Commercial Manager – Youth Financial Services

Co-operative Bank of Kenya is a financial institution founded in 1965, offering a wide range of banking and financial services.

This role involves leading the commercial performance of the youth customer portfolio, achieving agreed targets for customer acquisition, activation, product uptake, usage, retention, and profitability. The manager will translate business priorities and customer insights into effective commercial plans, campaigns, and market activation initiatives with clear objectives. A key aspect is developing a deep understanding of youth needs, behaviors, and emerging trends through research and market intelligence. The role also requires partnering with product owners and cross-functional teams to develop, test, and commercialize relevant products, customer journeys, pricing, and offers. Identifying and developing partnerships with educational institutions, employers, youth organizations, businesses, and fintechs is crucial for expanding market reach and accelerating growth. Collaboration with brand and communications teams will ensure distinctive and engaging campaigns that strengthen the Youth Financial Services proposition and support commercial objectives. The manager will work with various channels, including branches, sales teams, relationship managers, and digital platforms, to drive customer acquisition, product adoption, and sustained engagement. Furthermore, the role involves analyzing customer behavior, campaign effectiveness, portfolio performance, and return on investment to identify opportunities and improve commercial results. The manager must ensure effective budget utilization, value for money, sound commercial decision-making, and adherence to applicable regulatory, risk, data privacy, and customer protection requirements. Building strong relationships across internal teams and external stakeholders, developing compelling business cases, and driving the timely execution of commercial initiatives are also essential.

1. Manage the commercial performance of the youth customer portfolio, meeting targets for acquisition, activation, product adoption, usage, retention, and profitability.
2. Convert business priorities and customer insights into actionable commercial plans, campaigns, and market initiatives with defined objectives.
3. Develop a comprehensive understanding of youth demographics, behaviors, and market trends through research and analytics.
4. Collaborate with Product Owners and other teams to develop, test, and launch new products, customer journeys, pricing strategies, and offers.
5. Establish and nurture partnerships with educational institutions, employers, youth organizations, businesses, and fintechs to broaden market reach and drive growth.
6. Work with Brand & Communications and agency partners to create impactful and engaging campaigns that enhance the Youth Financial Services proposition and achieve commercial goals.
7. Engage with branches, sales teams, relationship managers, and digital channels to boost customer acquisition, product adoption, and ongoing engagement.
8. Analyze customer behavior, campaign effectiveness, portfolio performance, and ROI to identify improvement areas and enhance commercial outcomes.
9. Oversee budget utilization, ensure value for money, make sound commercial decisions, and comply with regulatory, risk, data privacy, and customer protection standards.
10. Foster strong relationships with internal teams and external stakeholders, prepare compelling business cases, and ensure timely execution of commercial initiatives.

1. Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Commerce, Economics, Finance, Communications, or a related field.
2. Minimum of five years of relevant experience in commercial management, go-to-market strategy, business growth, segment/category management, marketing, partnerships, business development, or customer strategy.
3. Proven ability to transform customer insights and business strategies into commercial initiatives with measurable results.
4. Strong commercial and business acumen, including experience with target management, budgeting, customer growth metrics, performance funnels, and ROI analysis.
5. Demonstrated capability to influence stakeholders, collaborate cross-functionally, and manage strategic partnerships.
6. Excellent analytical, communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship management skills.
7. Customer-centric, innovative, and results-oriented mindset, with adaptability to evolving customer needs and market dynamics.