1. ROLE OVERVIEW:

The Team Manager will lead a team of approximately 18 - 20 Relationship Managers responsible for managing and strengthening relationships with mutual fund distributors, intermediaries and other key ecosystem partners on the StAR MF platform.

The role will have two primary dimensions:

a) Relationship Leadership: Personally manage and deepen relationships with the top 20 - 30 strategic partners, understand their business and product requirements, identify opportunities for growth and ensure a high level of partner satisfaction.

b) Internal Execution & Coordination: Act as the central coordinator between partners and internal Product, Technology/IT, Operations, Clearing Corporation and other relevant teams, ensuring that partner requirements are translated into actionable projects and delivered within agreed timelines.

The individual will therefore be responsible not merely for relationship management, but for owning the end - to - end partner experience - from identifying a requirement to ensuring its successful implementation.

2. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

A. Team Leadership & Relationship Management:

- Lead, mentor and manage a team of 18 - 20 Relationship Managers.

- Define relationship - management priorities, coverage plans and engagement strategies for the team.

- Ensure regular engagement with key mutual fund distributors, fintech platforms, banks, brokers, wealth platforms and other strategic ecosystem participants.

- Personally manage relationships with the top 20 - 30 strategic partners.

- Develop a deep understanding of partners' business models, growth plans, pain points and technology requirements.

- Establish strong senior - level relationships with CXOs, business heads, technology heads and operations heads of key partners.

- Act as the escalation point for critical partner issues and ensure timely resolution.

- Ensure that partners receive a high - quality, responsive and consistent experience from StAR MF.

B. Partner Requirement Identification:

- Proactively identify new business opportunities, product requirements, process improvements and technology enhancements emerging from partner discussions.

- Convert partner feedback into clearly articulated business requirements and prioritised initiatives.

- Identify common requirements across multiple partners and evaluate opportunities to develop scalable platform solutions rather than one - off fixes.

- Work closely with Product teams to assess feasibility, commercial potential, regulatory implications and prioritisation of requirements.

- Maintain a structured pipeline of partner requirements and strategic initiatives.

C. Cross - Functional Project Ownership:

- Serve as the single point of coordination between strategic partners and internal teams.

- Coordinate with:

1. Product

2. IT / Technology

3. Operations

4. Clearing Corporation

5. Compliance / Regulatory teams

6. Other relevant ecosystem stakeholders

- Translate partner requirements into actionable business requirements and ensure appropriate ownership within internal teams.

- Establish project timelines, milestones, dependencies and expected outcomes.

- Track projects from requirement identification - solution design - development - testing - UAT - implementation - post - launch stabilisation.

- Proactively identify bottlenecks and escalate delays to the appropriate senior stakeholders.

- Ensure that agreed commitments to partners are delivered within the promised timelines.

- Maintain regular communication with partners throughout the implementation cycle.

D. Partner Experience & Service Excellence:

- Take ownership of the overall partner experience across business, technology and operations.

- Ensure that partner concerns are acknowledged, tracked and resolved within defined timelines.

- Develop appropriate escalation mechanisms for high - priority issues.

- Monitor recurring operational and technology issues and work with internal teams to identify root causes and permanent solutions.

- Build a culture within the team of 'ownership rather than hand - off' - ensuring that Relationship Managers remain responsible for an issue until closure.

E. Business Growth & Strategic Development:

- Drive increased transaction volumes, active participation and business engagement from existing partners.

- Identify opportunities for onboarding new business, increasing penetration and expanding usage of StAR MF capabilities.

- Work with Product and Business teams to identify new products, features and services that can strengthen StAR MF's market position.

- Provide market intelligence and competitor insights to senior management.

- Identify emerging trends in mutual fund distribution, fintech, digital investing and intermediary technology that may create opportunities for StAR MF.

- Support strategic initiatives and new business projects undertaken by the Mutual Fund Business.

F. MIS, Governance & Management Reporting:

- Establish a robust dashboard covering:

1. Key partner relationships

2. Business volumes

3. Partner engagement

4. Open issues

5. Product requirements

6. Project status

7. Implementation timelines

8. Escalations

9. SLA adherence

- Conduct regular reviews with Relationship Managers.

- Provide periodic updates to senior management on strategic partner relationships and major initiatives.

- Ensure appropriate documentation and governance around partner requirements and project delivery.

- Track commitments made to strategic partners and ensure accountability for closure.

3. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS / KRAs:

A. Business & Relationship Management:

- Growth in business volumes from managed partners

- Retention and engagement of strategic partners

- Relationship strength and partner satisfaction

- Growth in active partner participation

- New business opportunities identified and converted

B. Project & Execution:

- Number and value of partner - led initiatives delivered

- Adherence to committed project timelines

- Reduction in turnaround time for partner requirements

- Closure rate of critical partner issues

- Quality and timeliness of UAT and implementation

C. Team Management:

- Productivity and performance of 18 - 20 Relationship Managers

- Quality of partner coverage

- Team capability development and retention

- Achievement of team business and service KPIs

D. Strategic Contribution:

- Identification of scalable product/platform enhancements

- Conversion of partner insights into new business opportunities

- Cross - functional execution effectiveness

- Contribution to the overall growth and strategic positioning of StAR MF

4. CANDIDATE PROFILE:

The ideal candidate should have:

- Min 15 years of relevant experience in mutual funds, capital markets, fintech, broking, wealth management, banking or financial - services technology.

- Strong experience in relationship management and team leadership.

- Experience managing large teams, preferably 15+ members.

- Strong understanding of the mutual fund distribution ecosystem and intermediary business models.

- Experience dealing with senior stakeholders and CXO - level relationships.

- Demonstrated ability to work effectively across Business, Product, Technology and Operations functions.

- Strong project - management and execution capabilities.

- Ability to understand technology/product requirements sufficiently to translate business needs into actionable requirements.

- Excellent communication, negotiation and stakeholder - management skills.

- Strong analytical and problem - solving orientation.

- Ability to operate effectively in a fast - paced, high - growth environment.

5. DESIRED ATTRIBUTES:

The role requires an individual who is:

- Highly relationship - oriented, but equally strong on execution.

- A natural problem solver and owner, rather than someone who simply escalates issues.

- Comfortable working across organisational boundaries.

- Able to influence teams without necessarily having direct reporting authority.

- Strong at stakeholder management and conflict resolution.

- Commercially oriented and able to identify business opportunities from partner conversations.

- Detail - oriented enough to track project execution while maintaining a strategic perspective.

- Comfortable interacting with senior management and external CXO - level stakeholders.

- Passionate about improving the partner experience and building a best - in - class platform.

6. CORE COMPETENCIES:

Relationship Management | Team Leadership | Stakeholder Management | Project Management | Product Understanding | Business Development | Cross - functional Collaboration | Problem Solving | Communication | Execution Excellence

7. ROLE PHILOSOPHY:

The successful candidate should function as the 'voice of the partner within' and the 'face of StAR MF for strategic partners.'

The expectation is that the individual does not merely pass partner requirements to Product, IT or Operations. Instead, they will own the requirement end - to - end, bring the relevant internal stakeholders together, drive resolution, manage expectations externally and ensure that the partner ultimately receives the solution within the committed timeline.