Account Manager

Thales people architect identity management and data protection solutions at the heart of digital security. Business and governments rely on us to bring trust to the billions of digital interactions they have with people. Our technologies and services help banks exchange funds, people cross borders, energy become smarter and much more. More than 30,000 organizations already rely on us to verify the identities of people and things, grant access to digital services, analyze vast quantities of information and encrypt data to make the connected world more secure.

Thales is hiring an Account Manager that will handle US Large Accounts is a key segment within the PAY business line, focused on servicing all Tier 1 accounts in the United States. The role of the Account Manager is to lead a set of strategic accounts, taking full ownership of managing client relationships, driving growth and delivering results against agreed business targets. This role plays a critical part in ensuring customer satisfaction, retention, and overall business performance within the segment.

Key business focus areas include developing and executing strategies to drive profitable growth in our payment card manufacturing and personalization business and defining and delivering on account plans to grow our digital services footprint.

To succeed in this role, as Account Manager will build strong exposure to the payments industry and continuously develop market understanding, drive results by influencing and aligning cross-functional teams across both the customer and Thales organizations, operate with an entrepreneurial mindset, bringing initiative, curiosity, and a high degree of autonomy, naturally act as a team player and strong communicator, fostering collaboration across teams and demonstrate the ability to persuade, influence, and negotiate effectively — both internally and with customers.

Key Areas of Resposibilities

1. Account Planning

• Develop and maintain an account plan for each assigned account, outlining the strategy to grow in revenue and market share and aligning it with both internal teams and customer stakeholders. The plan should broadly include:
• Identifying and defining strategic initiatives in collaboration with the customer to generate growth beyond business-as-usual, and to build a long-term partnership.
• Gaining a deep understanding of the customer’s priorities, expectations, and long-term vision — and aligning Thales’ offerings to support their business goals.
• Monitoring competitor activity within the account and sharing relevant insights with internal stakeholders.
• Collaborating with Field Marketing to support execution of the plan, including identifying growth opportunities, defining “must-win” initiatives, shaping the engagement plan, co-creating value-based pricing strategies, and developing relevant segment content.
• Lead commercial and contractual negotiations aligning with the objectives of the company and long-term relationship with the customer.

2. Orchestration & Stakeholder Alignment

• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment and execution of the account strategy by:
• Sharing timely and relevant information on the customer (e.g., strategy, organizational structure, needs, budget cycles), and serving as the voice of the customer internally.
• Orchestrating and managing the extended account team across various activities (e.g., RFPs, project execution, product & service portfolio alignment, customer experience, contract management) and supporting all actions required to close Order Intake.
• Providing regular and accurate forecasts of customer needs to ensure delivery readiness and internal alignment.
• Monitoring and reporting on customer satisfaction issues and contributing to the improvement of customer satisfaction scores.

3. Customer Representation & Relationship Management

• Serve as the key representative of Thales to the customer by:
• Maximizing customer satisfaction through proactive engagement and follow-through.
• Establishing trust and loyalty by driving joint actions and long-term collaboration with the customer.
• Ensuring performance against revenue targets and growth objectives in the short- and medium-term by maintaining strong customer intimacy.
• Leading and securing the execution of strategic initiatives as defined in the Account Plan

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance or Industry with a minimum of 8-12+ years of relevant work experience or Master’s degree in field with 6+ years of relevant work experience
• 8+ years of work experience in account management or sales, preferably within the payments, fintech, or financial services industry.
• Proven track record of managing enterprise accounts, with demonstrated success in driving account growth and improving client retention.
• Strong understanding of payment cards, card networks (e.g., Visa, Mastercard), payment processors, gateways, and digital payment trends.
• Familiarity with regulatory and compliance requirements in the payments industry (e.g., PCI-DSS, EMV, etc.).
• Strong relationship-building and client management skills.
• Proven experience inn navigating complex commercial and legal negotiations.
• Analytical and data-driven mindset with the ability to interpret metrics and identify business opportunities and execute against ambitious growth objectives.
• Solid understanding of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business models and solutions.
• Ability to get into the details, identify areas of maximum impact to invest time and resources.
• Comfortable with technical solutions and the ability to deep dive into discussions with technology teams.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and close sales opportunities from discovery through validation, negotiation, and deal closure, while effectively leveraging internal resources.
• Highly autonomous with a proactive and entrepreneurial mindset to drive business growth.