Sales & Operations Manger

 

Role Description:   Sales & Operations Manager

Department:   Sales (Commercial)

Reports To:   Head of Partnerships or Chief Commercial Officer (to be confirmed)

Location:   Stellenbosch

Mandate:   Paymenow Group, with SmartReset as first priority

 

About SmartReset

Paymenow, the earned wage access and HR solutions platform that has helped over 800 000 South African workers avoid predatory lenders and high-cost credit, has set an ambitious public target: to end the debt trap for 10 million employees by 2035. To get there, it is launching SmartReset, a financial reset and resilience programme built to address the root causes of employee debt.

SmartReset combines a formal debt counselling process with one-on-one human financial coaching, and redirects the income it frees up toward savings, so employees move from getting through the month to lasting financial resilience.

 

Role Purpose

The Sales & Operations Manager sits in the Commercial team and is responsible for selling SmartReset and for turning every Relationship Manager (RM) introduction into a managed, tracked pipeline that moves cleanly through the Paymenow growth loop, from first conversation to signed SLA and handover to Implementation.

The first priority is SmartReset. SmartReset is sold into existing Paymenow clients who already have earned wage access live and an RM they trust. The RM opens the door, and this role leads the sales conversation from there: pitching SmartReset to HR, payroll and finance decision-makers, handling objections, negotiating and closing through to a signed SLA. The mandate is group-wide, so the same discipline applies to every Paymenow product the Commercial team sells, including EWA, EngageHR, and Savings and Rewards.

The role also owns Monday.com management for the growth loop. Every baton pass, owner, comms plan and target is documented and tracked there, and this role keeps it accurate, current and useful to the business.

 

Where this role sits in the growth loop

Paymenow runs every client through a four-phase growth loop with defined baton passes between teams. This role owns the operational engine of Phase 1 and the integrity of the system that tracks all four phases.

• Phase 1, Acquisition: RM identifies the opportunity and introduces SmartReset (or another Paymenow product) to their existing client. The RM stays the constant throughout.
• Your role in Phase 1: you lead the SmartReset sale from introduction to signed SLA, alongside the RM and with the group Legal resource. Legal is closed in this phase, before anything moves to Implementation.
• Baton pass 1: you pass the signed SLA, client file and implementation brief to the Head of Implementation in Monday.com. This is the first baton pass and it is yours to get right.
• Phases 2 to 4: you make sure Implementation, Activation and Engagement & Retention are tracked in Monday.com, so the business can see where every client sits at any point.

 

Key Responsibilities

1. SmartReset Sales (Priority)

• Work with each RM to map SmartReset opportunities across their existing client book and agree a priority list.
• Turn every RM introduction into a logged, qualified opportunity in Monday.com, with a named owner, next step and target date.
• Lead discovery meetings with the RM to understand the client's payroll set-up, employee profile and financial wellness priorities.
• Pitch and present SmartReset to HR, payroll and finance decision-makers, making a clear case for what it does for the employer and their employees.
• Handle objections, negotiate commercial terms and close opportunities through to a signed SLA.
• Own a SmartReset sales target agreed with the Chief Commercial Officer and report against it weekly.
• Prepare proposals, pricing documentation, one-page information sheets and SLAs for SmartReset opportunities.
• Follow up consistently until each opportunity is won or formally closed, and record the reason either way.
• Feed back to Marketing on what is landing with clients so the SmartReset cross-sell kit keeps improving.

2. Contracting and Legal Coordination

• Coordinate with the group Legal resource to move every SLA and set of partner terms to signature without delay.
• Track contract status in Monday.com and flag any opportunity at risk of stalling at the Legal stage.
• Make sure no opportunity passes to Implementation without a signed SLA and Legal sign-off.

3. Baton Pass : Handover to Implementation

• Prepare a complete handover pack for each signed client: SLA, client contacts, payroll information, employee numbers and any commitments made in the sale.
• Trigger the handover to the Head of Implementation in Monday.com and confirm acceptance.
• Keep the RM informed so the client experiences one joined-up team.

4. Monday.com Ownership

• Own the set-up, structure and day-to-day management of the Monday.com boards that track the growth loop, from RM introduction through to Engagement & Retention.
• Make sure every baton pass, owner, comms plan and target is documented and kept current by the relevant team.
• Maintain data quality: accurate client records, consistent stages and no stale opportunities.
• Build the dashboards and views that the Chief Commercial Officer, Head of Partnerships and Head of Growth use to run the business.
• Train and support RMs and other teams to use Monday.com consistently.

5. Group Pipeline and Sales Partner Support

• Apply the same pipeline discipline to opportunities across the full Paymenow product suite, including EWA, EngageHR, and Savings and Rewards.
• Support the Head of Partnerships with sales partner relationships: keeping partners informed, supplied with current collateral and pricing, and aligned on joint opportunities.
• Maintain accurate records of partner-generated sales, validate commission calculations and prepare quarterly commission schedules with Finance.

6. Sales Meetings, Planning and Reporting

• Coordinate weekly pipeline meetings: prepare agendas and pipeline reports, record actions and decisions, and follow up on outstanding items.
• Produce a regular pipeline wrap-up for the Commercial team and leadership, with SmartReset reported as its own line.
• Track conversion at each stage of the loop and recommend actions where opportunities are stalling.
• Support quarterly sales planning and monitor performance against agreed budgets and targets.

7. Cross-functional Collaboration

• Work closely with RMs, the Head of Implementation, the Activation Lead, the Partner Project Manager, Marketing, Legal and Finance.
• Keep sales priorities on track while making sure every team has the information it needs at the point of handover.

 

Key Competencies

• Consultative selling and closing
• Negotiation and influencing
• Presentation skills
• Sales operations and pipeline management
• Monday.com administration (boards, automations and dashboards)
• Relationship building and stakeholder management
• Commercial awareness
• Proposal and contract management
• Planning and organisation
• Attention to detail
• Report writing and analysis
• Problem solving
• Collaboration across teams

 

Qualifications & Experience

• Relevant qualification in Sales, Business, Commerce or a related field (advantageous).
• A proven track record of selling and closing B2B deals, ideally to HR, payroll or finance decision-makers.
• Experience in sales operations, business development or account management.
• Hands-on experience managing a CRM or work management platform, with Monday.com strongly preferred.
• Experience coordinating contracts or SLAs through to signature.
• Experience in financial services, fintech, employee benefits or HR technology is advantageous.
• An understanding of the South African employer and payroll environment is advantageous.