VP of Operations

First Circle is one of the fastest growing fintechs in South-East Asia building a full service SME NeoBank for underserved SMEs.

We started life as a digital SME lender through which we made credit available to thousands of SMEs. We closed Series B last year and recently launched our digital banking platform with domestic payments and savings, and we are now expanding our product range to corporate credit cards, payroll, and workflow tools like invoices. In 2024, we acquired a bank which is undergoing the central bank regulatory approval process.

First Circle is in scale-up mode. We employ 180+ people in established operations. Our internal systems to automate processes or increase efficiency are developing almost as fast as our product suite. For example, over the past year we have integrated AI into all aspects of our operations, entirely automating credit pre-approvals and all data extraction from customer documents.

About the Role

Our VP of Operations will join our leadership team with the specific mandate to scale our customer operations across Sales, Retention, and Product Operations. We have a strong preference to scale with systems rather than people, but leadership and team building are both necessary and critical to your success.

Our VP of Operations will report directly to our co-founder and inherit a well functioning organisation which has levelled up multiple times over the past two years. The role is about scaling, systems building, and operational leverage not fixing what is already there. Specifically, the objectives are building systems and scaling operations to achieve two results:

• Maintain current growth rate to achieve >$100m revenue within 3 years
• Product expansion from 2 to 5 products all of which are in development today and will be MVP release during 2025

This is a high-impact leadership role at a fast-growing fintech in one of the world’s most exciting markets. We're building a transformative business with many problems to be solved and much unchartered territory ahead. We’re much more interested in your trajectory and growth potential vs. years of experience.

Please note: relocation to Manila, Philippines for at least 18 months is required.

Performance Objectives

• Revenue growth through operational scale
• Customer-centric design of operational processes and workflows
• Scale our sales & retention teams improving unit outputs
• Operating leverage by building systems and processes
• Build technology to automate & streamline operations
• Operational excellence by continuously improving a finely-tuned, carefully instrumented operational unit
• Foster as execution-centric culture
• Results-orientated with firm but fair approach to management
• Attract & retain the best talent

• Proven operator with a track record of delivering top-tier results across complex, multi-team environments
• Customer-centric leader who obsesses over user experience
• Systems-builder and tinkerer who believes in automating wherever possible and working closely with tech teams
• Growth mindset executive who thrives in fast-paced, scaling environments
• Data-driven decision maker who measures and manages through metrics
• Intrinsically motivated by purpose, personal growth, and the thrill of growing an organisation

• Opportunity to work within a high-growth environment working on meaningful products that reshape SME finance in Southeast Asia.
• We don't have a fixed budget for the role. When we find the right person, we will pay them competitively vs their market rate plus performance bonus.
• Equity ownership in the company, a mix of time and performance ESOP
• International medical insurance, Macbooks, relocation support, fitness allowance and more