Manulife

Head of Singapore Operations & Asia Fund Administration

Singapore Full time

Role Overview

This role combines on-the-ground leadership of Singapore Investment Operations with regional responsibility as Asia Head of Fund Administration.

The position is accountable for the effective delivery of fund administration and investment operations activities across Asia, while maintaining direct ownership of the Singapore operating platform, teams, and local regulatory requirements.

The role focuses on strong execution, control, and oversight, translating regional strategy into consistent, well-controlled day-to-day operational outcomes.

Role Objectives

  • Provide hands-on operational leadership for Singapore Investment Operations

  • Deliver accurate, timely, and compliant fund administration across Asia

  • Ensure strong control, risk management, and issue resolution practices

  • Drive regional consistency and standardization while respecting local regulatory requirements

  • Act as a senior operational escalation point for service providers, auditors, and internal stakeholders

Singapore Operations Leadership

  • Manage day-to-day Singapore Operations

  • Act as a key operational contact for MAS, external auditors, trustees, and custodians

  • Ensure compliance with MAS regulations, internal policies, procedures, and control standards

  • Lead and develop Singapore-based teams including performance management and talent development

  • Own operational controls, incident management, root cause analysis, and remediation

  • Partner with Investment, Distribution, General Accounts, Finance, Risk, Compliance, and Technology teams among others

  • Manage local budgets, vendor expenses, and productivity metrics

Asia Fund Administration Oversight

  • Execute the ever evolving Asia Fund Administration operating model across 8+ markets

  • Implement regional policies, procedures, and operating standards

  • Oversee third-party service providers including administrators, custodians, and pricing vendors

  • Act as a regional owner for NAV accuracy, data quality, and book-of-record integrity

  • Monitor KPIs, SLAs, control metrics, and risk indicators

  • Participate in regional governance forums and operating reviews

Change & Continuous Improvement

  • Execute regional process improvement and automation initiatives

  • Support implementation of strategic platforms and systems

  • Contribute to operating model and vendor optimization changes

  • Partner with Technology and Change teams to improve efficiency and resilience

  • Background in continuous improvement and a passion for NextGen and AI tools

Risk, Governance & Stakeholder Management

  • Own operational risk issues, audit actions, and regulatory findings within scope

  • Maintain audit readiness and timely issue closure

  • Prepare management reporting for Asia Operations leadership

  • Escalate material NAV, client, or operational issues appropriately

Qualifications & Experience

  • 10–15+ years of experience in Investment Operations or Fund Administration

  • Strong hands-on experience with NAV oversight and third-party management

  • Experience operating across multiple Asia markets

  • Solid understanding of MAS regulatory requirements

  • Proven people leadership experience

  • Experience supporting platform or operating model change

When you join our team:

  • We’ll empower you to learn and grow the career you want.

  • We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words.

  • As part of our global team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see.

#LI-WAM

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html.

Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law.

It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact hr@manulife.com.

Working Arrangement

Hybrid