Head of Key Account Manager

About the Role
You will lead the team that owns relationships with key accounts at a Dubai-based B2B distributor of digital prepaid products and a rewards fulfilment partner to enterprises worldwide. Your primary focus will be to ensure that every key account is well managed, clients are satisfied, and the portfolio grows in revenue and profit quarter on quarter. This commercial leadership role involves building and coaching the Key Account Management team, setting operational standards for account management, and personally managing a small number of our most strategic clients. You will be measured on retention, growth, and margins, rather than activity levels.

Portfolio Strategy and Growth

• Define and run the growth strategy for the full key account portfolio, segmented by size, potential, and risk.
• Ensure every key account has a written account plan that outlines goals, growth opportunities, risks, and required internal support.
• Drive expansion through new brands, new markets, new product types, and higher volumes on existing programs.
• Own the portfolio’s revenue and gross profit targets, forecasting accurately each month.
• Lead renewals and commercial negotiations on key accounts, protecting margins while building long-term value for both sides.

Team Leadership

• Lead, hire, coach, and develop the Key Account Managers.
• Set individual and team targets (OKRs or equivalent) for retention, revenue growth, and margin.
• Allocate accounts across the team based on value, complexity, and growth potential.
• Run weekly pipeline and account reviews, holding the team accountable for delivery.
• Build a team capable of managing senior client relationships confidently without constant escalation.

Operating System and Standards

• Build the account management playbook, including onboarding handovers, check-in cadence, quarterly business review formats, account plans, and escalation paths.
• Introduce account health scoring and early-warning signals for declining volumes, payment issues, or churn risks.
• Set CRM standards ensuring all account contacts, activity, opportunities, and risks are accurately recorded and reliable.
• Report on portfolio performance to leadership, including metrics on revenue, gross profit, retention, churn, wallet share, and account health.

Strategic Clients and Escalations

• Personally manage a select group of the most strategic or highest-value clients.
• Build relationships with senior decision-makers at key clients and act as an executive sponsor when needed.
• Manage major escalations, at-risk accounts, and challenging commercial conversations.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Collaborate with the tech team to support API onboarding, integrations, and ongoing optimization for key clients.
• Work with operations, support, and finance to swiftly resolve issues such as stock, delivery, credit, and reconciliation problems.
• Partner with supplier teams to introduce new brands and products to clients who require them.
• Serve as the voice of the customer internally, conveying client needs into product, catalog, and pricing decisions.

Requirements

• 7+ years in B2B account management or client success, ideally within gift cards, rewards, payments, fintech, or SaaS sectors.
• 2+ years of experience leading a team of account managers or client success managers.
• Proven track record of growing existing portfolios against revenue, margin, and retention targets.
• Strong commercial judgment, with comfort in pricing, margin, credit terms, and contract negotiations.
• Ability to confidently engage with senior client stakeholders and handle difficult escalations.
• Familiarity with API-based products, working closely with technical teams.
• Data-driven mindset with the ability to use account metrics to discern risk and opportunity, setting priorities accordingly.
• Experience in building processes, playbooks, and CRM discipline rather than merely following existing ones.