Marketplace Global Partnerships Lead

The Takealot Group is seeking a driven and experienced professional to lead its global partnership initiatives within its thriving marketplace division. This pivotal role, based in the vibrant city of Cape Town, is designed for an individual who thrives in a fast-paced, hyper-growth environment and is passionate about building and nurturing strategic alliances that drive significant value. As a prominent player in the South African e-commerce landscape, Takealot is committed to fostering a culture of innovation, integrity, and hard work, offering a stimulating work environment where challenges are embraced and contributions are recognised.

About the Role

The Marketplace Global Partnerships Lead will be instrumental in identifying, securing, and managing strategic partnerships with entities that can introduce international sellers to the Takealot marketplace. This involves a comprehensive understanding of the global e-commerce ecosystem, including aggregator platforms, cross-border service providers, and seller enablement businesses. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in expanding Takealot's reach by building a robust pipeline of potential partners, negotiating favourable commercial and contractual terms, and ensuring the seamless onboarding and ongoing success of these collaborations.

This multifaceted role encompasses a wide range of responsibilities focused on building and scaling Takealot's international seller base through strategic alliances:

• **Partner Identification and Pipeline Development:** Conduct thorough market research to map out global and regional aggregator platforms, cross-border e-commerce enablers, and seller support services. Develop and maintain a prioritised pipeline of prospective partners that align with Takealot's strategic objectives and target seller profiles.
• **Negotiation and Contracting:** Lead commercial and legal negotiations with identified partners. This includes defining referral fee structures, co-marketing commitments, data-sharing agreements, and service level agreements (SLAs). You will work closely with Takealot's legal and finance departments to finalise and execute partnership agreements.
• **Onboarding and Enablement:** Design and implement comprehensive onboarding programmes, training materials, and go-to-market toolkits. These resources will empower partner teams to effectively present and onboard their respective seller bases onto the Takealot marketplace.
• **Relationship Management:** Act as the primary point of contact for all assigned global partners. This involves conducting regular business reviews (monthly and quarterly), managing any escalations that may arise, and ensuring partners remain actively engaged and commercially motivated to drive performance.
• **Seller Pipeline Management:** Collaborate with partners to establish structured referral pipelines for sellers. You will meticulously track leads from the initial referral through to seller activation and their first sale, ensuring a smooth handover to the internal Sales and Account Manager teams.
• **Co-Marketing and Campaign Execution:** Partner with Takealot's marketing department and alliance partners to conceptualise and execute joint acquisition campaigns, seller webinars, trade shows, and promotional initiatives aimed at attracting international seller communities.
• **Compliance Alignment:** Ensure that partners understand and adhere to relevant South African Revenue Service (SARS) VAT and customs compliance requirements for cross-border sellers. You will liaise with Takealot's compliance and finance teams to keep partner-facing information up-to-date regarding these regulations.
• **Performance Monitoring and Reporting:** Define, track, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) at the partner level, such as the number of sellers referred, activated, and the gross merchandise value (GMV) generated. Conduct structured quarterly business reviews with each partner and develop action plans for any underperforming partnerships.
• **Market Intelligence:** Stay abreast of competitive partnership programmes offered by other global marketplaces. This market intelligence will be crucial for informing and refining Takealot's own partnership proposition development.

What They're Looking For

The ideal candidate will possess a strong academic foundation and extensive experience in building and managing strategic partnerships, ideally within the e-commerce or cross-border trade sectors. A degree in Commerce, Business, International Trade, or a related field is essential, with postgraduate qualifications being a distinct advantage. A minimum of five years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, or channel sales is required, preferably with exposure to e-commerce, fintech, payments, or cross-border transactions.

A proven ability to negotiate and finalise complex multi-party commercial agreements, including those with structured revenue or referral components, is critical. Experience working with or alongside payment platforms, cross-border payment providers, or marketplace aggregators (such as Payoneer, PingPong, LianLian, World First, Airwallex, or similar) would be highly beneficial. A solid understanding of South African import regulations, VAT obligations for foreign sellers (including SARS eFiling and VAT registration thresholds), and customs processes is also a key requirement.

Exceptional relationship management skills, with a demonstrated ability to engage and manage senior stakeholders at partner organisations, are essential. The role may require domestic and international travel to foster and maintain partner relationships.

In South Africa, roles focused on strategic partnerships and business development in the e-commerce space often command competitive remuneration packages. While specific figures vary widely based on experience, company size, and the scope of responsibility, it's typical for such positions to involve a blend of base salary and performance-related incentives. Major e-commerce players, expanding online retailers, and fintech companies operating in the cross-border space are common employers for such expertise. Career progression might lead to senior leadership roles in business development, country management, or regional partnership oversight.

• Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Business, International Trade, or a related field; a postgraduate qualification is advantageous.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, or channel sales roles — ideally within e-commerce, fintech, payments, or cross-border trade.
• Proven track record of negotiating and closing multi-party commercial agreements with structured revenue or referral components.
• Experience working with or alongside payment platforms, cross-border payment providers, or marketplace aggregators (e.g. Payoneer, PingPong, LianLian, World First, Airwallex, or similar).
• Understanding of South African import regulations, VAT obligations for foreign sellers (SARS eFiling, VAT registration thresholds), and customs processes.
• Excellent relationship management skills with experience managing senior stakeholders at partner organisations.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally for partner engagement.