Head of Middle East

About This Role

About Airwallex Airwallex is the only unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by our unique combination of proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 200,000 businesses worldwide – including Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more – with fully integrated solutions to manage everything from business accounts, payments, spend management and treasury, to embedded finance at a global scale.

Proudly founded in Melbourne, we have a team of over 2,000 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 26 offices around the globe. Valued at US$8 billion and backed by world-leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Visa, Mastercard, Robinhood Ventures, Sequoia, Salesforce Ventures, DST Global, and Lone Pine Capital, Airwallex is leading the charge in building the global payments and financial platform of the future. If you’re ready to do the most ambitious work of your career, join us.

Attributes We Value

We hire successful builders with founder-like energy who want real impact, accelerated learning, and true ownership. You bring strong role-related expertise and sharp thinking, and you’re motivated by our mission and operating principles. You move fast with good judgment, dig deep with curiosity, and make decisions from first principles, balancing speed and rigor.

You're humble and collaborative; turn zero‑to‑one ideas into real products, and you “get stuff done” end-to-end. You use AI to work smarter and solve problems faster. Here, you’ll tackle complex, high‑visibility problems with exceptional teammates and grow your career as we build the future of global banking. If that sounds like you, let’s build what’s next.

What you’ll do

This is a career-defining opportunity to lead Airwallex's Middle East business. You will be leading the full commercial, operational, and cultural agenda for the region. You will be the most senior Airwallex leader on the ground in the Middle East, responsible for building and executing the country strategy, growing the team, and delivering sustainable, cash-flow-positive growth.

Responsibilities:

Commercial Success & Vision

• Lead SME and Enterprise commercial teams towards KPI achievement across revenue, customer acquisition, and product adoption
• Own the end-to-end go-to-market strategy and customer experience for the Middle East
• Define and drive the long-term commercial vision for the region, identifying emerging segments and verticals with high growth potential
• Partner with the Legal, Risk & Compliance (LRC) team to drive the necessary licensing and regulatory approvals required to operate and expand in the regionP&L Management
• Own full P&L responsibility for the Middle East, managing commercial contribution margin towards cash-flow-positive performance
• Manage and optimise the regional marketing budget in alignment with global priorities
• Design and own commercial team incentive structures within the globally approved frameworkBrand & Corporate Affairs
• Build Airwallex's brand presence and awareness across the Middle East through targeted events, campaigns, and partnerships, in close collaboration with the global marketing team
• Act as a credible external voice with regulators, government bodies, and industry associations, shaping the narrative around Airwallex's regulatory posture and commitment to operating responsibly in the region
• Represent Airwallex at industry forums, regulatory engagements, and speaking opportunities through the corporate affairs functionPeople Leadership & Culture
• Build, attract, and retain a high-performing, diverse team across commercial and operational functions in the region
• Own culture and staff engagement for the Middle East office, partnering with the People & Talent team
• Ensure the team is aligned with Airwallex's global values and has regular, clear business updates and context

Who you are

We're looking for people who meet the minimum requirements for this role. The preferred qualifications are great to have, but are not mandatory.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 12+ years of experience in financial services, fintech, or technology, with significant leadership experience in the Middle East market
• Proven track record of owning a P&L and delivering commercial growth in a high-growth or scaling business
• Deep understanding of the payments, banking, or cross-border financial services landscape in the UAE and/or Saudi Arabia
• Demonstrated ability to build and lead high-performing teams across commercial and operational functions
• Experience navigating regulatory and licensing environments in the region

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience scaling a fintech or payments business in the Middle East from early or greenfield stage — ideally at a Series B–D company building its GCC presence, such as a cross-border payments, embedded finance, or B2B financial services platform
• Demonstrable track record of personally driving a licensing or regulatory approval with local regulators — not just working alongside compliance teams, but leading senior regulatory engagement through to a milestone outcome
• Prior Country Manager, GM, or equivalent role where they were the most senior person on the ground in the Middle East, operating with limited HQ support and genuine P&L ownership
• Existing relationships within the UAE and KSA fintech and banking ecosystem — regulators, banking partners, enterprise clients, and platform partners
• Experience closing or overseeing significant enterprise commercial deals in the region, ideally in financial services, B2B payments, or SaaS
• Arabic language proficiency a strong advantage; deep cultural fluency in GCC business norms required regardless
• Has stayed long enough in a previous market-building role to see it through multiple stages of growth — from zero to scaled — demonstrating resilience and follow-through beyond the initial build phase

Applicant Safety Policy: Fraud and Third-Party Recruiters

*To protect you from recruitment scams, please be aware that Airwallex will not ask for bank details, sensitive ID numbers (i.e. passport), or any form of payment during the application or interview process. All official communication will come from an @*airwallex.com email address. Please apply only through careers.airwallex.com or our official LinkedIn page.

Airwallex does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms/recruiters. Airwallex will not pay any fees to search firms/recruiters if a candidate is submitted by a search firm/recruiter unless an agreement has been entered into with respect to specific open position(s). Search firms/recruiters submitting resumes to Airwallex on an unsolicited basis shall be deemed to accept this condition, regardless of any other provision to the contrary.

Equal opportunity

Airwallex is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and anyone seeking employment at Airwallex is considered based on merit, qualifications, competence and talent. We don’t regard color, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, citizenship, sex, marital or family status, disability, gender, or any other legally protected status when making our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.