Substack is looking for a Head of Partnerships, Japan to lead and scale our Japanese business. You will develop and execute a strategy for onboarding influential creators, building awareness of the Substack brand in Japan, and telling the Substack story to creators and consumers across the country.
What You'll Do
- Develop and execute a strategy for onboarding influential creators, helping them build successful subscription businesses and vibrant communities on Substack.
- Own key growth metrics around creator acquisition, retention, revenue, and engagement—aligning impact with Substack’s broader business goals.
- Build and deepen relationships with creators, talent managers, studios, agencies, tastemakers to the press to expand Substack’s presence in the cultural ecosystem.
- Champion Japanese creators internally by synthesizing their needs, motivations, and ambitions into product, support, and partnership opportunities.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Data, Marketing, and Communications to evolve the Japanese creator experience and improve outreach and feature adoption.
- Represent Substack externally—on stage, in the press, and in key industry rooms—positioning the company as the premier platform for independent creative work.
- Stay ahead of creator economy trends, emerging formats, and shifting audience behaviors to keep Substack on the leading edge in Japan.
What We're Looking For
- 7+ years of experience as a leader in creator partnerships, talent development, business development or editorial.
- Proven success leading and scaling teams in fast-paced environments with high agency and ownership.
- Deep empathy for creators and an understanding of the challenges and opportunities they face when building independent careers.
- A robust network across the creator economy—including relationships with top creators, talent agencies, production companies, digital media leaders and journalists.
- A demonstrable and exceptional understanding of the Japanese ‘creator’ market.
Nice to Have
- Knowledge of events and being comfortable speaking publicly.
- An ability to communicate clearly and effectively often on a public stage.
Team & Environment
You will be working alongside our Head of International, reporting to the Head of International.
Benefits & Compensation
- Market competitive salary + equity.
- Equity for all full time roles.
- Exceptional benefits.
Work Mode
This role is based local-country, in Tokyo.
Substack is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or transgender status), age, national origin, veteran or disability status.
