Partner Lead, Japan Business Team

The World Economic Forum is an international organization that brings together leaders from business, government, academia, and civil society to build industry, regional and global agendas, address systemic issues, and improve the state of the world.

The Regional Business Team is responsible for building and managing the strategic engagement and development of existing and new Forum Partners in Asia Pacific, China, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, South Asia and Japan across Industry Communities, the 11 Forum Centres, and our Forum events.

We are currently searching for a Partner Lead for Japan, who will focus on building and reinforcing strategic relationships and interactions with senior executives from Forum Partner companies while developing and supporting the development and conversion of a pipeline of new Forum Partners. He or She will closely work with Partner Success specialists in the Japan team, who manage day-to-day interaction with the operation contacts of Forum Partner companies.

The Partner Lead for Japan will report to the Head of Business Engagement, Japan.

Responsibilities include:

Partner Engagement

• Building and maintaining executive-level relationships with key executives (from CEO, C-suite/Ex. Com., to Executive Contacts) with close coordination with the Partner Services Team in Japan.
• Ensuring retention by developing tailored engagement plans for Partners to address their priorities and deepen their engagement in the most relevant Forum activities, in collaboration with the Partner Success Team.
• Visiting Partners on a recurrent basis to discuss institutional priorities, building executives’ agendas in collaboration with the Partner Success Team.
• Monitoring Partner news, health, and quality and depth of engagement across Industries, Centres, and Forum events on a recurrent basis to identify risks for engagement.
• Communicating detected risks and taking preventive measures to address them by mobilizing the relevant teams as needed and in collaboration with the Partner Services Team.
• Ensuring all Partner interactions are accurately documented in Salesforce, notifying the Partner Success Team and all relevant internal stakeholders about any actions to be taken to ensure effective Partner engagement.
• Developing an in-depth understanding of Partners’ strategies and priorities, and of the regions and industry sectors in which they operate.

Partner Development

• Lead business and partner development initiatives, ensuring strategic alignment with regional goals and organizational priorities.
• Identify and develop a robust pipeline of potential new partners in Japan, aligning with the Forum's strategic goals and regional needs.
• Engage potential partners to discuss institutional priorities and advance new partnership discussions in collaboration with the Japan Business team.
• Gain a deep understanding of the Japanese market and industry trends to effectively network and engage with top executives.
• Manage the region’s collaboration and interface with relevant Forum colleagues, including Heads of Industries, ensuring that senior colleagues are leveraged and deployed for new partner development.
• Design and implement strategic initiatives to engage and onboard potential partners, ensuring these efforts are aligned with key performance indicators.

People Management

• Team management responsibilities, including supervision and guidance of local business team members within the Japan office.
• Oversight and coordination of business engagement and partner retention efforts in close collaboration with the Partner Success Team.

To be successful, a Partner Lead should:

• Build and nurture impactful relationships with C-suite executives to enhance partner engagement and retention.
• Leverage analytics to drive engagement strategies and actively expand the partner portfolio.
• Utilize Salesforce to its full potential, enhancing partner relationship management and documentation.
• Ensure the 'One-Forum' approach in all interactions, fostering seamless collaboration across internal teams for optimal partner experience.

Preferred Requirements and Experience:

• Master’s degree or equivalent.
• 10+ years of relevant professional experience in a relevant industry sector, preferably in banking, investment banking, or consulting.
• Proven track record engaging with CEOs and C-suite executives, translating business needs into solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to engage effectively with senior executives and translate business needs into actionable strategies.
• Strong negotiation skills and the ability to influence decision-making processes.
• Comprehensive understanding of the Japanese business environment.
• Exceptional collaborative and management skills to drive team success.
• Native Japanese speaker with excellent communication skills in English; proficiency in another language is a plus.
• Willingness to travel up to 40% of the time to engage with partners, prospects, and stakeholders.

Why join us?

Join an independent and impartial organization with over 55 years of connecting leaders to make sense of global challenges and move the world forward together.