Head of SME & Growth, Malaysia

ABOUT AIRWALLEX Airwallex is the AI-native financial operating system for a real-time, intelligent economy. More than 675,000 businesses, including McLaren Racing, Qantas, SHEIN, and TikTok, use us, directly or through our platform partners, to run their financial operations or build and monetize financial products of their own. We started in Melbourne in 2015 to build the infrastructure global commerce runs on. We're the regulated backbone behind global payments: not by accident, but by design. A decade plus, 85+ licenses, and a financial infrastructure spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. We're co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, with more than 2,300 people across 27 offices. We hire builders with founder-level energy, people who move fast with good judgment, dig in with real curiosity, and make calls from first principles rather than waiting to be told what to do. Read our operating principles https://www.airwallex.com/en-us/operating-principles to see it in full.   ABOUT THE TEAM The SME & Growth Business team at Airwallex is a passionate group of collaborators and business champions dedicated to empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to thrive in the global economy. We combine deep financial expertise with a growth mindset, working closely with our clients to understand their unique needs and develop tailored solutions that streamline cross-border payments and unlock new revenue streams. As a team, we are driven by a desire to make a positive impact and are constantly innovating to find new ways to support the success of our SME customers. WHAT YOU’LL DO You’ll build and lead the Malaysia SME & Growth sales organisation, with a particular focus on Channel Partnership Managers (CPMs) and Inbound Sales Representatives (ISRs). You’ll own the go-to-market strategy across inbound, outbound and partnership motions, and be accountable for new business and gross profit targets. A central part of the role will be designing and scaling an integrated CPM and ISR operating model that turns partner referrals and inbound demand into activated, growing customers. You’ll work closely with regional teams to strengthen Airwallex’s position with Malaysian SMEs and the wider business ecosystem. This role is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. RESPONSIBILITIES - Build and lead the Malaysia SME & Growth sales organisation, including hiring, coaching, performance management and career development for CPM and ISR teams. - Design and scale the CPM and ISR pod model, with clear ownership rules, service-level agreements, lead-routing processes and handovers into Mid-book and Account Management teams. - Own Malaysia new business and gross profit targets for SME & Growth, setting pipeline and activity targets while driving disciplined sales hygiene, forecasting and performance reviews across inbound, outbound and partnership motions. - Develop and execute a channel partnerships strategy for Malaysia by identifying, acquiring and growing high-potential partners, including corporate secretaries, accounting and consulting firms, digital platforms and other ecosystem partners. - Partner with Marketing and GTM Partnerships on campaigns, events and partner-led plays that generate inbound demand and referrals, and ensure strong lead routing, conversion and reporting across CPM and ISR teams. - Work with Product, Payments, Operations and regional leadership to enable the sales organisation on Airwallex’s product stack, strengthen CRM and data quality, embed AI-enabled sales tools, and bring local market insight into regional planning and SEA expansion. WHO YOU ARE We’re looking for people who meet the minimum requirements below. The preferred qualifications are great to have, but not mandatory. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - 10+ years of experience in sales and business development in high-growth environments, including end-to-end ownership of complex B2B deals. - 5+ years of experience leading sales teams or sales managers, ideally across inside or inbound sales and channel or partnership motions. - A proven track record of building and leading high-performing sales teams and commercial motions that consistently meet or exceed revenue and gross profit targets, with experience designing lead-routing, handover and shared-KPI models across CPM, ISR, AE and AM teams. - Strong knowledge of payments and financial technology, with familiarity with Payment Service Provider (PSP) and merchant acquiring models, and the ability to translate complex products into clear customer value for SMEs and platforms. - Experience running a data-driven sales organisation through CRM and commercial tools such as Salesforce, including pipeline management, forecasting, territory management and performance tracking, as well as experience using or piloting AI-enabled sales and productivity tools. - Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, fluency in English, and strong knowledge of the Malaysian business environment, with the confidence to engage local SMEs, partners and, where needed, regulators. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Direct experience in a PSP, payment gateway, acquirer or payments-focused fintech, or in a fast-growing technology company selling to SMEs or enterprise customers in Southeast Asia. - Experience building or scaling a new market or country P&L, including headcount planning and go-to-market design and execution across inbound, outbound and partnerships. - Hands-on experience with channel partner programmes in ecosystems such as accounting or ERP platforms, ecommerce platforms, payment orchestrators or corporate service providers, including revenue-share structures and partner performance management. - Familiarity with high-velocity sales environments, including CPM, ISR and AM pod models, service-level-agreement-driven handovers and structured performance management, together with the ability to build structure and…