Director, Sales Development, Japan

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Based in Tokyo, we are seeking a Director to lead our high-growth Japan Sales Development team. As the leader of Sales Development, you will be responsible for owning the management of overall inbound business development and outbound prospecting pipeline strategy and execution. You will lead & motivate a team of highly driven SDRs and implement efficient processes & tools that optimize for scale in a fast-paced innovative and collaborative environment. This role reports to the Senior Director, Sales Development (APJ).

This is a high visibility role that is responsible for hiring, on-boarding, and coaching a group of high performing sales professionals while collaborating with many other departments within our Go To Market Function (Marketing, Operations and Sales etc.). You will own Japan xDR Go to Market strategy, with a goal of improving the existing teams productivity, efficiency and outbound quality to build and progress pipeline to revenue.

At Okta, our mission is to maintain a people-first, diverse, and inclusive culture. You will be responsible for building the Japan xDR team culture with a focus on coaching and mentoring. You will need to be an expert in prospecting and account planning strategies with a high growth company and must be able to educate others effectively in these areas. You will also focus on enabling continued growth of their reps in preparation for their progression here at Okta. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and are eager to take ownership over a large revenue generating piece of the business, we want to hear from you!

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Business Impact

• Own the end-to-end strategy for Sales Development across Japan, setting the sales vision, operating model, and key performance metrics that fuel regional growth.
• Establish operational rigor and a culture of high performance across the SDR organization, ensuring the team is aligned to the go-to-market strategy and consistently
• produces high-quality pipeline.
• Translate market trends, customer insights, and competitive intelligence into targeted prospecting strategies that elevate pipeline performance across segments.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration with Sales, Marketing, Channel, and RevOps to ensure alignment on account coverage, persona focus, inbound/outbound prioritization,
• and the SDR → AE handoff model.

Outbound Excellence & Leading by Example

• Develop and lead the execution of a robust outbound strategy that systematically generates high-quality new business pipeline.
• Model exceptional outbound behaviors by actively participating in call blitzes, demonstrating best-in-class outreach techniques, objection handling, and call preparation.
• Set and reinforce high standards for outbound quality, personalization, and consistency-ensuring the team understands what “great” looks like.
• Leverage tools, AI, intent data, and industry insights to create advanced outbound plays, win-back motions, event-triggered outreach, and persona-based engagement strategies.
• Inspect outbound performance regularly, identifying root causes of gaps and driving rapid corrective actions across the team.

Operational Excellence & Execution Discipline

• Ensure tools, systems, and processes (e.g., Outreach, CRM, data enrichment, AI tools) are optimized to support efficient prospecting and high conversion outcomes.
• Conduct regular inspections of operational workflows, prospecting motions, and productivity metrics, driving continuous improvement and operational innovation.
• Implement governance frameworks to uphold SDR productivity, quality, compliance, and forecasting accuracy.
• Develop scalable mechanisms for pipeline generation, including playbooks, sequences, cadences, discovery frameworks, and qualification standards.
• Partner with RevOps to build capacity models, coverage plans, and forecasting processes based on ramp profiles and inbound supply.

Talent Development & Frontline Leadership

• Build, coach, and inspire a high-performing SDR leadership bench, creating strong second-line leaders capable of developing their teams.
• Implement structured coaching frameworks that elevate SDR skills in prospecting, qualifying, discovery, and opportunity creation.
• Provide targeted, actionable feedback supported by regular call reviews, performance inspections, and structured development plans.
• Develop career pathways that enable rapid ramp, strong performance, and optimized tenure, while promoting internal mobility into AE and other GTM roles.
• Drive a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement-ensuring underperformance is addressed quickly and equitably.
• Foster an inclusive, engaged, and collaborative team environment where individuals feel supported, challenged, and motivated to succeed.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Stakeholder Alignment

• Partner closely with Marketing to ensure inbound demand, scoring, routing, and follow-up SLAs are aligned and optimized.
• Collaborate with Sales Leaders to continuously refine territory models, target personas, and qualification standards to maximize coverage and opportunity quality.
• Work jointly with Enablement to design onboarding, ramping programs, skills development sessions, and ongoing coaching tracks.
• Serve as the voice of the SDR organization at the leadership table, ensuring the team’s insights inform regional planning and go-to-market strategy.

Pipeline Growth & Business Outcomes

• Drive execution of the Sales Development strategy to ensure pipeline targets are consistently met or exceeded.
• Lead the team to create high-quality, well-qualified opportunities that accelerate sales cycles and improve win rates.
• Track, analyze, and report on SDR performance, conversion rates, and pipeline health-delivering actionable insights and areas of improvement.
• Continuously refine the pipeline generation strategy to adapt to changing market conditions and business priorities.

Requirements

Experience

• 10-15+ years in Sales Development, Inside Sales, or GTM People Manager roles. Including leading managers (second-line leadership).
• Proven experience building and scaling SDR teams and delivering consistent, high-quality pipeline.
• Demonstrated success driving outbound strategy, messaging, ICP refinement, and persona-based plays.
• Strong track record of partnering with Sales, Marketing, RevOps, and Enablement.
• Experience with forecasting, capacity planning, segmentation, and SDR/Sales handoff models.

Skills & Capabilities

• Strong operator with deep experience in sales tools (Salesforce, Outreach, AI tools).
• Data-driven decision maker with strong analytical and diagnostic skills.
• Ability to design and optimize prospecting workflows, playbooks, coaching frameworks, and qualification standards.
• Skilled in building scalable programs for onboarding, coaching, and talent development.
• Excellent written and verbal communication in English & Japanese, executive presence, and influence skills.

Leadership & Behavioral Expectations

• Leads from the front-models high-quality outbound calls, outreach, preparation, and objection handling.
• Strong coach who develops both SDRs and frontline managers through structured frameworks and regular feedback.
• Creates a culture of accountability, collaboration, and high performance.
• Operates with integrity, transparency, and a strong sense of ownership.
• Comfortable driving both strategic planning and hands-on execution.
• Ability to adhere to the 4-day RTO policy (and potential future shift to 5 days RTO).

Preferred

• Experience in SaaS, cybersecurity, or enterprise software environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

Okta’s Top 5 Core Leadership Competencies are part of the deeply ingrained principles that guide all of our company’s actions. They also align strongly to our cultural cornerstones, our Okta values: love our customers, empower our people, never stop innovating, act with integrity, and maintain transparency.

It’s our expectation that our managers and leaders embody these core competencies:

• Builds Effective Teams: Building strong-identity teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve common goals.
• Demonstrates Self-Awareness (EQ): Using a combination of feedback and reflection to gain productive insight into personal strengths and weaknesses.
• Develops Talent: Developing people to meet both their career goals and the organization’s goals.
• Drives Results: Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances.
• Strategic Mindset: Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough
• strategies.

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