SEA Business Growth & Operations Manager

About WorldFirst

WorldFirst is part of Ant International, a global digital payments and financial technology group. Since its founding in 2004, WorldFirst has supported businesses with cross-border payment solutions designed to make international commerce simpler, faster and more accessible.

Through its global business account and payment capabilities, WorldFirst helps businesses collect, hold, convert and make payments across international markets.

About the Role

We are looking for a SEA Business Growth & Operations Manager to help drive WorldFirst’s business and user growth across Southeast Asia.

This is a highly cross-functional position combining business growth, product strategy and operational execution. You will work closely with regional stakeholders and international Product, Engineering, Service, Legal, Compliance, Customer Service and Onboarding teams to identify market opportunities, address customer pain points and translate business needs into scalable product and operational solutions.

The role would suit someone who is comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment, managing multiple stakeholders and taking ownership of initiatives from market research and business requirements through to implementation.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive business growth initiatives across the Southeast Asia region.
• Collaborate with international Product and Service teams, including Engineering, Legal, Compliance, Customer Service and Onboarding, to define, develop, improve and implement processes, policies and system-related solutions.
• Develop and implement user-growth strategies based on client needs, market insights and commercial opportunities. Leverage growth tools and product incentives to support new-user acquisition, activation and engagement.
• Translate client and market challenges into clear business requirements and implementation strategies, with a particular focus on businesses expanding internationally, including those establishing subsidiaries across different markets.
• Provide insights and drive the implementation of cross-functional projects by gathering business requirements for technology builds, preparing business requirement documents, mapping and re-engineering processes and managing projects through execution.
• Support the effective delivery of key business initiatives, including preparing materials for senior management, facilitating management discussions, maintaining project timelines, providing progress updates, drafting processes and validating the implementation of agreed initiatives.

Requirements

Commercial and Regional Experience

• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Professional proficiency in Mandarin is required, as the role involves regular business communication and requirements alignment with Mandarin-speaking Product and Engineering teams, as well as external stakeholders whose primary working language is Mandarin.
• Experience working across Southeast Asian markets, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia or the Philippines.
• At least 3 years of relevant experience in business growth, partnerships, product management or business operations within a cross-border or international business environment.
• Strong ability to work across organisational boundaries, navigate ambiguity and build effective internal networks to improve cross-functional collaboration.
• Ability to manage a fast-paced schedule and a high volume of work, delivering quality outcomes within short timelines and complex governance structures.
• Demonstrated ownership, commitment, accountability and responsibility for assigned business objectives, together with strong interpersonal skills and a proactive, solutions-oriented mindset.

Product and Payments Experience

• Prior experience supporting payment-product development and launches is highly valued. Candidates who have successfully contributed to the rollout of card products will receive strong consideration.
• Good understanding of the cross-border payments landscape and the needs of businesses operating across multiple markets.
• At least 3 years of relevant experience in payments product management, business analysis or a closely related role within the cross-border payments industry is preferred.
• Ability to independently conduct market and client research and manage the end-to-end development of business requirement documents.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to translate data, customer insights and market information into practical business recommendations and actions.