National Head of Account Management

Karri Payments

Karri Payments is a fast-growing fintech business serving schools, parents, and learners across SA. We sit at the intersection of education, payments, and youth banking, with a mission to make school payments simpler, safer, and more impactful. We work closely with school leadership teams and enterprise partners and are scaling rapidly.

This role is central to protecting, deepening, and growing those relationships nationally.

Role Overview

The National Head of Account Management is responsible for owning and scaling Karri’s national account management function. This includes retention, upsell, expansion, relationship health, and team performance across our school client base.

This is a senior, hands-on leadership role. You will work closely with Sales, Product, Support, and Leadership to ensure schools see ongoing value from Karri and that opportunities for growth are identified and executed consistently.

You will be accountable for account strategy, team structure, incentives, CRM discipline, and national performance metrics.

Key Responsibilities

Account Strategy & Relationship Management

• Own Karri’s national account management strategy across all regions and segments
• Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with senior decision-makers at client schools and groups
• Drive retention, renewal, upsell, and cross-sell opportunities across the client base
• Act as a senior escalation point for key accounts when required

Commercial & Growth Execution

• Identify growth opportunities within existing accounts and convert them into measurable revenue outcomes
• Partner closely with Sales to ensure clean handovers and aligned client journeys
• Design and execute account plans for high-value and strategic clients
• Track and optimise performance against retention, growth, and engagement metrics

CRM & Pipeline Discipline

• Own account management CRM processes, data hygiene, and pipeline visibility
• Ensure consistent use of CRM tools to track activity, opportunities, and risks
• Produce clear, actionable reporting for leadership on account health and growth forecasts

Team Leadership & Structure

• Lead, coach, and develop a national team of account managers
• Design and refine team structures, roles, and responsibilities as the business scales
• Set clear expectations, KPIs, and accountability across the function
• Manage transitions as team members grow or shift roles

Incentives & Performance Management

• Design, implement, and continuously refine incentive structures that drive the right behaviours
• Ensure incentives align with retention, growth, and long-term relationship value
• Monitor performance and make data-driven adjustments where required

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Product and Engineering to surface client feedback and inform roadmap priorities
• Partner with Support and Operations to ensure a seamless client experience
• Act as the voice of the customer internally while balancing commercial realities

Experience & Skills

Required Experience

• Proven experience in sales, account management, or relationship-led growth roles
• Strong track record of managing and growing a portfolio of B2B clients
• Demonstrated experience leading and scaling teams
• Hands-on experience managing pipelines and reporting through modern CRM systems
• Experience designing or managing incentive structures tied to commercial outcomes

Preferred Background

• Experience in education, payments, fintech, or B2B SaaS
• Exposure to smaller companies or start-ups where roles are dynamic and evolving
• Experience working with distributed or national teams

Key Attributes

• Commercially sharp with a strong relationship instinct
• Structured thinker who can build systems without killing momentum
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and fast-moving environments
• Strong communicator with the credibility to engage senior stakeholders
• Passion for technology-enabled solutions and continuous improvement
• Resilient, adaptable, and motivated by building something meaningful

What Success Looks Like

• High retention and significant revenue growth from existing clients
• Clear visibility into account health and national performance
• A motivated, accountable, and high-performing account management team
• Strong internal alignment between Account Management, Sales, Product, and Support
• Clients who genuinely value Karri as a long-term partner