Head of Government Relations

Airwallex is the only unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by our unique combination of proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 200,000 businesses worldwide – including Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more – with fully integrated solutions to manage everything from business accounts, payments, spend management and treasury, to embedded finance at a global scale.

Proudly founded in Melbourne, we have a team of over 2,000 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 26 offices around the globe. Valued at US$8 billion and backed by world-leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Visa, Mastercard, Robinhood Ventures, Sequoia, Salesforce Ventures, DST Global, and Lone Pine Capital, Airwallex is leading the charge in building the global payments and financial platform of the future. If you’re ready to do the most ambitious work of your career, join us.

We hire successful builders with founder-like energy who want real impact, accelerated learning, and true ownership. You bring strong role-related expertise and sharp thinking, and you’re motivated by our mission and operating principles. You move fast with good judgment, dig deep with curiosity, and make decisions from first principles, balancing speed and rigor.

You're humble and collaborative; turn zero‑to‑one ideas into real products, and you “get stuff done” end-to-end. You use AI to work smarter and solve problems faster. Here, you’ll tackle complex, high‑visibility problems with exceptional teammates and grow your career as we build the future of global banking. If that sounds like you, let’s build what’s next.

The Head of Government Relations (U.S.) will be Airwallex’s senior federal and state policy lead serving as the primary liaison to lawmakers, regulators, think tanks, and key external partners in Washington, D.C, and the US. This is a high‑profile, cross‑functional role that combines strategic policy design, hands‑on advocacy, and operational leadership, including managing external lobbying firms and agency partners. The person in this role will translate commercial priorities into clear policy asks, mitigate political and regulatory risk, and elevate Airwallex’s profile as a constructive partner in building businesses, creating jobs and economic opportunity, facilitating business growth, and shaping fintech policy.

• Strategy & planning: Design and execute a comprehensive U.S. government relations strategy that advances business objectives, reduces regulatory friction, and aligns with Airwallex’s product and market roadmap.
  

• Federal & state advocacy: Lead direct engagement with Congress, relevant federal agencies (e.g., DOJ, FinCEN, OFAC, SEC, CFPB), state banking departments, and state legislatures to influence outcomes and protect the business.
  

• External counsel & lobbying management: Select, direct, and coordinate outside lobbying firms, issue‑specific consultants, and coalitions to maximize influence and ensure consistent execution and compliance across engagements.
  

• Coalition building & trade associations: Represent Airwallex in industry associations and multi‑stakeholder coalitions; build pragmatic alliances with peers, trade bodies, and civil society when strategic.
  

• Regulatory intelligence & counsel: Monitor legislation and rulemakings; synthesize technical and political signals for senior leadership and recommend tactical responses (e.g., comments, meetings, coalition activity).
  

• Cross‑functional partnership: Work closely with Legal, Compliance, Product, Government Affairs colleagues across markets, Communications, and the Executive team to craft policy positions, public narratives, and stakeholder materials. Proactively identify potential issues, mitigants, and solutions.
  

• Risk & compliance: Ensure all federal and state lobbying disclosures, political activity reporting, and other compliance obligations are met and that external partners follow Airwallex’s compliance protocols. The right individual ensures we proactively identify risks and contribute to reasonable outcomes and solutions that drive the business forward.
  

• Public presence & thought leadership: Secure and prepare senior leaders for Hill meetings, agency engagements, and public speaking opportunities that raise Airwallex’s profile.
  

• Team building & resourcing: The role does not have direct reports initially, but with progressive success, wins, and demonstrated impact, there may be an opportunity to build and manage a high‑performing team as the function scales, including defining budget, KPIs, and relationships with external firms.

• Experience: 10+ years in government relations, public policy, or related roles in the public/ private sector with relevant government/regulatory agency experience. Demonstrated experience working with federal policy and state rulemaking is essential.
  

• Relationships: Deep, demonstrable relationships across the federal policy community, Hill staff, relevant agency decision‑makers, and senior officials, and experience in building bipartisan credibility.
  

• Subject matter knowledge: Strong familiarity with financial services and fintech regulatory frameworks (payments, money‑transmission, AML/CTF, sanctions enforcement, consumer finance, data privacy, and digital assets). Prior work touching FinCEN, OFAC, SEC, CFPB, or state banking regulators is highly desirable.
  

• External engagement: Proven track record managing and directing outside lobbying firms, consultants, and coalitions to advance outcomes.
  

• Communication & advising: Exceptional writing and oral advocacy skills; experience briefing C‑suite and board members and translating technical issues into business impact.
  

• Leadership: Ability to demonstrate thought leadership and partnership across the business while operating independently with strong judgment in a fast‑moving environment.
  

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (J.D., MPP/MPA, MBA or equivalent) strongly preferred.
  

• Prior experience in fintech, payments, data, AI, and/or digital assets policy work.
  

• Prior Hill or federal agency experience (staffer, policy adviser, regulator) or time at a major corporate government affairs function in the tech sector.
  

• Track record of building multi‑stakeholder coalitions and running successful regulatory comment campaigns or legislative engagement strategies.
  

• Experience working with trade associations or running state‑level campaigns.

To protect you from recruitment scams, please be aware that Airwallex will not ask for bank details, sensitive ID numbers (i.e. passport), or any form of payment during the application or interview process. All official communication will come from an @airwallex.com email address. Please apply only through careers.airwallex.com or our official LinkedIn page.

Airwallex does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms/recruiters. Airwallex will not pay any fees to search firms/recruiters if a candidate is submitted by a search firm/recruiter unless an agreement has been entered into with respect to specific open position(s). Search firms/recruiters submitting resumes to Airwallex on an unsolicited basis shall be deemed to accept this condition, regardless of any other provision to the contrary.

Airwallex is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and anyone seeking employment at Airwallex is considered based on merit, qualifications, competence and talent. We don’t regard color, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, citizenship, sex, marital or family status, disability, gender, or any other legally protected status when making our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.