Manager – Card Growth Partner (Cross‑Border CEMEA) | Contract

Role Overview The Manager – Growth Partner (Cross‑Border CEMEA) will play a pivotal role in driving and enabling cross‑border growth initiatives across the Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) region. This is a highly execution‑focused, client‑facing role supporting both strategic initiatives and business‑as‑usual activities for Clients Cross‑Border team. You will collaborate closely with merchants, vendors, and internal stakeholders to deliver high‑impact partnerships that enhance Bank cardholder experiences and accelerate cross‑border volume growth. The role requires strong commercial judgment, negotiation capability, and the ability to operate effectively in a fast‑paced, multi‑stakeholder environment.
Key Responsibilities Merchant & Vendor Partnership Management (Primary Focus) Partner Identification & Engagement:Identify, assess, and engage high‑potential merchants and vendors to support cross‑border growth initiatives, ensuring alignment with Bank’s regional and global strategies. Commercial Negotiation & Deal Structuring:Lead commercial negotiations to secure competitive and sustainable partnership terms, balancing partner objectives with Client’s commercial priorities. Contracting, Sourcing & Compliance (Critical Success Area):Own and manage the end‑to‑end contract lifecycle, ensuring strict adherence to Client’s sourcing, procurement, legal, and compliance processes from deal initiation through execution. This is a core performance area and a key measure of success in the role.
Strategic & Operational Execution
Performance Tracking & Insights:Prepare management reports, executive-ready presentations, ad‑hoc analyses, and progress updates for senior stakeholders across the Cross‑Border organization.
Cardholder Experience & Journey Design:Work with merchants and internal teams to design and optimize end‑to‑end consumer journeys (UX/UI), ensuring seamless integration into Client’s direct‑to‑consumer (D2C) platforms.
Measurement & Impact Assessment:Develop and apply methodologies to evaluate offer effectiveness, leveraging merchant engagement data and Clients internal metrics to assess incremental transactions, spend, and growth impact.
Content & Offer Enablement:Partner with Solutions and Marketing teams to deliver accurate, high‑quality content for merchant offers across Client D2C channels (regional apps, microsites, and platforms), ensuring correct formats and on‑time deployment.
Qualifications & Experience5–6 years of relevant professional experience in partnerships, commercial management, or growth-focused roles. Master’s degree in Business Administration, Economics, Management, or a related field. Demonstrated experience in commercial negotiations, contract management, and vendor engagement. Familiarity with sourcing, procurement, and compliance processes in a corporate environment. Solid understanding of consumer journeys, UX/UI principles, and digital platforms. Languages: Advanced English required; Arabic or Russian proficiency is a plus.
Key Competencies & Mindset Agile, adaptable, and comfortable operating in dynamic, evolving environments. Strong interpersonal and influencing skills with the ability to manage external partners and internal stakeholders. Commercially minded, detail‑oriented, and execution driven. Collaborative, creative, and solutions‑focused. Able to prioritize effectively and deliver results at speed.