Head of SME & Growth, Japan

About Airwallex Airwallex is the AI-native financial operating system for a real-time, intelligent economy. More than 676,000 businesses, including McLaren Racing, Qantas, SHEIN, and TikTok, use us, directly or through our platform partners, to run their financial operations or build and monetize financial products of their own. We started in Melbourne in 2015 to build the infrastructure global commerce runs on. We're the regulated backbone behind global payments: not by accident, but by design. A decade plus, 85+ licenses, and a financial infrastructure spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. We're co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, with more than 2,300 people across 27 offices. We hire builders with founder-level energy, people who move fast with good judgment, dig in with real curiosity, and make calls from first principles rather than waiting to be told what to do. Read our operating principles to see it in full. About the team The SME & Growth Business team at Airwallex is a passionate group of collaborators and business champions dedicated to empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to thrive in the global economy. We combine deep financial expertise with a growth mindset, working closely with our clients to understand their unique needs and develop tailored solutions that streamline cross-border payments and unlock new revenue streams. As a team, we are driven by a desire to make a positive impact and are constantly innovating to find new ways to support the success of our SME customers. What you'll do As the head of sales, you will actively contribute to the country’s sales strategy and execution - managing the Japan sales team while also building and scaling channel partnerships as a key growth engine. Your mission is to drive rapid customer acquisition, revenue growth, and market share expansion across Japan’s SME and mid-market segments. This is a high-impact leadership role where you’ll work cross-functionally with strategy, product, marketing, and operations to establish Airwallex as the default fintech platform for Japanese businesses. Responsibilities: Actively contribute towards and execute the go-to-market strategy for Japan, including direct sales and channel-driven approaches, aligned with company-wide goals Build, manage, and mentor the Japan sales team, ensuring strong execution, continuous improvement, and career development Design and scale a robust channel partner program in Japan - identifying, onboarding, and enabling partners (e.g., e-commerce/digital agencies, incorporation agents, accountants etc.) to generate high-quality referrals and drive growth Act as a thought leader and Airwallex brand ambassador, building strategic relationships with key ecosystem players including start-up investors, accelerators, and other relevant communities Partner with marketing teams to launch high-impact campaigns and co-marketing activities with both direct and channel leads Provide strategic market feedback to product and operations teams to shape offerings and ensure strong local product-market fit in Japan Report on sales performance, pipeline, and partner impact, with a focus on data-driven decision making and accountability Who you are We're looking for people who meet the minimum requirements for this role. The preferred qualifications are great to have, but are not mandatory. Minimum qualifications: Proven experience leading high-performing sales teams, with a strong track record of delivering growth and managing full-cycle sales teams in Japan, preferably in a tech/startup environment Demonstrated ability to contribute towards and execute strategic go-to-market plans and work cross-functionally across strategy, marketing, product, and operations teams Proven experience in developing and scaling channel/indirect sales programs in the Japanese market Deep understanding of the Japanese SME and startup landscape, including cultural nuance, decision-making str