Channel BD Manager - Japan

职位描述

Strategic Partnerships & Relationship Management

- Serve as the primary relationship owner for key payment partners in Japan, including banks, acquirers, PSPs, card networks, digital wallets, and other strategic ecosystem partners.

- Develop and deepen long-term partnerships through regular business reviews, senior stakeholder engagement, and ongoing commercial collaboration.

- Build trusted relationships with key decision-makers and functional stakeholders across partner organizations.

- Lead partner discussions covering commercial opportunities, product capabilities, operational performance, service improvements, and strategic priorities.

- Act as the primary escalation point for critical partner matters and coordinate effective resolution across internal and external stakeholders.

- Establish strong governance and communication mechanisms with strategic partners to ensure alignment, accountability, and effective execution.

Business Development & Partnership Expansion

- Identify and develop new partnership opportunities across acquiring, alternative payment methods, digital wallets, banking infrastructure, and other local payment capabilities.

- Own the end-to-end partnership lifecycle, including market mapping, partner identification, opportunity assessment, commercial negotiation, due diligence, contracting, onboarding, and launch.

- Lead commercial negotiations covering pricing, commercial models, service levels, operational requirements, and partnership terms.

- Evaluate potential partners based on commercial value, product capabilities, operational resilience, regulatory considerations, and long-term strategic fit.

- Build and maintain a strong pipeline of strategic payment partnerships and new channel opportunities.

- Support the launch and commercialization of new payment methods and capabilities in the Japanese market.

- Identify opportunities to improve payment coverage, economics, customer experience, and overall competitiveness.

Market Intelligence & Strategic Planning

- Maintain a strong understanding of the Japanese payments landscape, including key market participants, payment methods, regulatory developments, competitive dynamics, and consumer payment trends.

- Track developments across local banks, acquirers, PSPs, digital wallets, card schemes, and emerging payment technologies.

- Provide regular market intelligence, competitive insights, and strategic recommendations to regional and global stakeholders.

- Translate local market developments into actionable recommendations for product roadmaps, partnership priorities, and payment strategy.

- Identify gaps in the existing payment proposition and recommend opportunities for new partnerships or product capabilities.

- Contribute to the development and execution of the company’s medium- and long-term Japan payments strategy.

Cross-Functional Leadership

- Act as the key local interface between the Japan payments ecosystem and regional/global internal teams.

- Work closely with Product and Engineering teams to define local requirements and support the delivery of new payment integrations.

- Partner with Commercial teams to support merchant opportunities and strategic customer requirements.

- Collaborate with Risk, Compliance, and Legal teams on partner due diligence, regulatory developments, and local compliance requirements.

- Coordinate with Operations teams to improve service quality and resolve payment-related issues.

- Drive alignment across multiple stakeholders and ensure local initiatives progress according to agreed priorities and timelines.

Local Market Ownership

- Take strong ownership of the overall health and development of the company’s payment partnerships in Japan.

- Serve as a local subject-matter expert on the Japanese payments ecosystem.

- Represent the company in partner meetings, industry discussions, conferences, and other relevant external engagements.

- Develop and maintain a high-quality professional network across banks, payment companies, fintechs, industry associations, and other relevant stakeholders.

- Operate independently while maintaining close alignment with regional and global leadership.

- Balance strategic market development with hands-on execution of day-to-day partnership priorities.

任职要求

Professional Experience

- 5–8 years of relevant professional experience in payments, fintech, banking, or a related industry in Japan.

- Demonstrated experience in Payments Partnerships, Business Development, Strategic Partnerships, or Commercial Development.

- Prior experience with Japanese banks, acquirer, PSP, digital wallet, payment gateway, payment institution, or fintech company is strongly preferred.

- Proven experience managing external partners and complex commercial relationships.

- Experience negotiating commercial agreements and driving partnerships from initial discussions through implementation and launch.

- Experience working with regional or global teams in an international organization is highly desirable.

Payments Industry Knowledge

- Strong understanding of the Japanese payments ecosystem and its key participants.

- Familiarity with card acquiring, payment gateways, digital wallets, alternative payment methods, and bank-based payment solutions.

- Good knowledge of major payment methods and brands in Japan, including JCB, PayPay, Rakuten Pay, and other relevant local payment solutions.

- Understanding of payment flows, authorization processes, settlement models, transaction performance, and partner operating models.

- Ability to understand technical and operational payment topics and effectively collaborate with Product and tech teams.

- General familiarity with Japan’s payment regulatory environment and the ability to work effectively with Legal, Risk, and Compliance teams.

Commercial & Partnership Capabilities

- Strong commercial judgment and ability to assess the strategic and financial value of potential partnerships.

- Demonstrated negotiation skills across pricing, service levels, commercial terms, and partnership structures.

- Ability to build trusted, long-term relationships with senior external stakeholders.

- Strong stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to influence across organizations without direct authority.

- Ability to manage multiple partner relationships and initiatives simultaneously.

Network

- Existing professional network within the Japanese payments or financial services ecosystem is highly desirable.

- Relationships with Japanese banks, acquirers, PSPs, digital wallets, or other payment companies would be an advantage.

Language Skills

- Native or near-native Japanese with the ability to independently manage senior partner relationships, commercial negotiations, contract discussions, and local business communication.

- Business-level English with the ability to communicate effectively with regional and global stakeholders in both written and verbal settings.