Agent Relationship Manager

A vacancy exists for a Agent Relationship Manager within the Kazang-Merchant Division in the Cape Town office.

The Agent Relationship Manager (ARM) is responsible for the performance, growth, and overall health of a defined agent base in the informal economy. This role ensures agents are engaged, equipped, compliant, and delivering consistent value across fintech services. The ARM builds strong relationships, drives transactional growth, supports new product adoption, resolves operational issues quickly, and acts as the primary link between the company and its agent network. Success requires a combination of field execution, commercial insight, problem-solving ability, and the ability to influence and uplift agents operating in diverse and often challenging environments.

Key Responsibilities

Agent Performance & Growth

• Drive transaction growth, revenue, and overall productivity across the assigned agent base.
• Monitor agent performance dashboards and intervene early on declining accounts.
• Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities across the fintech product suite.
• Develop agent-specific growth plans for top, mid, and underperforming agents.

Relationship Management

• Build trust-based, long-term relationships with agents, owners, and key decision-makers.
• Conduct regular site visits, check-ins, and structured engagement sessions.
• Maintain a steady rhythm of communication to keep agents aligned with priorities and targets

Onboarding, Training & Enablement

• Facilitate onboarding and ensure agents understand product features, pricing, and compliance expectations.
• Conduct refresher training on new features, security protocols, and customer service standards.
• Ensure agents have the tools, materials, and support needed to operate effectively.

Operational & Compliance Management

• Conduct compliance checks, KYC reviews, device audits, and settlement reconciliation where necessary.
• Ensure adherence to company policies, cash handling standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Escalate operational issues and follow through until resolution.

Market Insights & Competitor Awareness

• Track local market dynamics, competitor activity, and customer behaviour in each trading area.
• Share insights with internal teams to support product design, pricing decisions, and strategy refinement.

Partner Support & Issue Resolution

• Act as the first point of escalation for agent issues (technical, operational, financial, or behavioural).
• Ensure timely resolution and keep agents updated throughout the process.
• Maintain a high level of satisfaction and retention among the agent base.

Reporting & Administration

• Provide weekly reports on performance trends, risks, wins, and opportunities.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date agent records in CRM or internal systems.
• Prepare business cases for agent expansion or closure where appropriate.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Commercial

• Month-on-month transaction and revenue growth
• Achievement of regional and agent-level targets
• Increase in active agent rate and reduction in dormant sites

Agent Health & Engagement

• Agent retention rate
• Frequency and quality of agent visits/interactions
• Agent satisfaction score (surveys, feedback, sentiment)

Operational Excellence

• Compliance audit pass rates
• Resolution time of agent issues (SLA adherence)
• Accuracy of reporting and CRM updates

Channel Development

• Successful rollout and adoption of new fintech products
• Number of business development opportunities identified and activated
• Growth in high-value agent segments (taverns, spazas, high-traffic nodes)

Required Competencies & Skills

• Technical & Commercial Skills
• Strong understanding of fintech, digital payments, POS systems, or agent-based distribution
• Ability to interpret dashboards and performance analytics
• Solid commercial judgement (pricing, profitability, channel economics)

Relationship & Stakeholder Skills

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to influence and motivate informal market partners
• Conflict resolution and negotiation ability

Execution Skills

• High resilience and adaptability to informal market dynamics
• Strong planning and territory management
• Hands-on problem solving with urgency and ownership

Behavioural Competencies

• Accountability and reliability
• Empathy and emotional intelligence
• Professionalism and integrity
• Customer-centric mindset
• Proactive and solutions-driven approach

Experience & Qualifications

• 2–5 years experience in fintech, FMCG, financial services, or informal trade channel management
• Field-based relationship or sales management experience essential
• Valid driver's licence
• Knowledge of local township/tavern/spaza ecosystems is a strong advantage
• Basic technical aptitude (device troubleshooting, app usage, POS systems)