Emerging Markets Lead – Central Asia (Russian speaking)

Role Overview

Emerging Markets Lead – Central Asia (Russian speaking) at Column, based in Dubai with regular regional travel and occasional travel to San Francisco headquarters.

Company Overview

Column is a bank and software company built from the ground up, offering technology-forward banking solutions to builders and developers. Founded by leaders from Plaid, Square, Meta, Blend, and Affirm, Column simplifies the banking supply chain by eliminating hundreds of vendors, middleware providers, and abstraction layers to create a safer, more transparent, and less costly banking infrastructure.

Role Purpose

Spearhead Column's strategic international expansion into emerging markets by driving 0-to-1 growth for a new banking product. Build and nurture relationships with prospective partners and customers in Eastern Europe and Central Asia while executing complex partnerships with significant autonomy and direct impact on global expansion strategy.

Key Responsibilities

Regional Market Development

• Own the end-to-end process of identifying, evaluating, and executing high-value partnerships with banks across international markets.
• Develop market intelligence by gathering and synthesizing insights on local market conditions, regulatory developments, competitive landscape, and customer needs to inform Column's regional strategy.

Relationship Management

• Serve as the primary relationship owner for prospective and existing customers, conducting regular in-person meetings and attending local industry events.
• Manage ongoing partnership development with senior executives, market experts, and decision-makers.
• Build an extensive network within banking and fintech ecosystems in key emerging markets.
• Become an expert on the correspondent banking space in Central Asian and Eastern European markets.

Partnership Execution

• Lead complex deal processes from initial outreach through contract signature.
• Work collaboratively with Column's Legal, Compliance, and Product teams on partnership delivery.

Operations & Scaling

• Drive operational excellence by building scalable processes for onboarding, relationship management, and ongoing support that can be replicated as the company expands.
• Coordinate efforts across multiple teams and manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.

Qualifications & Experience

• 6+ years of experience in partnerships, business development, growth, operations, or strategy in a high-caliber environment.
• 4+ years of business experience specifically in Central Asian and Eastern European markets.
• Native fluency in Russian with experience managing business relationships with Russian-speaking clients and stakeholders.
• Track record of successfully managing complex partnerships and high-value deals with executive stakeholders.

Skills & Competencies

• Natural networker who thrives on building trust and long-term relationships with senior executives and decision-makers.
• Strong strategic thinking with ability to assess market opportunities, evaluate potential partners, and provide strategic recommendations to senior leadership.
• Hyper-organized approach to project management with comfort juggling multiple projects and priorities.
• Scrappy, roll-up-your-sleeves attitude with willingness to work harder, be more creative, and maintain zero ego when getting hands dirty to build a business.

Additional Information

• Position based in Dubai with regular travel throughout the region and occasional travel to Column's San Francisco headquarters.
• Column is committed to working with the best and brightest people from the broadest talent pool possible and values diversity of perspectives, educational backgrounds, and life experiences.
• Column participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations as required by law.
• For assistance or reasonable accommodation during the application and recruiting process, contact accommodations@column.com.