The Merchant Relationship Specialist is responsible for building and sustaining high-value relationships with a portfolio of merchants across assigned markets. This role drives merchant satisfaction, retention, and revenue growth by offering proactive account management, first-line support, and strategic product expansion. The incumbent acts as the merchant's internal advocate, ensuring seamless service delivery and maximizing product adoption across Network International's ecosystem.
Key Responsibilities:
Account Management:
Manage a portfolio of merchants and foster long-term, trust-based relationships.
Conduct regular merchant visits to understand business needs and strengthen engagement.
Represent merchant interests internally, generating insights and removing service obstacles.
Lead onboarding and training sessions to ensure merchants can independently navigate the portal.
Maintain comprehensive product knowledge to advise merchants effectively.
Tailor engagement strategies based on merchant lifecycle stages and business priorities.
Business Growth:
Drive usage and transaction volume growth across assigned merchant accounts.
Reactivate dormant accounts through targeted outreach and retention strategies.
Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities and support product expansion initiatives.
Collaborate with Sales to support acquisition and onboarding efforts.
Source new merchant leads and referrals through existing relationships and market intelligence.
Track merchant engagement and growth trends using internal tools and CRM.
First Line Support:
Respond to merchant queries and complaints with timely, effective solutions.
Coordinate with internal departments to resolve service issues and streamline support.
Build strong working relationships across teams to ensure smooth merchant experience.
Document and monitor recurring issues, proposing improvements where needed.
Operations:
Stay informed on industry trends, competitor activity, and regulatory developments.
Share market insights and merchant feedback with your line manager withing agreed timelines.
Uphold compliance with internal policies, ethical standards, and merchant services protocols.
Contribute to continuous improvement of merchant experience and operational processes
Key Requirements:
Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Marketing, or a related field.
2 - 4 years of experience in account management, merchant services, or fintech client-facing roles.
Proven track record in relationship building, client retention, and revenue growth.
Proficiency in CRM and ticketing platforms for tracking merchant interactions, query resolution and SLA tracking.
Experience working with POS systems, payment gateways, or merchant portals.
Ability to interpret and present merchant transaction data, usage trends, and product adoption metrics.
Familiarity with merchant onboarding flows, including KYC, training, and portal setup.
Familiarity with merchant lifecycle management and customer success frameworks.
Strong understanding of local market dynamics and regulatory environment.
Strong relationship management and client-facing communication.
Proactive problem solver with high ownership and accountability.
Collaborative team player with cross-functional agility.
High integrity, professionalism, and customer-centricity.