Head of Partnerships, Japan

About the role

Japan is one of the most sophisticated enterprise technology markets in the world, and one where partners, not vendors, typically own the customer relationship. The Head of Partnerships, Japan will build and lead the team that makes Anthropic's partner ecosystem the primary route to Japanese enterprise.

You will set the partner strategy for Japan, develop the team that executes it, and own the partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline, revenue and attach rate for the country. You will personally lead our most strategic partner relationships at the executive level while coaching your team to do the same across the GSI, regional SI, and reseller landscape.

This is a player-coach role for an experienced partner leader who has built and scaled partner businesses in Japan before, ideally for a US technology company entering or growing in the market. You will work day to day with the Japan sales leadership and the in-region Applied AI team, represent Japan within Anthropic's International Partnerships organisation, and carry the voice of Japanese partners and customers into our global product and go-to-market decisions.

What you'll do

Lead and build the team

Hire, develop and retain a high-performing Japan partner team spanning GSI, regional SI and reseller coverage, sized and structured to the market opportunity

Set clear goals, territories and partner portfolios for each team member, and hold the team accountable to pipeline, revenue and attach-rate outcomes

Establish the team's operating cadence: one-on-ones, weekly pipeline reviews, deal inspection, partner QBRs and quarterly business planning

Coach the team on executive engagement, joint business planning and co-selling in Japanese enterprise accounts, and model those behaviours personally

Set and own the Japan partner strategy

Define which partner segments, partners and motions Anthropic prioritises in Japan, and in what sequence, based on revenue potential, customer reach and strategic fit

Design the partner coverage model across our partner landscape (NTT DATA, Fujitsu, NEC, Hitachi, Accenture and others), and where we go deep vs. broad.

Localise Anthropic's global partner program for Japan, including tiers, incentives, enablement paths and rules of engagement, and feed Japan requirements back into the global program design

Own the annual and quarterly partner business plan for Japan and report on it to International Partnerships leadership

Lead our most strategic partnerships

Own the executive relationships with Anthropic's most consequential partners in Japan, from joint business planning through to board-level sponsorship on both sides

Negotiate and structure partnership agreements, including resale, co-development and revenue-sharing constructs, working with Legal, Finance and Deal Desk

Lead the creation of joint solutions and industry offerings with partner practices in manufacturing, financial services, retail, telecommunications, life sciences and the public sector

Own partner pipeline, revenue and attach rate

Carry the Japan partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline and revenue targets, and the partner attach-rate target, for the team

Run a disciplined forecast with the team and with Japan sales leadership, ensuring partner deals are registered, progressed and closed with predictability

Decide where to deploy partner investments (market development funds, enablement, co-marketing, headcount) for the highest return

Build the reporting and systems hygiene that gives International Partnerships and Anthropic leadership a clear, trusted view of the Japan partner business

Represent Japan and drive cross-functional execution

Act as the single point of accountability for the partner business in Japan with Japan sales leadership, the Applied AI organisation, Marketing, Legal and Product

Ensure Japanese partner and customer requirements, including language, data residency, security and sovereignty needs, are understood and prioritised by global product and engineering teams

Partner with the Japan sales leader to embed partners into account planning and co-selling for the country's priority accounts

Resolve channel conflict between direct sales, SIs and resellers, and set the rules of engagement that keep the ecosystem healthy as it grows

Be the face of Anthropic's partner ecosystem in Japan

Represent Anthropic at partner executive forums, industry conferences and analyst engagements related to the partner ecosystem

Sponsor the development of Japanese customer success stories, delivered with partners, that resonate with Japanese enterprise buyers

Build Anthropic's reputation as the partner-first AI company in Japan through the way your team shows up every day

What we're looking for

15 to 20+ years in enterprise technology, with a substantial portion leading partner, alliances or channel businesses in Japan

5+ years of people leadership over partner or alliance teams, with a track record of hiring, developing and retaining strong performers

Direct experience building a partner business in Japan for a US or global technology company, ideally through a period of rapid growth or market entry (hyperscaler, enterprise SaaS, data or AI platform)

Proven ownership of partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue targets at a country or regional level, with the forecasting discipline to match

Established executive relationships with Japan's major system integrators, consulting firms, and a reputation they would vouch for

Experience negotiating complex partnership structures: resale agreements, joint solution development, and revenue-sharing or incentive models

Demonstrated ability to operate as a player-coach, personally owning strategic relationships while building a team that scales beyond you

Comfort shaping strategy in ambiguity and turning it into an operating plan, while working closely with global teams in other time zones

Business-level fluency in Japanese and English, and the cultural fluency to move between Japanese enterprise norms and a fast-moving US company

Based in Tokyo

Strong candidates may also have

Experience with AI, data or cloud platform partnerships specifically, including partner-built solutions and marketplace motions

Experience on the partner side, inside a Japanese SI or distributor, and an understanding of how those organisations make decisions

Experience localising a global partner program for Japan and influencing its design

Experience working alongside professional services or applied AI teams to deliver partner-led customer outcomes