Head of Operations Asia

BBVA; Hong Kong; On-site; HKD 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

BBVA in Hong Kong seeks a senior operations leader to act as the primary liaison between Asia regional units and Madrid heads. You will lead local regulatory reporting and customer support, ensuring timely compliance and high-quality service across the hub.

The role requires extensive leadership across disparate teams, strong regulatory knowledge, and fluency in English (Spanish is a plus) to coordinate with Madrid. Mandarin/Cantonese is advantageous.

Qualifications

• Academic qualifications as stated: University degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Finance or quantitative fields.
• Postgraduate education valued in Banking, Operations, or Finance.

Responsibilities

• Act as primary interface between local business units and Madrid-based Operations Heads.
• Lead local teams delivering Regulatory Reporting and Customer Support.
• Coordinate regional extensions and prioritize operational deliverables.
• Interact with local regulators and ensure alignment with Madrid risk and legal guidelines.
• Support Asia growth with structured operational setup for new products and flows.

Skills

People leadership

Operations management

Multicultural navigation

Regulatory compliance

BBVA core banking MIDAS/STAR

MS Office (Excel/PowerPoint)

English fluency

Spanish proficiency

Mandarin/Cantonese

Education

Bachelor's degree

Postgraduate certificate / Master's in Banking/Finance

Tools

MIDAS

STAR

Job description

• Front-to-Back Strategic Liaison: Act as the primary interface and escalation point between local business units (Front Office, Bankers, and Branch Managers across Asia) and Madrid-based Operations Heads of Discipline. Bridge commercial expectations with operational delivery capability.
• Direct Leadership of Local Core Functions: Leader directly of the local teams executing Regulatory Reporting (assuring error-free, timely compliance with local monetary authorities) and Customer Support (managing CIB client queries and issue resolution) across the hub.
• Matricial Coordination of HO Extensions: Provide leadership and advice, localized guidance, and operational prioritization to the regional extension teams, stepping in with local business criteria to resolve bottleneck operations on the ground.
• Corporate & Regulatory Interaction: Act as the primary operational representative in front of local Asian regulators and compliance bodies. Align regulatory requests with Madrid's Head Office risk and legal guidelines.
• Support Asia growth: As BBVA CIB continues to expand its footprint and ambition in Asia, provide structured operational support and setup criteria for new products and operations flows in the region.

Candidate Specifications & Selection Criteria

Academic Qualifications

• University Degree: Bachelor's or equivalent degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Finance, or highly quantitative disciplines.
• Postgraduate Education: Postgraduate certificates, specialized certifications, or a Master's degree in Banking, Operations, or Finance is highly valued.

Professional Experience

• Financial Sector Operations: Minimum of 10 years of demonstrable, hands-on experience working in banking operational departments. Practical knowledge spanning multiple disciplines is highly advantageous.
• People Leadership & Management: Between 5 and 10 years of experience directly managing, coordinating, and scaling mid-to-large sized operations teams in a dynamic, high-pressure corporate environment.
• Core Banking: Deep familiarity and operational exposure to BBVA core banking systems, specifically MIDAS (and its localized interfaces) and STAR.
• Advanced mastery of Microsoft Office applications (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) for reporting and pipeline analysis.
• English: Absolute professional fluency (written and spoken) requirement as the primary regional working language.
• Spanish: Strong conversational and written proficiency is highly valued to secure seamless channels of dialogue with discipline leads in Madrid.
• Asian Languages: Proficiency in Mandarin (Chinese), Japanese, Korean, or Cantonese is a highly competitive plus to interact with local branch personnel, regulatory bodies, and regional clients.
• Strong Customer & Commercial Focus: An unwavering commitment to ensuring exceptional service delivery and client satisfaction. Possess the intellectual empathy to translate Front Office commercial needs into optimized Operations schedules.
• Matrix & Multicultural Navigation: Proven capacity to operate smoothly and build consensus across complex reporting structures and culturally diverse operational landscapes.
• Collaborative & Inspirational Leadership: A proven ability to motivate, unify, and lead geographically dispersed, diverse teams. Fosters an inclusive culture of accountability and continuous improvement.