Role Description• The Director of Business Planning supports JRI America's corporate planning, management reporting, corporate governance, and Japan - Americas coordination activities.
• Reporting to the Business Planning Lead, this role serves as a senior leader within the Business Planning function and supports the coordination, review, and enhancement of planning, reporting, governance, and business management activities across the team.
• The position is expected to provide leadership, oversight, prioritization, and quality control across team's activities, while supporting effective communication and collaboration between Japan and the Americas.
• The role also consolidates and organizes information related to business operations, technology initiatives, project activities, and organizational matters to support management visibility and regional alignment.
Key ResponsibilitiesManagement Reporting, Corporate Planning & Budget Management• Oversee the preparation and quality review of management reports, business plans, budget plans, and related materials used by management and Japan-based stakeholders.
• Coordinate information related to business operations, financial performance, technology initiatives, project portfolios, and organizational activities to ensure reporting is accurate, consistent, and appropriately supported.
Corporate Governance & Business Administration Oversight• Oversee corporate governance and business administration activities, including Board support, policy and procedural compliance reviews, expatriate administration support, contract management support, audit support, and internal and external reporting requirements.
• While day-to-day execution may be performed by subject matter experts or supporting corporate functions, this role ensures that required activities are appropriately coordinated, reviewed, and completed in accordance with company and group requirements.
Japan - Americas Coordination & Information Integration• Serve as a key interface between Japan and the Americas for business, technology, and management-related matters.
• Coordinate communications, reporting, and planning activities across stakeholders, and consolidate information from multiple functions and organizations to support effective decision-making, collaboration, and organizational alignment.
Team Leadership & Continuous Improvement• Provide leadership, oversight, prioritization, coaching, and quality control across Business Planning team activities.
• Promote continuous improvement of management reporting, planning processes, governance activities, and Japan - Americas collaboration, with a focus on quality, consistency, transparency, and operational effectiveness.
Required Qualifications• Business-level proficiency in both Japanese and English. Both languages are required.
• Minimum three years of experience in a planning, business management, or governance function within the IT organization of a Japan-headquartered financial institution or a comparable regulated industry.
• Minimum five years of hands-on experience in any type of system development and/or management of system development projects, with sufficient understanding to interpret system project status, project issues, and incident-related information.
• Strong ability to gather, assess, consolidate, and structure information from a wide range of stakeholders for management purposes.
• Strong analytical, numerical, and logical thinking skills.
• Ability to work independently in ambiguous situations and drive outcomes through collaboration and influence.
Preferred Qualifications• Experience supporting executive management reporting, business planning, or budget management activities.
• Knowledge of expatriate administration and support processes.
• Working knowledge of accounting, audit, contract management, and corporate governance practices.
• Experience coordinating activities across multiple functions, organizations, and stakeholder groups.
Success Criteria- Management reports, business plans, and budget-related materials are delivered with a high level of accuracy, consistency, and credibility.
- Stakeholders in both Japan and the Americas maintain a common understanding of business priorities, organizational activities, and key initiatives.
- Business Planning team activities are effectively coordinated, reviewed, and executed with appropriate governance and quality controls.
- Important issues, risks, and dependencies are identified and communicated in a timely manner.
- The Director serves as a trusted senior leader within JRI America and a key contributor to business planning, governance, management reporting, and Japan - Americas coordination activities.
SMBC's employees participate in a Hybrid workforce model that provides employees with an opportunity to work from home, as well as, from an SMBC office. SMBC requires that employees live within a reasonable commuting distance of their office location. Prospective candidates will learn more about their specific hybrid work schedule during their interview process. Hybrid work may not be permitted for certain roles, including, for example, certain FINRA-registered roles for which in-office attendance for the entire workweek is required.
