Head of Commercial - Payments, Japan

Job title: Commercial Head, Payments, Japan

Business Unit/Function: Global Blue Payments _Commercial

Reports to: Regional Head of Commercial APAC

Direct no. of reports:4

Location: Japan

Job type: Permanent

Workload: Full Time

AWM Designation: Collaborator

AWM % in hub office: 20%-40% per week

SOX Controller: [Yes/No] No

SOX Preparer [Yes/No] No

Purpose of the role

Nature and aim of the position.

Global Blue a leading provider of Dynamic Currency Conversion and Multi-Currency Payment solutions and hotel & retail gateway solutions is seeking a Head of Commercial Payments to manage our key key financial institution partners and manager our commercial payments business in Japan.

Context of the role

Reporting to the Regional Head of Commercial Asia, this is a Japan based position to manage the Japan team as well as manage the key relationships with our major acquiring partners. A good understanding of the financial Institutions payment and retail ecosystem/payment value chain is required.

The person will need to have extensive experience in dealing with the major payment networks and the mega bank acquirers driven and managing staff. This will be a hands-on role with deep involvement in execution, leading from the front. As well as manage existing partners, so will need good relationship and interpersonal skills, with a good understanding of Japanese business culture.

This is a commercial role and responsible for driving business growth and revenues.

Key Responsibilities

• Creating and executing the overall sales and business development plan for GB across the Financial Institution/Payment Service Provider market in Japan with management.
• Develop and manager the local team to manage and grow the local business.
• Developing and managing existing Financial Institution/Payment Service Provider strategic partnerships such as MUN, SMCC, UC Card and whilst managing the broader team to business development and relationships including JCN and merchant acquisition.
• Hands on management of day to day activities of existing partners in relation to the GB product suite they utilise, working closely with C suite management.
• Developing sales strategies using your market expertise to maximise go-to-market resources and execute against relevant opportunities.
• Ensuring excellent communication and internal coordination to roll-out new services, considering market specificity (regulation, competition etc.)
• Providing timely reports to the Sales Ops team regarding performance, sales activity, account management and strategy, as well as advise on local industry trends.
• Initiate and maintain a strong links between customers and back-office services to ease communication and facilitate the resolution of any issues.
• Effectively communicate the needs of your partners to the support team.

Qualifications and Education Requirements

At GB we set out clear expectations for the business and you to succeed, it is equally important for us in defining not only the nature of the role responsibilities but that the cultural fit in working style and approach is a match! So please read carefully below before putting yourself forward

• Strong academic background, such as a degree in Business, Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, or an equivalent.
• ~3-5+ years of B2B business development experience covering a multi-region remit within the payments industry.
• Has a strong existing network of PSP’s, Acquirers, Banks, Tier one Merchants and Marketplaces in Japan finance industry.
• Extensive experiences of negotiations with C-level executives.
• Strong balance of both strategic planning and active hands-on approach is a must. 
• Must possess a can-do, entrepreneurial drive, focusing on solving problems creatively with a high level of energy. This is critical both as a cultural fit and based on the nature of internal business growth plans.
• Strong organization skills, management of priorities and the ability to work under pressure.
• Ability to influence and build credibility across all levels, hence building collaborative relationships.
• Proven ability to operate in a fast paced, global, complex, and geographically diverse company.
• Excellent verbal & written communication skills in English & Japanese.