Partnership Manager- Merchant Partnerships & Loyalty

Job Title: Partnerships Manager- Merchant Partnerships & Loyalty 

Term: 18 months

Location: Doha, Qatar

Division: Loyalty/ Cards & Payments

Reports to: Head of Loyalty/ Head of Partnerships/ Head of Cards Portfolio

Relevant experience: 

5–8 years in partnership management, merchant acquisition, or loyalty program management within banking, payments, or fintech

Mandatory requirements: 

1. Previous experience within banking, cards & payments, or fintech industry.
2. Proven track record in merchant partner acquisition and relationship management.
3. Professional English fluency.
4. Immediately available or on short notice period

PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The client is strengthening its Loyalty function by embedding a dedicated Partnership Manager to accelerate merchant ecosystem expansion and drive commercially impactful cardholder offers. This role sits at the intersection of commercial strategy and execution -owning the end-to-end merchant partnership lifecycle from sourcing and onboarding through to ongoing optimisation. For the right candidate, this is an opportunity to directly shape a card issuer's loyalty value proposition in one of the fastest-growing payments markets in the GCC, with visible impact on cardholder engagement, portfolio spend, and revenue growth.

Key Activities
Core Responsibilities and Accountabilities

1. Merchant Acquisition & Onboarding (~35%) -Source, evaluate, and onboard new merchant partners across retail, dining, travel, e-commerce, and lifestyle sectors, ensuring alignment with the client's card portfolio strategy and customer segmentation.
2. Relationship Management (~25%) -Serve as the primary point of contact for existing merchant partners; conduct regular business reviews, resolve issues proactively, and identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities to deepen partnerships.
3. Offer Design & Commercial Negotiation (~20%) -Design, negotiate, and optimise merchant-funded offers, cashback structures, and loyalty rewards that drive cardholder engagement and measurable spend uplift.
4. Market Intelligence & Competitive Benchmarking (~10%) -Monitor competitor loyalty programmes, emerging merchant categories, and regional consumer trends across the Qatar and broader GCC to inform partnership strategy.
5. Cross-Functional Coordination (~10%) -Collaborate with product, marketing, digital, risk, and compliance teams to ensure seamless offer execution, regulatory alignment, and go-to-market delivery.
6. Identify, negotiate, and onboard new merchant partners across diverse sectors (retail, F&B, travel, entertainment, e-commerce), ensuring each partnership aligns with the client's strategic objectives and target cardholder segments.
7. Build and maintain strong, long-term relationships with existing merchant partners -acting as their trusted point of contact, driving satisfaction, retention, and incremental commercial value through regular performance reviews.
8. Design, implement, and optimise loyalty offers and merchant-funded promotions, leveraging data?driven insights to create compelling value propositions that increase cardholder engagement, activation, and spend.
9. Lead commercial negotiations with merchants to secure favourable terms (revenue-share, exclusivity, co-funding), ensuring compliance with QatarCentral Bank regulations, card scheme rules, and internal risk policies.
10. Track and analyse the performance of merchant partnerships and loyalty initiatives against defined KPIs, producing regular reporting with actionable recommendations to refine strategy and maximise ROI.
11. Conduct market research to identify emerging trends, new merchant categories, and competitive offerings within the Qatar and broader GCC  translating insights into a prioritised partnership pipeline.
12. Collaborate cross-functionally with product, marketing, digital channels, CRM, and compliance teams to ensure end-to-end execution of partnership initiatives, from offer design through campaign delivery and post-campaign analysis.
    
    

KPIs (illustrative)

• New Merchant Partners Onboarded -Number of new partners activated per quarter
• Offer Redemption Rate % of cardholder base engaging with merchant offers
  
• Incremental Card Spend Uplift % spend increase attributable to merchant-driven offers vs. baseline
• Partner Retention / Renewal Rate % of merchant partnerships renewed at contract end 21. % of merchant partnerships renewed at contract end Average days from partner agreement to offer going live
• Cardholder Engagement Score Composite metric: offer views, redemptions, repeat usage
  
  

Knowledge and Experience

• Merchant acquisition, partnership management, or business development within card issuing, acquiring, or payments
• Loyalty programme design, management, and optimisation (points-based, cashback, merchant-funded offers, coalition models)
• Understanding of interchange economics, scheme rules (Mastercard/Visa), and merchant-funded offer mechanics
• Banking, payments, fintech, or card scheme environment
• CRM platforms (Salesforce, HubSpot, or equivalent) for pipeline and relationship tracking
• Loyalty management platforms (e.g., Comarch, Collinson, Giift, Novus Loyalty, or similar)
• Campaign management and offer publishing tools
• Data analytics and reporting tools (Excel advanced, Tableau, Power BI, or equivalent)
• Familiarity with digital channels (mobile banking apps, e-wallets) for offer distribution
• Excellent negotiation, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills
• Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making capabilities
• Ability to manage multiple partner relationships and competing priorities simultaneously
• Stakeholder management across senior internal and external contacts
• Commercially minded with an ability to balance strategic vision and tactical execution
  
  

Preferred (Not Mandatory)

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, or related field; MBA is a plus
• Arabic language skills (preferred, not required -broadens merchant engagement reach in Qatar/GCC)
• Certifications: Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional (CLMP) or equivalent (nice to have)
  
• Experience with A/B testing or Test & Learn methodologies for offer optimisation
  
  

Mandatory Skills**

• Previous experience within banking, cards & payments, or fintech -non negotiable for understanding scheme dynamics, interchange, and cardholder value proposition design
• Proven merchant acquisition and partnership management track record must demonstrate experience sourcing, negotiating, and managing commercial partnerships
• Strong analytical capability -ability to interpret performance data, identify trends, and translate into actionable partnership strategies
• Professional English fluency -required for all internal and external stakeholder communication