Director, Strategic Partnerships & Sponsorships

Mastercard is seeking a Director, Strategic Partnerships & Sponsorships to lead the partnership and sponsorship strategy in Japan. The successful candidate will have 15+ years of experience in strategic partnerships, sponsorships, brand marketing, or related fields.

Key Objectives:

• Build a differentiated partnership and sponsorship strategy that drives brand preference and commercial impact in Japan
• Transform sponsorship and partnership assets into scalable, issuer-relevant marketing platforms
• Drive measurable business outcomes through integrated B2C, B2B, and B2B2C activations
• Maximize asset monetization and value creation across customer and partner ecosystems

Key Responsibilities:

1. Partnership & Sponsorship Strategy

• Define and lead Japan’s partnership and sponsorship strategy aligned to business priorities and brand positioning
• Identify and secure high-impact strategic partnerships that create competitive differentiation
• Establish a clear asset strategy that balances brand building, customer value, and monetization

1. Asset Portfolio Management & Productization

• Own the end-to-end lifecycle of sponsorship and partnership assets,from sourcing and structuring to activation and optimization
• Translate assets into scalable, modular marketing solutions that can be deployed across issuer and merchant programs
• Develop standardized activation frameworks to enable repeatable, high-impact execution

1. Customer (Issuer & Merchant) Engagement

• Partner with issuers and merchant customers to integrate sponsorship and partnership platforms into acquisition, engagement, and usage strategies
• Design co-marketing programs that deliver measurable business outcomes and strengthen customer value proposition
• Act as a strategic advisor to customers on leveraging marketing assets as growth drivers

1. Integrated Consumer Activation (B2C / B2B2C)

• Lead the development of differentiated consumer experiences that drive engagement, preference, and brand affinity
• Ensure seamless integration into broader brand campaigns, always-on programs, and key platforms
• Drive innovation in how partnerships are activated across physical, digital, and experiential channels

1. Value Creation & Monetization

• Maximize commercial returns from sponsorship and partnership assets through structured monetization models
• Develop and track revenue streams tied to issuer programs and partnership-driven initiatives
• Continuously identify opportunities to unlock incremental value from existing and new partnerships

1. Cross-functional & External Leadership

• Collaborate closely with Marketing, Services, Product, and finance teams at local, regional, and global levels to ensure alignment and scalability
• Lead relationships with rights holders, strategic partners, and agencies to unlock innovation and incremental value
• Ensure strong governance, measurement, and reporting across all partnership activities

What We're Looking For:

• Minimum 15 years of experience in strategic partnerships, sponsorships, brand marketing, integrated marketing, or related fields.
• Proven track record developing and leading large-scale partnership and sponsorship programs from strategy development through execution and optimization.
• Experience working within leading global brands, top-tier marketing agencies, media organizations, rights holders, entertainment companies, sports organizations, or customer-facing platforms.
• Deep understanding of the Japan marketing landscape, including B2C, B2B, and B2B2C marketing, with demonstrated success driving customer acquisition, engagement, and loyalty.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to link marketing investments to measurable business outcomes, including brand preference, customer growth, revenue, and ROI.
• Demonstrated success identifying, negotiating, and managing complex strategic partnerships and sponsorship agreements.
• Proven ability to build scalable marketing platforms and translate sponsorship assets into commercial opportunities for customers and partners.
• Strong analytical, stakeholder management, and cross-functional leadership capabilities within highly matrixed organizations.
• Native-level Japanese and business-fluent English.
• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or equivalent advanced business qualification preferred.