnerships that create defensible and scalable distribution advantages for Alternative Distribution.

This role exists to secure structured, performance-based partnerships with alliance partners, financial institutions, enterprise intermediaries, industry networks, and large distribution players that accelerate merchant acquisition and solution adoption.

All partnerships must have:
• Clear GTM motion
• Defined revenue or distribution mechanics
• Embedded execution pathways
• Measurable commercial outcomes

This is a growth architecture role with direct revenue and economic accountability.

🔍 Key Responsibility Areas & Associated Tasks

1. Strategic Deal Identification & Architecture

• Identify high-leverage partnership opportunities across distribution organisations, financial institutions, enterprise intermediaries, industry networks
• Define embedded distribution models (referral, co-selling, white-label, revenue share)
• Structure defensible commercial constructs
• Align partnership design to Alternative Distribution strategic priorities
• Present structured deal proposals to Executive Committee

2. Commercial Structuring & Negotiation

• Lead executive-level negotiations
• Structure revenue-share, distribution, or embedded acquiring agreements
• Define clear performance obligations and commercial thresholds
• Align incentives to activation and revenue outcomes
• Work with Legal and Finance to ensure risk-adjusted commercial viability

3. Performance-Based Partnership Governance

• Establish partnership scorecards with acquisition, activation, CAC, and revenue metrics
• Implement monthly and quarterly executive review framework
• Monitor performance against economic assumptions
• Trigger redesign, renegotiation, or exit where performance thresholds are not met
• Ensure no partnership exists without measurable commercial value

4. Activation & GTM Integration

• Ensure seamless integration into Omni-Channel acquisition engine
• Align onboarding and lifecycle management processes
• Prevent channel conflict across direct, retail, or ecosystem routes
• Track activation quality and retention metrics from partner sources
• Feed learnings back into Alternative Distribution strategy

5. Economic & Strategic Impact

• Drive revenue contribution from strategic partnerships
• Achieve lower cost-to-acquire or superior access compared to traditional direct channels
• Secure long-term defensible positioning within key merchant ecosystems
• Convert strategic positioning into measurable growth outcomes

💡 Key Competencies Required

• Strategic deal‑making capability to structure high‑impact commercial agreements
• Strong commercial acumen with understanding of revenue, margin, and economic drivers
• Executive influence with ability to engage and persuade senior stakeholders
• Negotiation mastery balancing value creation and risk mitigation
• Performance governance excellence using structured scorecards and thresholds
• Systems thinking to integrate partnerships into the broader GTM engine
• Analytical decision‑making to prioritise economically viable models

🎓 Experience & Qualifications

Minimum Experience:

• 10+ years’ experience in strategic partnerships, corporate development, or partner‑led growth
• Proven track record of structuring revenue‑generating commercial agreements
• Experience negotiating executive‑level deals
• Strong commercial modelling and economic evaluation capability
• Experience aligning cross‑functional GTM execution

Preferred Experience:

• Fintech, payments, embedded finance, telecoms, or enterprise distribution
• Experience structuring API‑based or embedded partnerships
• Exposure to regulated commercial environments

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce, Business, Law, Economics, or related field required
• MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification strongly preferred

🌟 Our Values

At Lesaka Merchant, we are guided by four core values:
✔ Entrepreneurial Spirit – We innovate boldly and act with ownership.
✔ Integrity – We operate with honesty, trust, and transparency.
✔ Collective Wisdom – We collaborate and leverage shared expertise.
✔ Bias to Action – We deliver with urgency, discipline, and focus.

📌 Preference will be made to support EE / AA measures.

🔥 Ready to Shape the Future of Strategic Partnerships?

If you are a master deal‑maker who thrives at the intersection of commercial strategy, negotiation, and ecosystem design — this role offers an unrivalled opportunity to architect high‑impact partnerships that fuel Lesaka’s future growth.

📩 Apply now or share this opportunity with an exceptional strategic partnerships leader!

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