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About the Role

Okta is building the trusted, neutral infrastructure to enable organizations to safely embrace AI. This role offers an opportunity to do career-defining work in a fast-paced, innovative, and collaborative environment. We are seeking a Director to lead our high-growth Japan Sales Development team, owning the management of inbound business development and outbound prospecting pipeline strategy and execution. This is a high visibility role 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.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end strategy for Sales Development across Japan, setting the sales vision, operating model, and key performance metrics.
Establish operational rigor and a culture of high performance across the SDR organization.
Translate market trends, customer insights, and competitive intelligence into targeted prospecting strategies.
Drive cross-functional collaboration with Sales, Marketing, Channel, and RevOps for alignment on account coverage, persona focus, and handoff models.
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 and demonstrating best-in-class outreach techniques.
Set and reinforce high standards for outbound quality, personalization, and consistency.
Leverage tools, AI, intent data, and industry insights to create advanced outbound plays.
Inspect outbound performance regularly, identifying root causes of gaps and driving corrective actions.
Ensure tools, systems, and processes are optimized to support efficient prospecting and high conversion outcomes.
Conduct regular inspections of operational workflows, prospecting motions, and productivity metrics.
Implement governance frameworks to uphold SDR productivity, quality, compliance, and forecasting accuracy.
Develop scalable mechanisms for pipeline generation, including playbooks, sequences, and qualification standards.
Partner with RevOps to build capacity models, coverage plans, and forecasting processes.
Build, coach, and inspire a high-performing SDR leadership bench.
Implement structured coaching frameworks that elevate SDR skills in prospecting, qualifying, discovery, and opportunity creation.
Provide targeted, actionable feedback supported by regular call reviews and performance inspections.
Develop career pathways that enable rapid ramp, strong performance, and optimized tenure.
Drive a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement.
Foster an inclusive, engaged, and collaborative team environment.
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.
Work jointly with Enablement to design onboarding, ramping programs, and skills development sessions.
Serve as the voice of the SDR organization at the leadership table.
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.
Continuously refine the pipeline generation strategy to adapt to changing market conditions and business priorities.

Requirements

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.
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.
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).

Skills

Salesforce
Outreach
AI tools
Prospecting
Account planning
Outbound strategy
Messaging
ICP refinement
Persona-based plays
Forecasting
Capacity planning
Segmentation
SDR/Sales handoff models
Analytical skills
Diagnostic skills
Coaching frameworks
Qualification standards
Onboarding programs
Talent development
Executive presence
Influence skills

Location

Tokyo

Work Type

In person
Full-time

Experience Level

Director
10-15+ years

Education Level

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field (or equivalent experience)

Benefits

Supporting Your Well-Being
Driving Social Impact
Developing Talent and Fostering Connection + Community
Immersive, in-person onboarding experience

About the Company

Okta secures AI by building the trusted, neutral infrastructure that enables organizations to safely embrace this new era.
At Okta, our mission is to maintain a people-first, diverse, and inclusive culture.
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.

Equal Opportunity

Okta is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, or status as a protected veteran. We also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and convictions records, consistent with applicable laws.
If reasonable accommodation is needed to complete any part of the job application, interview process, or onboarding please use this Form to request an accommodation.
Notice for New York City Applicants & Employees: Okta may use Automated Employment Decision Tools (AEDT), as defined by New York City Local Law 144, that use artificial intelligence, machine learning, or other automated processes to assist in our recruitment and hiring process. In accordance with NYC Local Law 144, if you are an applicant or employee residing in New York City, please click here to view our full NYC AEDT Notice.