Director, People, Americas

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.
About the team
The People & Talent team at Airwallex is dedicated to attracting and developing the brightest and most ambitious minds to drive our company forward. We are a global, vibrant, and dynamic team with a focus on creating a positive and inclusive work environment that fosters growth and innovation. Through innovative programs, strategic People & Talent initiatives, and a deep understanding of our organization's needs, we cultivate a collaborative and engaging environment that fuels Airwallex's continued growth and success.
What you'll do
This is a San Francisco-based People & Talent team leadership role reporting directly to the VP People & Talent. You will take the helm of our dynamic Americas-based People team located across our offices across SF, NYC, Toronto, and emerging footprints in Mexico and Brazil. You will be critical in enabling our ability to grow our operations and build our employee communities alongside our senior leadership.
This role will require the maturity and agility to partner with global senior leadership as well as the Americas regional leadership. You and your team will provide end to end functional coverage including implementation of People & Talent initiatives that enable the delivery of the group strategy and business plans for Airwallex.
This role will be based in San Francisco, CA.
Responsibilities:

• Provide leadership, consulting and coaching to the Americas leaders across all areas of People & Talent domains such as recruitment, employee relations, performance management, rewards & benefits, talent management and development, mobility and regulatory compliance.
• Assist and/or lead, as appropriate, the development and deployment of programs, policies, procedures and guidelines to help align Airwallex team members with the strategic goals of the company, and the specific goals of the region.
• In a People Partner capacity, drive strategic workforce planning and talent development initiatives for the region that align with broader Airwallex goals. Ensuring programs are in place for all key capabilities within the portfolio and implement strategies, such as hiring and development to meet business needs.
• As part of the Workplace Experience portfolio, build a thriving culture and working environment encompassing leased offices and co-working spaces that engages, inspires teams to achieve the company's vision in-line with our Operating Principles.
• As part of Airwallex's continued growth, you would drive the geographical expansion of our business across the Americas region.
• Establish and maintain a highly competent and motivated People team that is effectively interconnected across the region through dedicated People Partners, exceptional Workplace Experience, and efficient People Operations.
• Collaborate and partner with our CoE People & Talent functions to achieve the desired outcomes of the business, considering the diverse needs of your stakeholders and peers.

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

• 10 years of experience in People & Talent with a proven track record of leading HR functions through rapid organizational scaling
• Broad experience across the full spectrum of a People & Talent function, including advising and influencing at Senior Executive levels
• Significant experience working across cultures, global teams, and across the Americas region
• Excellent leadership skills, high degree of emotional intelligence and resilience.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills - must be able to work with all levels of internal and external organizations and across cultures and countries
• Proficient at dealing with complexity and an ability to prioritize amongst near-term and long-term deliverables.
• Excellent executive communication and presentation skills, both in slide format and oral.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience in a fast-growth, scale-up environments where the business has seen expansion cycles across teams and geographies
• Ability to manage range of diverse leaders and talent populations - from engineering, product, commercial, and corporate roles

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.
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