Head, Sales and Partnerships – APAC

Kora

Head of Sales & Partnerships responsible for revenue growth across APAC for payment infrastructure. Developing strategic partnerships and leading commercial success in the Africa-Asia corridor.

Posted 8/2/2026full-timeShanghai • 🇨🇳 ChinaLeadWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in enterprise B2B sales and strategic partnerships within the fintech and payments sectors, with a strong focus on cross-border payment infrastructure and regulatory compliance. Proven ability to lead high-performing commercial teams and drive market expansion through effective negotiation and relationship management.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Enterprise B2B SalesStrategic PartnershipsCross-Border PaymentsRegulatory ComplianceTeam Leadership

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Pipeline GenerationComplex NegotiationsMarket Entry InitiativesRevenue-Share ModelsPayment InfrastructureAML/KYC RequirementsLicensing ModelsSettlement InfrastructureDigital Financial InfrastructureCommercial Agreements

Soft Skills

Executive CommunicationStakeholder Management

Industry Keywords

FintechPaymentsBankingFinancial InstitutionsAPAC MarketsPayment RailsStablecoinsCorrespondent BankingCommercial PlaybookPartnership Models

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Ruby on Rails

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Own the APAC commercial target, including pipeline generation, conversion, closed revenue, and expansion.
Build and manage a pipeline of banks, fintechs, payment companies, remittance businesses, enterprises, PSPs, and financial institutions that require Africa–Asia payment infrastructure.
Develop and execute Kora's APAC partnership strategy by identifying and securing relationships with banks, payment aggregators, wallet providers, stablecoin issuers, correspondent banks, and licensed financial institutions that strengthen our payment infrastructure and unlock new corridors.
Identify the commercial and infrastructure requirements for priority Africa–Asia payment corridors.
Define Kora's commercial playbook for Asia. Refine ICPs, pricing strategy, sales messaging, partnership models, and regional GTM execution based on direct market feedback.
Lead complex commercial negotiations covering enterprise contracts, strategic partnerships, pricing models, revenue-sharing agreements, licensing partnerships, and long-term commercial arrangements.
Identify and structure commercial relationships with licensed financial institutions that enable market entry while working closely with Legal and Compliance.
Monitor competitor activity, pricing trends, customer demand, regulatory developments, payment infrastructure evolution, and emerging corridor opportunities, providing regular insights to executive leadership.
Translate customer and partner feedback into actionable product requirements around payment methods, currencies, settlement models, compliance requirements, APIs, and infrastructure capabilities.
Grow strategic relationships beyond the initial contract. Identify expansion opportunities, deepen adoption, increase transaction volumes, and ensure both customers and partners continue creating measurable commercial value.
Recruit, develop, and lead Kora's APAC commercial organisation, including Sales, Partnerships, and Account Management as the business scales.

Requirements

What you’ll need

8+ years of experience in enterprise B2B sales, business development, or strategic partnerships within fintech, payments, banking, or financial infrastructure.
Demonstrated success closing complex enterprise deals with banks, fintechs, payment companies, or financial institutions across APAC.
Proven ability to originate and negotiate strategic partnerships that directly enabled commercial growth or market expansion.
Strong understanding of cross-border payments, correspondent banking, settlement infrastructure, payment rails, stablecoins, and digital financial infrastructure.
Experience building new markets, launching regional commercial operations, or leading market-entry initiatives.
Comfortable leading both enterprise sales cycles and strategic partnership negotiations.
Experience negotiating commercial agreements, revenue-share models, partnership structures, and enterprise contracts.
Strong understanding of AML/KYC requirements, licensing models, regulatory frameworks, and compliance considerations across Asian markets.
Deep commercial network within one or more APAC financial markets.
Demonstrated experience building and leading high-performing commercial teams.
Able to operate independently while maintaining disciplined forecasting, reporting, and pipeline management.
Strong executive communication and stakeholder management skills.
Fluency in English is required. Mandarin, Chinese or another major Asian language is a strong advantage.
Comfortable with frequent travel across APAC and periodic travel to Africa.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Sponsored and tailored training
Paid parental leave
Paid time-off
Access to up to four therapy sessions monthly
Day off on your birthday 🎂 🎁 🎉
Employee interest groups that provide supportive communities within Kora
Great company culture and the opportunity to work with a highly collaborative team building something great!