Partnerships Manager - Merchant Partnerships & Loyalty

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Position Summary

Our client, a global payments company, is collaborating on a project with a leading bank in Qatar. They seek a Partnership Manager focused on Merchant Partnerships & Loyalty to enhance the bank's Loyalty and Cards function by expanding the merchant network and crafting impactful cardholder offers. The role involves full oversight of the merchant partnership cycle including sourcing, onboarding, managing relationships, offer design, negotiation, performance analysis, and optimization.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the prepaid card launch process (~40%), including regulatory submissions to UAE Central Bank, BIN setup, card scheme onboarding (e.g., Visa), card profiling, KYC/AML flow creation, limit configuration, testing, and launch readiness.
• Develop the customer value proposition (CVP) for prepaid cards (~25%) encompassing features, pricing, rewards, and integration with digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay, aligning with the platform’s user base and client’s retail strategy.
• Oversee portfolio management and P&L (~20%), tracking key metrics such as activation rates, average loading/spending, revenue per card, churn, and fraud; manage interchange, fees, funding costs, and scheme fees to enhance profitability.
• Coordinate cross-functionally (~10%) across technology, operations, risk, finance, marketing, platform, and external partners including scheme providers and processors.
• Produce monthly performance reports and support governance by managing milestones, risks, and issue resolution (~5%).
• Manage the prepaid card product lifecycle end-to-end, from CVP design and setup through to ongoing optimization, ensuring all requirements like card profiles, limits, KYC/AML workflows, settlements, and fees are delivered timely and accurately.
• Translate CVPs into clear business and operational requirements targeting core segments such as parents, schools/institutions, and students, ensuring compatibility with existing payment methods.
• Design and implement customer acquisition and activation strategies to maximize onboarding success and early product usage while minimizing drop-offs.
• Continuously refine the prepaid card CVP based on analytics, customer feedback, and competitor analysis, exploring segment-specific opportunities like youth or institutional prepaid cards and integration with ERP and notification systems.
• Work with scheme partners on compliance, pricing, mandate tracking, and certifications, supporting internal teams to maintain adherence to card network regulations.
• Act as the product owner during development sprints, providing requirements input, issue resolution, and business representation.

Required Knowledge & Experience

• 6 to 8 years in card product management, digital payments, or fintech, with minimum 3 years focused on card issuing or prepaid card lifecycle within UAE/GCC.
• Experience managing the full prepaid card product cycle including ideation, regulatory approvals, CVP design, BIN setup, scheme onboarding, launch, and scaling.
• Deep understanding of card issuing operations such as settlement processes, scheme pricing (interchange and fees), card profiling, limit controls, and fraud management.
• Familiarity with digital wallet integrations and tokenization technologies.
• Expertise in customer segmentation, CVP formulation, and loyalty/rewards program design.
• Knowledge of UAE Central Bank regulations on prepaid card issuance and stored value facilities.
• Exposure to EdTech or consumer payment platforms is advantageous.
• Hands-on experience with card management platforms like TSYS Prime, PowerCARD, Way4, Marqeta, or equivalents.
• Use of fraud prevention tools such as Falcon, PRM, and data analytics software including SQL, Power BI, or Tableau for performance analysis.
• Familiarity with product management and agile tools like Jira and Confluence.
• Proficient with card scheme portals for BIN management and scheme compliance.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and excellent communication skills, including business reporting and presentation preparation.
• Strong analytical abilities with a data-driven approach to product optimization.
• Ability to work independently within fast-paced, multi-functional settings.
• Certifications including Card Scheme Academy or Visa University credentials, Certified Payments Professional (CPP), Agile/Scrum certifications (CSPO, SAFe), and project management certifications (PMP, PRINCE2) are preferred.