Head of Partnerships Strategy & Operations

Responsibilities

• Define the global partnership strategy across Financial and Strategic verticals, including market entry and product expansion analyses.
• Act as the primary architect for complex deal structuring, overseeing economic modeling, risk assessment, and commercial negotiations.
• Own the global partnership operating model, including governance forums, QBRs, and value-tracking mechanisms to ensure ROI.
• Orchestrate cross-functional alignment between Partnerships and Product, Engineering, Treasury, Risk, and Legal teams.
• Design and manage business performance metrics and KPIs to provide executive visibility into pipeline health and execution risks.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the VP of Financial & Strategic Partnerships, drafting Board-ready materials and leading special projects.
• Lead and develop a high-performing Strategy & Operations team, fostering analytical rigor and operational speed.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in Strategy, Corporate Development, BizOps, or Partnership Strategy, ideally in high-growth tech or financial services.
• Proven ability to size markets, model complex deal economics, and distill problems into actionable workplans.
• Demonstrated experience building scalable governance processes and operational mechanisms from the ground up.
• Success in leading and developing high-performing strategic teams.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to influence C-level stakeholders and translate technical complexity into clear narratives.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Finance, Engineering, or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience in Fintech and Payments, specifically working with banks, card schemes, or embedded finance infrastructure.
• Prior experience in leadership roles such as Strategy Lead, Chief of Staff, or BizOps Leader reporting to VP+ or C-level executives.
• Experience at a premier global consultancy (e.g., McKinsey, Bain, or BCG) or a high-growth late-stage technology company.
• Experience establishing partner operations or commercial excellence functions at a global scale.

About the Company

Airwallex is a unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 200,000 businesses worldwide—including Brex, Rippling, and Qantas—to manage business accounts, payments, spend management, and treasury at a global scale. Valued at US$8 billion, Airwallex is building the future of global banking.