Head of Prime Video Channels, Prime Video Japan

Prime Video Japan is growing rapidly, and we are looking for a senior commercial leader to own and scale our Channels business in one of the most strategically important streaming markets globally.

We are seeking an experienced, entrepreneurial Head of Channels to lead the Prime Video Channels business in Japan. This individual will define and execute the content acquisition and partnership strategy for Channels, building a compelling portfolio of subscription services that delight Japanese customers. The role requires deep understanding of the Japanese media landscape, strong commercial acumen, and the ability to independently develop strategy in a complex, fast-moving environment. This leader will operate with significant autonomy – identifying new business opportunities, influencing senior leadership, and driving business-critical outcomes across the most complex and strategically important partnerships in the market.

A successful candidate will have
- Strategic Vision: Ability to independently define strategy in undefined spaces, distill diverse market inputs into clear direction, and influence senior leadership on the path forward
- Commercial Excellence: Exceptional negotiator who can structure complex, multi-variable deals with significant bottom-line impact while maintaining long-term partnership health
- Executive Communication: Ability to communicate complex decisions, trade-offs, and financial scenarios succinctly to senior audiences – both written and verbal
- Customer Focus: Deep instinct for what Japanese customers want from a streaming channels experience; ability to balance revenue optimization with customer experience
- Bold Thinking: Envisions multi-year growth trajectories and new business models beyond incremental improvements
- Trust & Credibility: Builds enduring relationships with partners and cross-functional stakeholders through transparency, competence, and consistent delivery

Key job responsibilities
Strategy & Business Ownership
- Own the end-to-end Channels strategy for Japan: define the vision, acquisition roadmap, and multi-year growth plan
- Identify new areas of business opportunity, including emerging content verticals, new Channel partner categories, and innovative partnership models
Content Acquisition & Partnerships
- Build and manage executive-level relationships (up to C-suite) with Japanese broadcasters, studios, content aggregators, anime licensors, and niche media organizations
- Negotiate complex, business-critical licensing and distribution agreements
Data-Driven Decision Making
- Leverage customer behavior, viewing data, and consumption analytics to inform acquisition priorities and partner negotiations
Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 3 across business development and partner management
- Create scalable processes and mechanisms that enable team execution at pace
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Key partner teams include:
- JP Content: Align channel acquisition strategy with broader Prime Video Japan content strategy
- International Channels teams: Share best practices and feature development requests
- WW Product & Technology: Partner on channel onboarding, customer experience and technical integration
- Finance: Coordinate on business planning, forecasting, and investment decisions
- Legal: Engage on deal structuring, licensing terms, and regulatory compliance
- Advertising: Collaborate on advertising-supported channel models and monetization optimization
- Marketing: Align on channel launch campaigns and customer acquisition

A day in the life
Morning
- Review overnight updates from global Channels counterparts; respond to senior stakeholder queries on business or partner performance
- Conduct a 1:1 with a direct report to unblock a partner negotiation and coach on deal strategy
- Analyze weekly performance dashboards – identifying trends, under-performers, and growth opportunities to discuss at the upcoming weekly business review
Midday
- Lead a pitch meeting with a major Japanese broadcaster's C-suite, presenting a vision for their new direct-to-consumer channel on Prime Video
- Follow up with Legal on contract terms for an anime channel partnership nearing close
- Join a cross-functional sync with Product & Tech to review technical readiness for an upcoming channel launch
Afternoon
- Draft a section of the long-term strategy document on Channels growth, incorporating recent market data and financial projections
- Participate in a Channels global leadership call to align on feature priorities
- Review and approve a business case prepared by the team for a new niche content vertical

About the team
Prime Video is a premium streaming entertainment service offering customers an unmatched breadth of content – from award-winning Prime Originals and exclusive licensed series to live sports, anime, and access to premium subscription channels.

Prime Video Channels enables customers to subscribe to curated third-party streaming services directly within the Prime Video experience – no additional apps, no long-term contracts – delivering exceptional convenience and selection.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

- 7+ years of Go-To-Market, Business Development, Sales, or Consulting experience
- Experience working and communicating with multiple stakeholders, C-level executives and cross functional teams or equivalent
- Experience managing and developing high performance teams
- Speak, write, and read fluently in Japanese at a business level or above (N1+)
- Speak, write, and read fluently in English, and have the ability to take direction in English

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- 5+ years of managing and developing high performance teams experience
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent
- Knowledge of digital video landscape, including solid understanding of digital video distribution technologies
- Experience in a large media group, pay-TV operator, or digital platform at a senior commercial level
- Proven track record of building and scaling partnerships in the Japanese market, ideally in content/media businesses
- Deep network and relationships across Japanese media, entertainment, broadcasting, and/or content distribution industries
- Demonstrated ability to work across cultures and organizational boundaries, bridging Japan operations with global stakeholders

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