Senior Key Account Manager

Interfile is a leading South African Fintech specialising in Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment solutions. We design, develop and operate large-scale electronic service platforms used by millions of people, supporting both corporate clients and government departments in modernising their services.

As our Key Accounts Manager, you will be responsible for managing, retaining and growing strategic accounts within the South African public sector. The role focuses on building strong client relationships, driving renewals and commercial growth, and identifying opportunities for upsell, cross-sell and increased wallet share.

You’ll work closely with teams across the business to align client needs with Interfile’s solutions and ensure strong commercial, contractual and service outcomes.

Based near Montecasino in Fourways, our modern office environment includes an on-site gym, canteen and collaborative spaces

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategic Account Management: Own, protect and grow Interfile’s priority public-sector accounts, with primary responsibility for the Department of Home Affairs and the City of Johannesburg. Manage account retention, revenue, margin, client health and long-term value.

• Account Planning: Develop and maintain strategic account plans covering key stakeholders, client priorities, procurement and budget cycles, contract and renewal dates, competitor activity, risks, growth opportunities and a rolling 12-month action plan.

• Stakeholder Management: Build and maintain strong relationships across executive, administrative, finance, revenue, ICT, procurement, legal, programme and operational stakeholders.

• Client & Executive Governance: Lead bi-monthly client business reviews and coordinate Interfile executive sponsorship, ensuring clear objectives, actions, escalation paths and accountability.

• Contract & Revenue Management: Oversee large client contracts exceeding R200 million, including revenue, margins, billing dependencies, milestones, variations, renewals, commercial risks and executive reporting.

• Renewals & Public-Sector Governance: Proactively manage contract renewals, tender readiness and commercial submissions while navigating PFMA, MFMA, Treasury requirements, procurement processes and audit expectations.

• Service & Project Oversight: Maintain visibility across account projects, work orders, contractual milestones, acceptance criteria, invoicing triggers and delivery risks, intervening early where required.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Coordinate Delivery, Support, Product, R&D, PMO, Finance, Legal and Executive teams to ensure commitments are clear and actions are completed.

• Channel & Delivery Partners: Manage relationships and governance with channel and delivery partners, aligning responsibilities, project plans, milestones, commercial arrangements and client outcomes.

• Commercial Growth: Identify and convert upsell, cross-sell and wallet-share opportunities across departments, programmes and use cases.

• Competitor Management: Monitor competitor activity and identify opportunities to position Interfile’s document management, digitization, records and archiving, payments, revenue management and workflow solutions.

• Opportunity & Bid Leadership: Lead account-based opportunities, proposals, tenders, presentations and negotiations, ensuring alignment between client requirements, pricing, delivery capacity, risk and profitability.

• Risk, CRM & Forecasting: Maintain accurate account, opportunity and contract information, manage account risks and provide reliable forecasts and reporting on revenue, pipeline, renewals and delivery.

• Continuous Improvement: Use client feedback and account insights to strengthen Interfile’s public-sector account management practices and client experience.

BACKGROUND REQUIREMENTS:

Education & Qualifications

Essential:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Commerce or a related field.

• Strategic Selling or equivalent sales methodology training

Desirable:

• Postgraduate qualification in Business Administration, Management, Leadership or a related field (e.g. MBA, Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration or Management)

Work Experience:

• 10+ years’ experience in enterprise solution sales or key account management, including at least 5 years managing complex South African public-sector clients.

• Proven experience managing large, complex accounts across national or provincial government and metropolitan municipalities.

• Established stakeholder relationships and previous account-management responsibility for both the Department of Home Affairs and the City of Johannesburg.

• Experience managing individual client contracts exceeding R200 million, including revenue assurance, margin management, milestone governance, forecasting and executive reporting.

• Demonstrated success in account retention, contract renewals, upsell, cross-sell, wallet-share growth and competitor displacement.

• Strong experience within ICT, fintech, digital government, revenue management, payments, workflow or document-management solutions.

• Experience with public-sector tenders, procurement cycles, proposals, negotiations and multi-year contracts.

• Proven ability to coordinate cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders to achieve client and commercial outcomes.

Skills & Knowledge:

• Advanced strategic and key account management capability.

• Strong understanding of the South African public-sector environment across government departments, metropolitan municipalities and related entities.

• Working knowledge of PFMA, MFMA, Treasury and public-sector supply-chain requirements.

• Strong commercial acumen across revenue, margin, pricing, forecasting and pipeline management.

• Strong executive-level communication, presentation, negotiation and stakeholder-management skills.

• Ability to understand complex technology and translate client requirements into practical commercial and solution propositions.

• Strong CRM, account planning, forecasting and reporting discipline.

• Ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams in a matrix environment.

• High standards of integrity, governance, confidentiality and professional conduct