The posting
At Catawiki, every day brings the extraordinary! Whether it’s Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 Car, a Woolly Mammoth’s Skeleton, Lady Gaga's Jumpsuit or Usain Bolt’s running shoe, we encounter exceptional objects every day.
We’re a one-of-a-kind marketplace for buying and selling special objects. Each week, more than 100,000 unique items are auctioned, all carefully curated by our passionate in-house experts.
Having sold over 25 million unique objects, our mission is to become the world’s most popular destination for special objects. As a growing, diverse and sustainable scale-up, we proudly live by three core values. If these values resonate with you, we’d love to explore how you can join us.
- Taking ownership and driving impact
- Being open to change and feedback
- Being passionate about our mission and our customers.
About the Role
Japan is one of Catawiki’s fastest-growing markets. As Senior Key Business Developer, you will accelerate that growth by identifying, winning and onboarding high-potential professional sellers in Japan. The role starts with a focus on watches, branded jewellery and fashion.
You will help Japanese sellers reach buyers across Europe by showing them how to prepare their inventory, list successfully and ship across borders. The role includes onboarding and guiding sellers through API integrations, while setting clear expectations about the sales potential of their inventory and realistic price positioning on Catawiki.
You’ll work remotely from Japan, collaborating closely with our international Sales team and the category teams in Watches, Fashion and Jewellery to strengthen Catawiki’s reputation as a leading platform for special objects.
This is primarily a business development role. You will own opportunities from prospecting through onboarding and successful activation, then work with account management colleagues to ensure a smooth handover.
What You’ll Do
- Build and manage a qualified pipeline of Japanese enterprise sellers, professional resellers and B2B supply partners in the pre-owned luxury market.
- Research the market, identify high-potential prospects and prioritise opportunities based on inventory, expected customer demand and commercial potential.
- Lead prospect conversations, understand each seller’s goals and business model, present Catawiki’s value proposition, negotiate commercial agreements and agree clear next steps.
- Guide new sellers through onboarding and activation. Train them on what Catawiki requires and what they need to do, including account setup, product information, listing preparation, sales processes and shipping from Japan to Europe.
- Onboard and guide sellers through API integrations, explaining the steps required from their side and setting clear expectations around sales potential and realistic price positioning for their inventory.
- Keep prospect, pipeline, forecast and follow-up information accurate in HubSpot so the team has clear visibility of progress and expected results.
- Work closely with the international Sales team, Japan based colleagues across Watches, Jewellery and Fashion teams.
What You’ll Bring
Required experience and skills
- Experience in business development, new business acquisition or partnerships, with a track record of converting prospects into active business relationships.
- Fluency in Japanese and professional fluency in English, with confidence leading commercial conversations and explaining operational requirements in both languages.
- Strong commercial judgement, negotiation skills and the ability to assess seller potential and prioritise opportunities.
- Experience managing a sales pipeline and following opportunities through to onboarding and activation. You are organised and comfortable using a CRM such as HubSpot.
- The ability to explain processes clearly, train business partners and maintain momentum through detailed onboarding work.
- Confidence working independently in a remote role and collaborating with international teams across cultures and time zones.
Helpful experience
- Exposure to API integrations, marketplace connectivity or helping sellers adopt new digital tools.
- Experience in pre-owned luxury, watches, branded jewellery, designer fashion, recommerce or wholesale.
- Knowledge of cross-border ecommerce, international logistics or shipping between Japan and Europe.
- An existing network among Japanese luxury resale businesses, retailers, wholesalers or enterprise sellers.
Where you'll Be
This is a fully remote position based in Japan, with occasional travel for seller meetings or tradeshows. You’ll be part of our global Luxury Sales team, working closely with peers across Europe and Asia to deliver category success.
Why You'll Love Working with Us
- Create a visible impact by working at scale in a global organisation serving millions of customers across 80+ categories. In our flat structure, every role has a broad scope and directly impacts both our customers and the business.
- Learn and grow through our Learning & Development initiatives, including clear development plans and mentorship programmes to support your career progression.
- A culture of connection defines us. We’re a passionate, diverse team of 800+ Catawikians representing 60+ nationalities. We foster an inclusive and queer-friendly environment where everyone is encouraged to bring their full self to work.
- Celebrate life’s moments with us. You’ll receive a €100 Catavoucher when you join, a €50 Catavoucher on your birthday, and an extra day off each year to “Pursue Your Passion”. We also offer additional leave for key work anniversaries and important life events. Benefits may vary by location.
Our Offices and Way of Working
Our vibrant offices in Amsterdam and Lisbon are designed to inspire collaboration. Most Catawikians operate in a hybrid setup, combining office-based and remote work, with a minimum of two days per week in the office, unless a role is explicitly stated as fully remote or fully office-based.
Interested?
Apply with an English CV and Cover Letter. By applying, you agree to Catawiki’s Applicant Privacy Policy. If you’re excited about this role but don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support the review of your application. AI may help us assess how your experience matches the requirements of the role, but hiring decisions are always made by our recruitment team
