We are seeking an
experienced Business Development Manager to drive growth of BFSI
business in South Africa. The role will focus on building pipeline,
generating demand, and expanding BFSI opportunities across Banking, Insurance
and Financial Services Customers in South Africa and Botswana while supporting
initiatives for Rest of Africa. The role demands acquiring new customer logos
and stabilise the onboarded customer engagements.
The successful candidate
will combine strong BFSI domain, local market connectivity, and proven
business development capability to create and convert opportunities into a
sustainable pipeline, contract closure and revenue realisation.
Key Focus Areas
- Business Groups:
Banking, Financial Services and Insurance
- Partner Engagement:
Key partner connects (SAP, Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, AWS. Google etc)
- Growth: Pipeline
build, lead generation, demand creation, contract closure and revenue
realisation.
Key Responsibilities
Business Development
- Drive growth of BFSI services and
solutions across South Africa and Africa
- Identify, qualify, and develop new logos
and opportunities
- Own end-to-end pipeline development from lead generation to deal closure support
- Align BFSI offerings with customer
business priorities and industry needs
- Work closely with BFSI Business Group to
bring Global BFSI capabilities, best practices, tools and accelerators for
new customers in the region.
Customer Engagement
- Build and maintain relationships with senior
customer stakeholders
- Lead business development conversations
with CIOs, CFOs, and business leaders
- Position SAP solutions as enablers of business
transformation and value realization
Pipeline & Demand
Generation
- Drive lead generation and demand
creation activities
- Work with marketing and alliance teams
on campaigns and account-based initiatives
- Track, manage, and forecast sales
pipeline
- Ensure disciplined opportunity
qualification and progression
- Ensure Contract closures per planned targets
BFSI Ecosystem & Partner
Engagement
- Maintain strong working relationships
with Partner South Africa Sales teams
- Engage regularly with Partners’
Country Leadership and Account Executives
- Collaborate with ecosystem partners on joint
pursuits and go-to-market initiatives
- Support co-selling, partner-led
opportunities, and joint account planning
Internal Collaboration
- Work closely with BFSI Business Group presales, delivery, and solution teams
- Provide market and customer feedback to
shape offerings and GTM strategies
- Participate in pipeline reviews,
forecasting, and business planning
Required Skills &
Competencies
Domain Expertise
- Strong understanding of the BFSI business
- Solid knowledge of the BFSI ecosystem
in South Africa
- Ability to articulate value propositions
across new BFSI customers
Business Development &
Sales Skills
- Proven experience in pipeline
building and opportunity generation
- Strong commercial acumen and
understanding of enterprise sales cycles
- Experience working with complex,
multi-stakeholder deals
Relationship &
Stakeholder Management
- Well-connected within the BFSI South
Africa ecosystem
- Strong customer-facing and
partner-facing skills
- Ability to influence without authority
in a matrixed environment
Professional & Personal
Skills
- Excellent communication, presentation,
and negotiation skills
- Results-driven, proactive, and highly
accountable
- Comfortable working
independently with minimal supervision
Requirements
Essential
- Bachelor’s degree in business,
Technology, Engineering, or related field
- 12-15 years of experience in BFSI business development, or BFSI enterprise sales
- Demonstrated experience working with key
technology partners in South Africa
- Strong understanding of the South
African enterprise market
- Fluency in English
Preferred
- Experience working for Software OEM,
system integrator, or consulting firm
- Existing relationships with BFSI account
teams and industry decision-makers
- Experience across one or more target
industries
Success Measures
- Growth in BFSI-qualified pipeline
- Number and quality of new
opportunities generated
- Strength of relationships with Customers
and Partners
- Conversion of pipeline into revenue
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Technology, Engineering, or related field
- 12-15 years of experience in BFSI business development or enterprise sales
- Strong understanding of the BFSI business
- Solid knowledge of the BFSI ecosystem in South Africa
- Demonstrated experience working with key technology partners in South Africa (SAP, Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, AWS, Google)
- Proven experience in pipeline building and opportunity generation
- Strong commercial acumen and understanding of enterprise sales cycles
- Experience with complex, multi-stakeholder deals
- Well-connected within the BFSI South Africa ecosystem / existing relationships with BFSI account teams and decision-makers
- Experience working for a Software OEM, system integrator, or consulting firm
- Excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation skills
- Fluency in English
What We Do
Sabenza IT is a niche recruitment company specializing in Information Technology, SAP, Finance, and Engineering roles, with over 23 years of experience.
