SME Director

Job Description 

At our company, we hold an uncompromising stance against mediocrity, committing ourselves to work that delivers audacious impact and is fueled by a pioneering spirit of continuous progress and innovation. This ambition is supported by leadership grounded in courage and clarity—ensuring alignment, accountability, and purpose in everything we do. Integrity shapes how we hire, recognize, and develop talent, with a focus on potential, ambition, and long term growth. Together, we operate with collective strength, prioritizing meaningful results over unnecessary rituals and navigating challenges with unity and resolve. Above all, we remain steadfast and resilient, never losing sight of our commitments and continuously pushing forward through complexity with determination and purpose to create a better life for all.

The SME Director owns the end-to-end strategy, P&L, and digital transformation of the SME & SOHO business, leading the Head(s) of SME and building the organization's next-generation Telco-to-Digital Services proposition for small and medium enterprises.

• Define and own the SME & SOHO business unit's overall strategy, P&L, and multi-year growth roadmap, positioning the company as a Future Telco & Digital Services partner for SMEs — beyond core connectivity into cloud, fintech/MFS, cybersecurity, IoT, and SaaS bundles.

• Lead, coach, and hold accountable the Head(s) of SME and their regional teams, setting strategic targets, monitoring performance across regions/channels, and driving corrective action plans to ensure sustainable growth and market share expansion.

• Champion the shift from a traditional connectivity-led SME model to a digital-first, platform-based ecosystem, partnering with FinTech, cloud, and technology providers to co-create bundled digital solutions for SME segments.

• Build and own C-level and senior stakeholder relationships with strategic SME clients, trade bodies, chambers of commerce, and ecosystem/technology partners to drive customer loyalty, retention, and high-value commercial partnerships.

• Direct portfolio strategy by identifying new revenue streams, digital product/service innovation, and customer-centric solutions (digital payments, e-commerce enablement, business tools) tailored to SME and SOHO segments.

• Drive operational excellence and digital sales transformation across the SME business through competitive benchmarking, channel optimization (direct, digital, partner-led), process automation, and performance governance.

• Own budgeting, forecasting, and resource allocation for the entire SME business unit, driving cost optimization, margin improvement, and maximizing ROI across sales, marketing, and digital operating expenditure.

• Partner closely with Marketing, Digital/Product, Technology, Finance, Regulatory, and Customer Experience leadership to deliver integrated Telco + Digital solutions and superior end-to-end SME customer outcomes.

• Leverage market intelligence, customer analytics, and competitor/ecosystem benchmarking (telecom, fintech, and digital-native players) to formulate data-driven strategies and agile go-to-market initiatives.

• Represent the SME business at the executive/board level, presenting performance, strategic initiatives, investment cases, and market outlook to senior leadership and the Board.

• Evaluate and lead strategic partnerships, alliances, and where relevant M&A/investment opportunities that accelerate the SME business's evolution into a digital services provider.

• Build, mentor, and scale a high-performing SME leadership bench, fostering a culture of accountability, digital fluency, collaboration, and continuous innovation across the organization.

Academic Qualification

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or Master's degree strongly preferred, ideally majoring in Marketing, Finance, Business Strategy, or a related discipline.

Job Experience Required

• 14+ years of total professional experience, including a minimum of 6–8 years in a senior leadership role (Director/Head of Business/Head of SME or equivalent) leading SME, SOHO, B2B, or Enterprise sales and P&L in Telecommunications, Digital Services, FinTech/MFS, or another distribution-oriented industry.

• Demonstrated track record of leading multi-regional or multi-vertical teams (including leading other Heads/senior managers), owning a P&L, and delivering sustained revenue and market share growth.

• Proven experience driving digital transformation, new product/ecosystem launches, or business model evolution within a telco, fintech, technology, or platform business.

Required Capabilities

• Strategic leadership: ability to set and own a multi-year SME business and digital transformation strategy aligned with enterprise ambitions.

• Strong grasp of sales channel management, SME/SOHO distribution, and digital/platform-led go-to-market models.

• Sound business and financial acumen — P&L ownership, budgeting, forecasting, pricing, and ROI management.

• Strong stakeholder management skills at CXO, Board, and external ecosystem-partner level; skilled negotiator and relationship builder.

• Data-driven decision making — comfortable using market intelligence, analytics, and customer insight to shape strategy.

• People leadership: proven ability to build, mentor, and manage senior leaders (Heads of SME) and high-performing, multi-layered organizations.

• Change management and digital transformation leadership, with the ability to shift legacy sales cultures toward digital-first, consultative selling.

• Working knowledge of telecom regulatory frameworks and relevant digital/financial services regulations (e.g., BFIU/MFS guidelines) as applicable.