Head of Startups, ANZ

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 As Head of Startups, ANZ, you will shape how Airwallex shows up in this market and build the commercial engine behind it — connecting ecosystem partnerships, founder programmes and segment sales into one high-performing motion that drives pipeline, adoption and revenue. WHAT YOU WILL DO - Lead the ANZ startup segment strategy, with accountability for commercial outcomes including pipeline generation, activation, conversion and revenue contribution - Build and evolve the startup operating model across sales, partnerships, community, events and startup-focused programmes, including Latitude 37 - Partner closely with the commercial team to strengthen the startup sales motion and ensure ecosystem activity is translated into high-quality pipeline - Define segment priorities, target customer profiles and focus areas to guide investment and execution - Establish clear operating rhythms across sales, partnerships, marketing and community teams to improve coordination and execution - Develop repeatable acquisition and engagement motions across founder, portfolio and ecosystem channels - Design effective lead routing and handoff processes into the broader commercial organisation - Expand and deepen relationships with leading VCs, accelerators, incubators and founder networks across ANZ - Represent Airwallex externally across the startup ecosystem through events, partner engagement and founder-facing activity - Track segment performance, programme effectiveness and ROI, and provide clear reporting to leadership RESPONSIBILITIES - Own the strategy and execution of the ANZ startup segment - Build the operating model that supports scalable growth across the segment - Drive alignment across sales, growth, product and marketing on startup priorities - Strengthen ecosystem partnerships and extend the impact of programmes such as Latitude 37 - Improve the connection between ecosystem engagement and commercial outcomes - Monitor performance and continuously refine the segment approach based on data and results WHO YOU ARE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - Experience in venture capital, a venture platform team, startup partnerships, or a commercial leadership role focused on the startup ecosystem - A track record of building and scaling programmes, functions or go-to-market motions with clear structure, process and performance metrics - Experience working closely with sales teams and contributing to pipeline and revenue outcomes - Strong understanding of the ANZ startup landscape, with an established network or the credibility to build one quickly - Commercially minded and data-driven, with experience owning or influencing growth KPIs - Strong cross-functional leadership skills, with the ability to align multiple stakeholders around a shared strategy and operating model PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Experience in fintech, payments, SaaS infrastructure or developer platforms - Experience as a founder, investor, or operator within a startup or accelerator environment - A track record of scaling an existing ecosystem, programme or segment motion - Comfort operating in both external and internal leadership settings, from founder engagement through to process and operating cadence design - Experience supporting startups with international expansion 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.