Head of Operations

Role Overview

A senior operations leadership role for someone who has done this before — built payment operations from the inside, managed teams across multiple markets, and knows the difference between running a function and transforming one. You will own Card Ops, CS, Payment Ops, Compliance Ops, and Treasury Ops across SEA, reporting directly to the Group COO and managing a 30+ person organisation across Singapore and Malaysia.

What You'll Do

Strategic Leadership

• Define and execute the SEA operations strategy across card issuing, acquiring, stablecoin payments, and DPT services
• Build a lean, expert, AI-augmented organisation that scales without proportional headcount growth
• Partner with the COO and C-level on operating models and cross-functional initiatives
• Represent operations in board reporting, investor discussions, and regulatory engagements

Operations Management

Card Operations Primary Focus

This function demands a leader with genuine hands-on depth — someone who has personally navigated card programme operations from the inside and can roll up their sleeves when it matters.we need someone who can walk into a scheme audit, own a reconciliation break, or rebuild a dispute workflow from scratch.

• Own card issuing programmes across Corporate, Individual, and B2B2C Card — full lifecycle from application through cancellation, to scheme standards at every stage
• Own Visa and Mastercard issuing operations in full — BIN management, scheme compliance, mandate tracking, and certification cycles
• Drive authorisation monitoring, 3DS tuning, fraud rule configuration, and chargeback management end-to-end
• Define and own card programme SLAs — and hold the team to the same standard you hold yourself
• Lead card reconciliation and ensure exceptions are resolved within agreed timelines
• Partner with Internal Product on the card platform roadmap — author BRDs and ensure what gets built works in production

Customer Service Primary Focus

CS is the clearest signal of whether operations are actually working. We need a leader who has built and run CS at scale — someone who knows what a broken escalation path feels like, can spot a training gap from a complaint trend, and holds a vendor team to the same standard as their own.

• Lead multi-tiered CS operations (L1 / L2 / L3) across all channels — inbound and outbound, customer and merchant
• Own CS SLAs and build the reporting infrastructure to track them in real time
• Manage vendor and internal specialist teams to consistent quality, training, and compliance standards
• Drive AI-powered CS transformation — chatbots, L1 automation, intelligent routing — measured by deflection rate and CSAT impact
• Build escalation frameworks, knowledge infrastructure, and training programmes so quality does not depend on who is on shift
• Run a programme that turns complaint trends into structural fixes across Product and Operations

Payment Ops · Compliance Ops · Treasury Ops

Beyond Card Ops and CS, this role carries full accountability across three additional functions. Across Payment Ops, own merchant acquiring end-to-end — processing, scheme operations (Visa / Mastercard / WeChat Pay / Alipay), reconciliation, settlement, and chargeback management. In Compliance Ops, oversee customer onboarding, KYC / KYB execution, and periodic reviews — maintaining a clear boundary with second-line Compliance. In Treasury Ops, manage pay-in / pay-out processing, fund monitoring, and daily reconciliation with timely resolution of all exceptions.

People & Organisation

• Directly manage functional leads across all five operations functions
• Own headcount planning, capacity modelling, and workforce allocation
• Lead structured performance management — OKRs, reviews, feedback, promotion and PIP decisions
• Build talent pipelines in card issuing and CS; manage succession and eliminate single-points-of-failure
• Manage multiple L1/L2 CS and operations teams from vendors and partners
• Drive talent strategy: recruit specialised payment operations expertise, transition existing team members through training and role evolution, manage attrition and replacement decisions
• Build a cohesive cross-site culture between SG and KL through regular on-site presence

Transformation, Collaboration & Risk

• Lead the operations side of dtcpay's AI-native transformation — identify automation opportunities, define BRDs/PRDs, and manage the change management and people transition through automation rollout
• Partner with Compliance, Finance, Product, Tech, and IT Governance on shared workflows, digitisation roadmap, and regulatory operations
• Own first-line risk management; ensure all operations meet MAS MPI, Visa / Mastercard scheme rules, and PCI DSS requirements
• Lead operations-side response to audits and regulatory examinations; maintain audit-ready documentation, SOPs, and evidence trails at all times

What We're Looking For

Experience & Background

• 8+ years of operations leadership in payments, card issuing, or regulated financial services — at least 3 years at senior management level
• Track record at a licensed payment institution, e-money issuer, acquiring bank, or major bank's cards/payments division — with direct MAS, BNM, or equivalent regulatory exposure
• Deep, hands-on card operations expertise is required: Visa / Mastercard issuing programme management, full card lifecycle, fraud and 3DS, chargeback and dispute management, and card reconciliation
• Proven experience of building and running large-scale CS operations (100+ agents or equivalent vendor capacity) — multi-tier model design, AI-driven transformation, and complaint management
• Familiarity with at least one of: merchant acquiring, KYC/KYB onboarding, or treasury / funds operations
• Experience leading multi-location teams of 30+ across SEA strongly preferred

Technical Knowledge

• Deep knowledge of card ecosystems: Visa / Mastercard scheme rules, BIN management, ISO 8583, authorisation flows, 3DS, disputes, interchange, and settlement
• Strong grasp of MAS PSA (MPI), PCI DSS, AML/CFT, and scheme compliance obligations
• Familiarity with stablecoin payments, DPT operations, and AI-native payment infrastructure is a strong plus

Leadership

• Proven track record building and developing a high-performing operations team across SEA regions
• Structured on performance management — OKRs, underperformance, and promotions handled with clarity
• Strategic thinker who can define a 3-year operations vision and translate it into quarterly execution plans
• Excellent English; Mandarin a strong plus given dtcpay's bilingual culture and regional operations

Location & Reporting

• Based in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, with regular travel between both locations
• Reports to the Group COO
• Direct management: Card Ops, CS, Payment Ops, Compliance Ops, Treasury Ops leads
• Indirect / matrix: vendor and partner operations teams