Associate Director, Strategy & Operations - CEO Office

Job description

ABOUT AIRWALLEX 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 250,000 businesses worldwide – including Brex, 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 2,300 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 27 offices around the globe. Valued at US$11 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. ATTRIBUTES WE VALUE 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 https://www.airwallex.com/us/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. About the team The CEO Office works directly with Airwallex’s executive leadership on some of the company’s most important strategic, operational, and organizational priorities. This is a small, high-trust team responsible for solving complex, company-critical problems across global expansion, product strategy, financial infrastructure, organizational scaling, and AI transformation. The team helps leadership navigate ambiguity, accelerate execution, and drive alignment across the company during periods of rapid growth and change. Airwallex is building the global financial infrastructure for modern businesses. With operations spanning multiple continents and rapid growth across payments, banking, software, and AI-enabled financial products, the company is entering a critical phase of global scale and platform expansion. This role offers close exposure to senior leadership, direct involvement in high-stakes decision-making, and the opportunity to work on some of the hardest scaling challenges inside a global fintech platform. What you’ll do As part of the CEO Office, you will work closely with Airwallex’s leadership team on high-priority initiatives that shape the direction of the company globally. You will operate across strategy and execution: helping frame problems, drive alignment, and ensure complex initiatives move from idea to outcome. Projects may include: - Scaling new products and business lines globally - International expansion and market entry strategy - Regulatory and banking infrastructure initiatives - Organisational effectiveness and operating model design - Commercial acceleration and go-to-market execution - M&A evaluation and post-merger integration - AI-enabled operational transformation - Cross-functional strategic initiatives tied to company priorities You will regularly work with senior leaders across product, engineering, finance, commercial, legal, operations, and regional teams. This role is best suited to someone who thrives in high-context, high-accountability environments and is excited by solving difficult problems with imperfect information. The pace is fast, expectations are high, and the problems are often ambiguous, but the learning curve and opportunity for impact are exceptional. The role is designed for individuals who want to accelerate their development and take on increasingly broad leadership responsibility over time. Who you are You are intellectually curious, highly structured in your thinking, and execution-oriented. You are comfortable operating in ambiguity and able to move fluidly between strategic thinking and practical problem solving. You are someone who: - Learns quickly and enjoys steep learning curves - Communicates clearly and concisely - Has strong business judgment - Can balance detail orientation with speed - Is comfortable with high expectations and high ownership - Enjoys building rather than observing Minimum qualifications: - 5–8 years of experience in top-tier consulting, high-growth technology companies, investing, strategic finance, or similarly high-performance environments - Demonstrated track record of leading complex cross-functional initiatives and driving measurable outcomes - Exceptional problem-solving and structured thinking abilities - Strong executive communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex topics clearly and concisely - Ability to operate effectively in fast-moving, ambiguous environments with high ownership and accountability - Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills across seniority levels and functions - High degree of commercial judgment and operational pragmatism - Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience Preferred qualifications: - Experience in fintech, financial services, or other regulated industries - Experience working directly with senior executives or founders - Prior experience in consulting, investment banking, private equity, venture capital, or strategic finance - Experience scaling products, markets, or operational functions in international environments - Strong data analysis and business modeling capabilities - Demonstrated ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution APPLICANT SAFETY POLICY: FRAUD AND THIRD-PARTY RECRUITERS 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 http://airwallex.com email address. Please apply only through careers.airwallex.com http://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. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY 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.