Client Development Director

Job Description:
Rakuten International is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc., a Japanese global technology leader in services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Headquartered in San Mateo, California with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, the Rakuten International business portfolio includes market leaders in e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising, communications and entertainment. We create products and services that provide exceptional value by aligning members and the businesses that want to engage them in a shared community.

Rakuten Advertising provides advertising technology and consumer insights to the world's leading brands and retailers. Working with agencies and brands around the world, Rakuten Advertising unites technology, client strategy and consumer insights to deliver advertising experiences that drive increased brand awareness and marketing performance. With access to Rakuten's diverse media properties and audiences, combined with an award-winning performance network and proprietary consumer research, Rakuten Advertising creates the right conditions to reach new customers and sustain long-lasting loyalty

Job Summary:

• Own enterprise sales for the Finance and Travel verticals across ANZ, reporting to the VP, Commercial.
• Lead full-cycle sales: prospect, pitch, negotiate, and close net-new affiliate & partner marketing deals; expand select existing accounts.
• Hit quarterly and annual revenue targets, keep a clean, accurate pipeline in Salesforce, and deliver on strategic objectives.

**Key Responsibilities:

New Business and Growth**

• Partner with BDRs to build targeted prospect lists and outreach plans (phone, email, LinkedIn).
• Run discovery, craft proposals, manage RFPs, and close complex, multi-stakeholder deals.
• Collaborate with Marketing on vertical campaigns and events; represent the brand at industry forums.
• Lead collaboration with sales solution and product marketing teams to tailor your create highly impactful messaging.
• Analyse performance, refine strategy, and grow market share in Finance and Travel.

Client Engagement

• Build executive relationships (CMO, Head of Digital/Partnerships, Product) at banks, fintechs, insurers, airlines, hotel groups, and OTAs.
• Translate client goals into clear affiliate & partner solutions and ROI-led business cases.
• Respond quickly to inbound leads; qualify and advance high-potential opportunities.

Pipeline, Forecasting, and Reporting

• Maintain CRM excellence in Salesforce: log activities, update stages, forecast accurately, and report on progress.
• Provide transparent pipeline health and performance insights.

Financial Accountability

• Meet or exceed revenue targets through new logos and strategic expansions.
• Understand how your results ladder up to ANZ commercial goals.

Process Improvement (Ad Hoc)

• Identify sales bottlenecks (e.g., compliance, stakeholder approvals, integrations) specific to Finance and Travel.
• Work with Management to streamline proposals, onboarding, and CRM workflows.

Qualifications:

• 7+ years in digital advertising with deep agency and advertiser sales experience; affiliate & partner marketing exposure preferred.
• Proven success selling into Finance and Travel; strong grasp of performance marketing models and how they apply to these sectors.
• Track record selling software/solutions to senior stakeholders (C-suite, Heads of Digital/Marketing/Product) at banks/fintechs and major travel brands.
• Advanced Salesforce user for complex, multi-stage enterprise deals.
• Excellent negotiation, presentation, and written/spoken communication skills.
• Comfortable navigating industry regulations and compliance requirements in Finance and Travel.

Personal Attributes

• Organised, proactive deal leader; thrives in fast-moving, complex environments.
• Insight-led advisor who stays current on digital & consumer trends and sector changes.
• Results-driven, resilient, and collaborative; shares market feedback across Sales, Product, Marketing, and Legal.

What Success Looks Like

• Consistent quota attainment and growing share in Finance and Travel.
• Healthy, well-qualified pipeline with accurate forecasts.
• Closed enterprise deals, strong client satisfaction, and measurable process improvements.

Five Principles for Success
Our worldwide practices describe specific behaviors that make Rakuten unique and united across the world. We expect Rakuten employees to model these 5 Shugi Principles of Success.

Always improve, Always Advance
- Only be satisfied with complete success - Kaizen

Passionately Professional
- Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best

H
ypothesize - Practice - Validate – Shikumika
- Use the Rakuten Cycle to succeed in unknown territory

Maximize Customer Satisfaction
- The greatest satisfaction for our teams is seeing their customers smile

Speed Speed Speed
- Always be conscious of time - take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team