# Head of Financial Operations, Japan

**Company:** [Square](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/square)
**Location:** Tokyo, Japan
**Role:** Finance & Accounting
**Experience:** 15+ years
**Skills:** Financial Operations, Payments, Banking, Card Networks, Payment Operations, Settlement, Reconciliation, Payment Facilitation, Acquiring, Issuing, Regulatory Compliance, Commercial Negotiation, Incident Management, Payment Processing
**Posted:** 2026-09-04

> Leads Square Japan’s financial operations strategy, payment and banking partner relationships, operational resilience, controls, and regulatory coordination. Requires 15+ years in payments or financial services, deep expertise in Japan’s payments ecosystem, strong commercial judgment, and fluent English and Japanese communication.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Lead Square Japan’s Financial Operations priorities and translate regional and global strategy into measurable market outcomes.
- Own operational performance for incoming and outgoing payments, including reliability, settlement, incident management, controls, cost efficiency, and seller experience.
- Build and manage senior relationships with banks, acquirers, card networks, payment providers, industry bodies, regulators, and strategic partners.
- Lead commercial and operational negotiations with payment and banking partners.
- Represent Square Japan in partner, industry, regulatory, and public forums.
- Partner with Product, Engineering, Risk, Compliance, Legal, Policy, Finance, Marketing, and Operations teams.
- Improve authorization performance, settlement reliability, reconciliation, payment costs, dispute outcomes, vendor performance, and operational controls.
- Monitor regulatory, network, partner, and industry changes in Japan and coordinate responses.
- Establish governance, reporting, operating rhythms, and escalation paths.

## Requirements
- 15+ years of experience in fintech, payments, banking, card networks, acquiring, issuing, payment operations, or related financial services.
- Deep expertise in Japan’s payments ecosystem, including card networks, acquirers, issuers, processors, banks, regulators, government bodies, and industry associations.
- Track record of building and influencing senior relationships with partners, financial institutions, regulators, industry bodies, and market stakeholders.
- Strong commercial judgment and experience negotiating complex agreements while balancing cost, risk, compliance, customer experience, product outcomes, and growth.
- Experience representing a company externally with senior partners, regulators, government stakeholders, industry bodies, or public audiences.
- Ability to lead through ambiguity, translate complexity into clear plans, and deliver measurable outcomes across business, product, operational, regulatory, and technical challenges.
- Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives.
- Executive-level communication and presentation skills in English.
- Native or business-level Japanese proficiency, including negotiation and stakeholder influence.

## Nice-to-haves
- Experience working directly with Japanese regulators or government bodies, including METI or JFSA.
- Understanding of Payment Facilitator, acquiring, issuing, settlement, clearing, reconciliation, and card network operating models.
- Experience at a US-headquartered fintech, technology, payments, or financial services company.
- Media training or experience as an external spokesperson, industry representative, or senior market leader.

## Compensation and benefits
- Benefits include remote work, medical insurance, flexible time off, retirement savings plans, and modern family planning.

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