Partnerships Manager - Startup and VC Ecosystem, DACH

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 GTM Partnerships team at Airwallex helps build and activate the partner ecosystem that expands our reach, strengthens our market credibility, and generates high-quality commercial opportunities across priority segments. We work closely with regional commercial teams and cross-functional partners across Marketing, Strategy, and Operations to identify where partnerships can accelerate growth, unlock new audiences, and create repeatable go-to-market advantage. We move quickly, test new ideas, and hold a high bar for commercial impact, relationship quality, and execution excellence so our work delivers measurable outcomes over time. WHAT YOU’LL DO We are looking for a Startup and VC Ecosystem Partnerships Manager, DACH to build and scale Airwallex’s venture capital and startup ecosystem motion across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, with an initial focus on Germany as our priority growth market in the region. Based in Berlin, you will lead the local VC and startup ecosystem strategy across partnership development, portfolio activation, founder community engagement, and market-facing programmes, acting as the in-market owner who connects ecosystem relationships with pipeline generation and commercial execution. You will work closely with DACH sales leadership, the CPM Director, and cross-functional GTM teams to turn our startup and VC go-to-market priorities into measurable pipeline and revenue outcomes. This is a highly cross-functional role for a hands-on operator who can build from the ground up. You will own high-impact regional initiatives such as VC partnership development, founder and portfolio programmes, community events, ecosystem campaigns, and market-facing engagement, while ensuring strong alignment with sales and clear commercial follow-through. This role is based in our Berlin office, with a requirement to work from the office three days per week. We do not offer remote contracts for this position. RESPONSIBILITIES - Build and execute the DACH VC and startup ecosystem strategy, with a particular focus on accelerating pipeline and revenue growth in Germany. - Own the planning and execution of regional ecosystem programmes across venture capital partnerships, accelerators, founder communities, portfolio activation, and local market development initiatives. - Lead the end-to-end development of VC and startup partnerships in DACH, including sourcing, relationship-building, onboarding, joint planning, and activation, ensuring clear commercial goals and measurable pipeline impact. - Develop and strengthen relationships with key local ecosystems, including investors, platform teams, accelerators, incubators, founder communities, and strategic networks that matter in the DACH market. - Drive joint go-to-market initiatives with VC partners and ecosystem stakeholders, creating co-branded programmes, events, and referral plays that generate awareness, credibility, and opportunities. - Partner with regional sales and business leaders to translate commercial priorities into focused ecosystem plans, account support, and market-level growth plays for startup and scale-up audiences. - Work closely with Marketing, Strategy, and broader GTM teams to adapt and localise ecosystem programmes for DACH audiences, with a strong focus on founder, finance, and operator communities. - Lead the creation and localisation of German-language and region-specific ecosystem content, including partner messaging, founder-facing materials, event narratives, and other in-market assets where relevant. - Own the regional ecosystem lead journey from referral or engagement through handoff, ensuring tight coordination with sales and strong follow-up processes that maximise conversion from partnership activity. - Track, analyse, and communicate performance across partner and ecosystem channels, turning insights into clear recommendations and continuous optimisation. - Act as the voice of the DACH startup and VC ecosystem within the wider organisation, bringing local partner, founder, and competitive insight into regional and global planning. WHO YOU ARE We’re looking for people who meet the minimum requirements for this role. The preferred qualifications are great to have, but are not mandatory. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - Significant experience in partnerships, ecosystem development, business development, startup programmes, or related commercial roles in high-growth technology, fintech, SaaS, or adjacent sectors. - Direct experience working in or closely with the startup ecosystem, for example at a startup, scale-up, venture capital firm, accelerator, incubator, founder platform, or another ecosystem-led organisation. - Demonstrated success building and executing partnership or ecosystem plans that drive pipeline and commercial outcomes, particularly across venture capital, startup, or community-led motions. - Strong experience developing relationships and programmes that create measurable commercial outcomes, not just brand visibility. - Proven ability to work closely with sales and commercial teams to develop joint plans, align on targets, and deliver shared outcomes. - Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret channel and funnel performance, build clear narratives from data, and make data-driven decisions. - Excellent project ownership and execution skills, with the ability to operate as a self-starter in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment. - Strong written and verbal communication skills in English; German language capability is a strong advantage for market-facing work in DACH. - Ability to work from our Berlin office three days per week. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Experience building or scaling a regional ecosystem, partnerships, or startup motion, or serving as an early in-market hire in a new or rapidly growing region. - Prior experience working at a venture capital firm, in a VC platform or portfolio support role, or in a venture-backed startup or scale-up environment. - Experience in payments, financial services, SaaS, or other complex B2B categories with multi-product value propositions. - Strong understanding of the DACH startup, VC, founder, finance, and technology landscape, including relevant local ecosystems and networks. - Hands-on experience across partner development, ecosystem events, portfolio engagement, and founder or investor community-building. - Existing networks across DACH venture capital funds, accelerators, incubators, founder communities, or startup operators are strongly preferred. - Familiarity with modern GTM tools and workflows, including CRM, reporting, attribution, analytics, and partner or referral management platforms. - Demonstrated ability to influence across a matrixed organisation, collaborating effectively with regional and global stakeholders. 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.