Manager: Beyond Mobile Indirect Operations

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Role Purpose/Business Unit:

• Responsible for driving partner channel objectives, by overseeing & leading the partner ecosystem through partner management operations and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders with the objective to grow and defend the allocated base, through maintaining & growing partner and customer relationships, and growing the partner base and distribution with the ultimate objective of growing revenue and channel distribution. Strong alignment with regional teams and engagement via physical and online sessions to foster trust and collaboration to achieve mutual success. Partner with Lines of Business like IoT, Cloud and Fixed/Mobile to develop future product roadmaps and industry propositions for the partner channel.
• The manager is responsible for leading and managing the partner operations team and the execution of required strategies that is geared towards the achievement of sales targets, customer experience and strategic objectives of the partner channel, meeting annual targets on sales, revenue, inflow, growth, profitability margins etc
• The manager takes end to end responsibility for business partner onboarding (Private sector and Public sector partners), partner administration, partner contractual agreements & partner commercials, guiding the approach and processes related to partner management & partner onboarding to ensure alignment with Vodacom Business strategy, effective & efficient partner coverage across all Vodacom Regions and continuous improvement of partner management & onboarding processes.
• The manager is also responsible for partner channel retail operations, management of strategic projects for the Partner Channel including NPS and driving major partner engagements (e.g. partner conferences and partner council meetings), leading and overseeing the partner admin teams and collaborating with internal and external stakeholders with the objective of growing the partner channel, driving efficiencies & fostering innovation by leveraging the strengths and capabilities of the business partners.

Your responsibilities will include:

Sales Management

• Responsible for partner onboarding, guiding the approach to partner onboarding, partner administration and partner management, across the Indirect channel & Public sector
• Understand the various partner segments & channels and analysis of partner penetration across all regions
• Generate reporting on monthly and annual partner onboarding, partner activity and partner agreements
• Management of partner agreements, partner commercials, contractual obligations and annual partner targets for Mobile & Fixed for both Indirect and Public sector
• Manage, monitor and review partner sales targets, against partner contractual obligations
• Understand partner & customer patterns and market behaviour to define data-driven forecasting strategies to increase partner effectiveness and efficiencies
• Lead and manage the partner admin team responsible for onboarding, partner administration and retail operations
• Overall responsibility for business in retail strategy and retail operations for the Indirect partner channel, including but not limited to the following:
  • Rollout of retail store targets: measurement and monitoring of retail stores’ performance against set sales targets and key metrics
  • Retail store marketing & campaigns: in-store marketing, point of sale, retail catalogue and targeted marketing campaigns in and around retail stores
  • Retail store incentives: Provide inputs and execute on the balance score card (BSC) and store sales agent programs, with the objective to drive VB sales targets and channel strategy
  • Training and development: assist with the retail training curriculum to drive the sale of VB products and services

Stakeholder Management

• Provide specialised and technical support to internal and external stakeholders to ensure achievement of functional and organisational objectives
• Establish and monitor healthy, diverse internal and external relations and implement remedial actions where required, in the achievement of organisational goals.
• Develop and maintain key account relationships with business partners, ensuring that channel partners are aligned to the business objectives, customer experience expectations and to the sales partner strategy framework.

Reporting

• Annual Sales Strategy & Budget Planning to meet annual targets
• Prepare monthly reports on partner onboarding, partner agreements and partner activity
• Prepare regular reports of progress and forecasts to internal and external stakeholders for Business in retail targets, supporting Senior managers and EHODs to drive the retail channel
• Prepare reports on partner base, providing recommendations to maximize sales as per the identifying trends, gaps and opportunities.

Delivering through People:

• Oversee the activities of the partner admin team to ensure effective delivery of business outcomes, and achievement key metrics and channel strategy.
• Supports and enables the team to succeed by encouraging frequent knowledge sharing between team members amongst other enablement initiatives.
• Create fit for future organization capability through skills development informed by skill gap analysis in line with business strategy and ensuring that the identified skills gaps, are addressed through training.
• Develop a high performing team by embedding formal performance management process, informal coaching through continuous 1:1 performance discussion
• Embed the Spirit of Vodacom by living the Spirit behaviours and ensuring consistent Spirit engagement initiatives.
• When required, initiate disciplinary processes for team members calling on support from HR when required
• Resolve grievances raised by team members and escalate only if required
• Motivate team members and ensure that their efforts are recognised by using Vodafone Stars platform.
• Maintain and grow business partner relations, driving Vodacom business strategic objectives across the allocated partner base

The ideal candidate for this role will have:

• B Degree/Equivalent in Operations, Marketing, Business, Commerce or related
• A Post Graduate Degree in Operations, Marketing/Business Commerce or related field may be advantageous
• 5+ years’ experience in operations in the telecommunications or technology related environments e.g. (ICT) with demonstrated experience in:
  
  • Partner distribution management
  • Sales operations
  • Strong understanding of Indirect sales models & partner ecosystems
  • Strong understanding of Telecoms networks and the Telecoms market
  • Ability to build & grow relationships

Technical Competencies 

• Strategic mind set and out of box thinking
• Deep understanding of the channel distribution, and partner channels
• Ability to translate channel objectives and strategy into relevant distribution & partner targets
• Robust understanding of partner agreements, commercials and drivers of partner performance
• Experience in leading a team
• Experience working in multinational matrix organisation
• Successful track record of managing multi- industry teams and assessment of profitable revenue growth
• Strategic Thinking: Effectively delivers against assigned strategy, exceeding expectations. Translates strategy into clear areas of focus and priorities
• Understanding of the SA telecommunication landscape
• Understanding of Companies customer requirements
• Understanding of commercial and finance concepts
• Understanding of SA business landscape
• Understanding of the Value Chain Analysis with regards to various customer businesses

Behavioural Competencies 

• Partner management: Maintaining and growing partner relationships & partner distribution, focussing on driving sales through partners and meeting partner channel objectives
• Customer Focus: Prioritizing customer needs and delivering excellent service
• Accountability: seeks feedback and identifies opportunities for improvement or innovation
• Collaboration: Actively fosters collaboration, seeks input and effectively partners
• Resilience: Actively seeks opportunities for growth, demonstrates a strong commitment to self-improvement and has a growth mindset
• Flexibility: uses various techniques to influence others (lobbies, approaches decision makers, finds sponsors)
• People Management: Ensure team work together to deliver on their responsibilities creating accountability and ownership
• Organizational Savvy: Demonstrates strong understanding of assigned strategy for the Business/ Function and creates strong team alignment to the strategy.

We make an impact by offering:

• Enticing incentive programs and competitive benefit packages
• Retirement funds, risk benefits, and medical aid benefits
• Cell phone and data benefits, advantages fibre connection discounts, and exclusive staff discounts offered in collaboration with partner companies

Closing date for Applications: 16 June 2025. 

The base location for this role is Vodacom, Midrand Campus. 

The company's approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply.
Vodacom is committed to an organisational culture that recognises, appreciates, and values diversity & inclusion.