Account Executive Manager
Block is hiring an Account Executive Manager in Tokyo, Japan. Level rates it ; you can apply on Block.
Level's read on this job
- On Level's scale, this sales role is Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
- Level classes it as an executive role.
- Block has 199 other open roles on Level.
- Posted in the last few days.
AI in this role
The Role
As a Sales Manager, you'll lead a team of Account Executives and own one of our most critical growth levers in-market: developing talent that consistently outperforms while helping Japanese sellers succeed. This role is about building a high-performance sales organization where every hire raises the bar, every coaching conversation sharpens execution, and every decision is grounded in data — all within the realities of the Japanese market.
You'll operate at the intersection of local and global. You'll adapt our global playbooks to how deals are actually won in Japan — where trust is earned over time, decisions are made by consensus, and relationships matter as much as the commercial case. You'll bring the rigor, along with the energy.
You'll be expected to coach in the work, not after it. You'll diagnose pipeline health before it becomes a forecasting problem, develop future leaders before promotions become necessary, and create an operating rhythm that enables predictable, repeatable growth in a market with long, relationship-driven sales cycles.
You'll partner cross-functionally — locally and with regional/global HQ — to improve how we sell in Japan, challenge the status quo, and continuously raise the talent bar. Success is measured not only by quota attainment, but by the strength of your team, the quality of your pipeline, and the leaders you develop.
Build a High-Performance Team
- Hire bilingual Account Executives who can run complex, multi-stakeholder deals in-market, and raise the bar with every addition to your team — competing effectively for scarce sales talent in Tokyo.
- Develop a culture of ownership, accountability, continuous learning and high standards, balanced with the trust and cohesion that Japanese teams are built on.
- Identify future top performers early and create development plans that accelerate their growth.
- Ramp and retain talent in a competitive local labour market where strong bilingual sellers have options.
Co-Sell on Complex Deals
- Sell alongside your team in discovery, business case development and negotiation on your most important pursuits.
- Engage senior stakeholders directly — including owners, operations and finance — and help your team multi-thread and navigate consensus-driven, bottom-up decision-making rather than selling to a single champion.
- Bring commercial judgment to pricing, deal structure and competitive displacement against local players.
- Advance the deal while leaving the AE more capable of running the next one without you.
Coach Through Data & Business Intelligence
- Lead your business through rigorous pipeline inspection, forecasting and performance diagnostics.
- Use leading indicators to identify performance gaps early and coach reps toward sustainable improvement.
- Turn data into action by identifying trends, diagnosing root causes and driving measurable improvements across your team.
- Forecast accurately on long-cycle deals, which depends on stage integrity rather than optimism — and account for local cycle length and relationship-building phases.
Drive Operational Excellence
- Establish predictable operating rhythms around forecasting, pipeline management and business reviews.
- Build disciplined execution that creates consistent, repeatable revenue outcomes.
- Continuously improve how your team sells by refining processes, simplifying execution and eliminating friction.
- Build repeatable plays for how this segment is won in Japan — from acquisition through implementation and expansion.
Lead Through Influence
- Partner closely with Sales Leadership, Marketing, Enablement, Operations, Partnerships and Product — locally and at regional/global HQ — to improve the customer journey and strengthen commercial execution.
- Act as a two-way bridge: bring global best practice into Japan, and bring the Japanese customer voice and field intelligence back to shape strategy and influence product evolution.
- Use customer insights and local market knowledge to localise strategy for Japan's cashless transition (the national push toward ~65% cashless by 2030) and the merchant landscape.
- Lead through change by helping your team adapt quickly while maintaining high performance.
You Have
- 6+ years experience as a sales manager, including time leading teams selling into complex, multi-stakeholder accounts with cycles measured in months.
- Native or business-level fluency in Japanese, plus professional business-level English — able to lead in-market in Japanese and collaborate effectively with regional/global stakeholders in English.
- Deep knowledge of the Japanese market — including the Seller landscape, buying behavior, business etiquette, and consensus-based decision-making — and ideally experience in payments, fintech, SaaS or a related B2B category.
- An understanding of the Japanese cashless/payments environment and competitive dynamics (e.g. QR-code wallets, card networks and bank-led offerings), and how these shape merchant decisions.
- Experience hiring, ramping and retaining Account Executives who can run considered, competitive deals — ideally within the Japanese talent market.
- Experience developing already strong performers into people who win larger and more complex deals.
- Proven track record in collaborating across different teams, including across a local–global structure, with the ability to inspire change.
- Leadership and coaching experience and a desire to help others be their best.
- Expertise in creating structure around sales metrics and managing yourself and others to achieve these metrics, including forecast accuracy on long-cycle deals.
- An understanding of how to refine decision-making and consider the downstream and upstream effects of potential decisions.
- Experience localising global sales playbooks and enablement for the Japanese market.
Application Guidelines
Candidates may submit up to 9 active applications within a 60-day period. Reapplications to the same role are accepted 90 days after a previous application has been reviewed.
Use of AI in Our Hiring Process
We may use automated AI tools to evaluate job applications for efficiency and consistency. These tools comply with local regulations, including bias audits, and we handle all personal data in accordance with state and local privacy laws.
Contact us here with hiring practice or data usage questions.
Every benefit we offer is designed with one goal: empowering you to do the best work of your career while building the life you want. Remote work, medical insurance, flexible time off, retirement savings plans, and modern family planning are just some of our offering. Check out our other benefits at Block.
Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) builds technology to increase access to the global economy. Each of our brands unlocks different aspects of the economy for more people. Square makes commerce and financial services accessible to sellers. Cash App is the easy way to spend, send, and store money. Afterpay is transforming the way customers manage their spending over time. TIDAL is a music platform that empowers artists to thrive as entrepreneurs. Bitkey is a simple self-custody wallet built for bitcoin. Proto is a suite of bitcoin mining products and services. Together, we’re helping build a financial system that is open to everyone.
How we rate this
Account Executive Manager at Block rates 35 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Also common in sales jobs at this level
Pay
- Typical sales job
- $139k
This posting doesn't list pay. Use the typical sales figure when pay comes up. See sales jobs
Get your CV reviewed before you apply
Send your CV and the role you want next. Your review arrives by email within 3 days.
Get new sales jobs by email
One email a week, each job rated for how much AI is in the work. No recruiter spam, unsubscribe in one click.
Free.
Similar roles
Sales roles that involve little AI, at other companies.
What kind of AI work fits you?
Answer 12 practical questions in about three minutes. Get a simple profile, the work it points to, and live roles to explore next.
Find my next step