Director of SME Specialist Sales (France)

• We are seeking a commercially driven Director to lead SME Specialist Sales execution across wholesale trade verticals in France. The role is accountable for identifying, developing and converting high-value B2B payment flows, from Small and Medium Business to Wholesale trade industry suppliers into carded flows
• Reporting into the European SME Specialist Sales leadership, this Director will act as the market-facing commercial lead for France, working closely with local market teams, and ecosystem partners to unlock card-based B2B payment flows
• The role requires strong knowledge of B2B payments, AR/AP flows, working capital dynamics and the ability to translate operational pain points in wholesale trade and SME environments into clear commercial propositions
• Own and execute the SME Whole Sale trade plan for France, aligned to the European GDV growth strategy
• Build and convert a high-quality pipeline of wholesale trade and B2B payment opportunities
• Identify invoice-based, account-to-account and manual payment flows where Mastercard solutions can drive card adoption and incremental GDV
• Support complex deal origination, business case development, partner negotiation and commercial execution.Market Coverage & Local Execution
• Develop market-specific sales plays for France, reflecting local payment behaviours, regulation, issuer priorities and SME needs
• Partner with country teams to prioritise target verticals, accounts and ecosystem partners
• Build trusted relationships with banks, fintechs, acquirers, ERP/accounting platforms and relevant trade ecosystem participants
• Provide clear market feedback to European leadership on barriers, competitor activity and growth opportunities
• Position Mastercard solutions as tools to improve payment efficiency, reduce manual collections activity and support working capital optimisation
• Engage with CFOs, Treasurers, Heads of AR/Collections and finance operations stakeholders to demonstrate commercial value
• Create practical business cases showing impact on DSO, cost-to-collect, cash conversion and supplier/customer payment experience
• Translate complex AR/AP and B2B payment flows into simple, compelling sales narratives for clients and partners.Wholesale Trade & SME Segment Expertise
• Develop deep insight into wholesale trade value chains across France, including distributors, suppliers and high-volume B2B merchants
• Identify repeatable sales motions where card solutions can replace or complement A2A, bank transfer, direct debit and manual processes
• Capture learnings from local execution and contribute to reusable European playbooks

Qualifications

• Familiarity with ERP, accounting, invoicing or finance workflow platforms would be advantageous
• Demonstrated ability to deliver commercial growth, manage complex pipelines and execute multi-stakeholder deals
• The ability to create value propositions, based on working capital metrics, from card based economics
• Understanding of SME and wholesale trade payment behaviours in France
• Strong understanding of B2B payment flows, invoice cycles, AR/AP processes and working capital levers
• Ability to build commercially credible value propositions using data, customer insight and operational pain points
• Proven ability to sell to senior stakeholders across finance, treasury, payments, operations and commercial teams.
• Knowledge & Expertise: Experience in payments, AR/AP Wholesale trade industries, financial services, fintech, SME banking, B2B sales or working capital solutions
• Knowledge of card acceptance, commercial cards, account-to-account payment alternatives and receivables digitisation
• Strong relationship builder with credibility across senior client and internal stakeholders
• Commercially sharp, execution-focused and comfortable operating with pace and ambiguity
• Collaborative team player able to influence across markets, functions and partner organisations
• Analytical and structured, with the ability to turn data and customer insight into action