APAC Government Relations Lead

About Wise

Wise is a global payments company, building the best way to move and manage the world's money.

With Wise, people and businesses can hold 40 currencies, move money between countries and spend money abroad. Large companies and banks use Wise technology too, through Wise Platform. Wise is one of the world's fastest growing, consistently profitable listed tech companies offering a service to retail consumers through an app, card or online Wise launched in 2011 and is currently listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker WISE, but has recently announced that it will be moving its primary listing to the United States, retaining a secondary listing in the UK.

Wise supports around 15.6 million people and businesses, and processes approximately US$200 billion annually in cross-border transactions, saving customers an estimated £2 billion in hidden fees.

Your mission

The APAC Policy/GR Lead will be the first point of contact for APAC government relations/policy and lead activity to influence policy decisions that improve the outcomes for customers, through greater competition and lower prices. Wise will be a dual-listed US-UK company by the time you take up the role, having recently moved its primary listing to the US, so navigating this will present an additional context that will be very new to the company.

You'll know how to navigate the APAC political landscape in order to generate policy outcomes to benefit our customers. With a focus on the issues of access to payments systems and price transparency, you'll have to navigate political and industry dynamics, through building coalitions and advancing compelling arguments.

You will represent Wise in industry groups and civil society organizations, prepare and brief Wise executives for policymaker meetings, and translate complex policy developments to cross-team colleagues and Wise leadership. You will be an advocate for our G20 Scorecard Reports, and for making progress on direct access and price transparency, the two pillars of the G20 Cross Border Payments Roadmap.

You'll sit within the global Government Relations (policy) team and will manage two direct reports, one in Singapore and one in India. You will primarily work with banking, PR, product, compliance and legal colleagues, as well as other GR colleagues.

About you:

• Passionate: You'll be a skilled advocate and deeply passionate about Wise, our Mission, and delivering for our customers.
• Political and/or policy experience: You'll have deep political and/or policy experience and demonstrate the ability to work on financial services.
• Laser focused on outcomes: We're a scale-up and you will need an entrepreneurial mindset to thrive. You'll be laser focused on driving outcomes to benefit our customers.
• Media-savvy and a skilled communicator: You'll be a versatile and skilled writer even on complicated issues. You are confident and compelling with multiple styles, and understand how to leverage public-facing mediums to drive policy outcomes.
• Without borders: You're curious about other cultures, have a global mindset, and though the role is Singapore based, you are prepared to spend time abroad for work.
• Coalition builder: You'll understand how to leverage relationships, create connections, and ultimately build coalitions, with industry, consumers, and governments.

Experience required:

• 10+ years experience in public policy and government relations, in public and/or private sectors.
• At least 3 years experience as a lead, and a record of development of their direct reports
• A strong track record of impactful activity in political/policy/government in the financial services industry, relevant government departments, or regulatory authorities.
• Clear alignment with Wise's Mission
• Polished speaker and writer, with the gravitas to represent Wise at a senior level

Nice to haves:

• Experience in fintech/finance with payments/banking
• Experience across APAC
• Experience working with multiple regulators and policymakers
• Knowledge of Wise's products