Head of Operations Japan

Shift delivers AI agents that transform insurers' most critical work. By combining deep industry expertise and unmatched data resources, Shift provides proven results that have earned the trust of hundreds of the world's leading insurers. Our insurance-grade AI is accurate, explainable, and secure—empowering human experts to move with unmatched speed, total confidence, and a renewed focus on the people they serve. Your browser does not support the video tag. Our culture is built on innovation, trust, and a drive to transform the insurance industry through our SaaS platform. We come from more than 50 different countries and cultures and together we are creating the future of insurance. Learn more at www.shift-technology.com About the role: You will be the single accountable owner of client outcomes and delivery economics in Japan. Leading Customer Success, Delivery and Data Science, you will make sure our clients get measurable value from our solutions, and that the business stays healthy, with gross margin and customer retention as your core targets. Client facing: Act as the senior point of contact for client executives and sponsors, own the health of each strategic account, translate expectations into strategies, and risks into plans. Operations leader: Drive and align a local team of Data Scientists (FDEs), Project Manager and Customer Success Managers to deliver value to our clients through strategy, plans, scope controls and clear commitments. Account strategy: Define and report value in business terms, build and maintain a 3, 6 and 12 month plan for each client (KPIs, stakeholders, milestones) to secure long term relationship Solutions Strategy: Identify client and market trends to propose and deliver localized solutions Delivery and margin: Ensure reliable delivery, from release management to incident handling, and manage gross margin through capacity planning and cost to serve analysis People and team: Lead hiring, development and retention of a talented team for scalable and resilient operation. Manage performance through clear individual objectives tied to client outcomes. Global bridge: Connect the Japan team with global expertise and best practices, and report regularly to leadership on account health, margin and risk Localization: Tokyo, expected presence in the office 3 days/week Expected onsite visit to clients, and occasionally to HQ in Paris. Reporting: You will primarily report to the Global Head of Delivery (ExCom member), with a dotted line to our Managing Director in Japan (Go To Market organization) Data Science, Project Managers and CSM in your Tokyo Office will report to you directly, with dotted lines to our local leadership in the region, acting as technical leadership. About you: 7+ years of experience leading delivery and customer success teams in enterprise SaaS, ideally serving insurers or other regulated industries Track record of owning client outcomes and renewals, including managing senior executive relationships and difficult situations Strong commercial and financial mindset, comfortable managing margin, capacity and cost to serve Solid understanding of data and AI solutions, enough to challenge technical teams and judge product fit with client needs. Ability to work with both technical and business experts to drive alignment. Ability to set up clear processes and accountability across functions, and to make decisions with incomplete information Experience managing performance and developing teams, including making tough people decisions Collaborative approach with global teams and a taste for sharing best practices across regions AI-first mindset: naturally weaving AI into your daily workflow to elevate how you lead teams, ship work, and deliver standout value to clients. Possessing native-level proficiency in Japanese and full professional fluency in English, with extensive experience communicating effectively in high-stakes corporate settings Interview Process: Talent Acquisition APAC Delivery and Data Science leadership Country Manager Japan Global Head of Delivery with a cross-functional executive panel Chief People Officer To support our permanent, full time employees at every stage of their careers and lives, we provide a competitive total rewards and benefits package. Here are the global benefits we’d like to highlight: Flexible remote and hybrid working options Competitive Salary and a variable component tied to personal and company performance Multiple Learning and Development opportunities, including Focus Fridays, a half-day each month to focus on learning and personal growth Generous PTO and paid holidays Mental health benefits 2 MAD Days per year (Make A Difference Days for paid volunteering) Additional benefits may be offered by country, based on your eligibility - ask your recruiter for more information. Intern and Apprentice positions may receive some of these benefits - ask your recruiter for more details. AI tools are used to help review applications for this role. Read our AI in Recruitment Notice for what the AI considers, how to request a human review, and our most recent bias audit. At Shift we strive to be a diverse and inclusive workforce. We welcome applications from and hire people who will contribute to the diversity of our company, without regard to race, color, religion, marital status, age, national or ethnic origin, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other non-merit criteria. Shift Technology is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in our application and employment process. Should you require accommodation, please email accommodation@shift-technology.com and we will work with you to meet your accessibility needs. Please be aware of scammers and only trust correspondence that comes from emails ending in "shift-technology.com". We will never do initial outreach to you via Whatsapp/Text/SMS, never ask for banking information or personal identification numbers (ex. Social Security Number) as part of our recruitment process. Shift Technology does not accept unsolicited CVs from recruiters or employment agencies in response to the Shift Technology Careers page or a Shift Technology social media post. Any unsolicited CVs, including those submitted directly to hiring managers, are deemed to be the property of Shift Technology.