Channel Partnership Manager

UQPAY; Johor Bahru; On-site; MYR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

A financial technology company located in Johor Bahru seeks a Channel Partnerships Manager to formulate and execute strategies for developing valuable partnerships. The ideal candidate has 8–10 years of experience in the payments or fintech industry, is fluent in English and Mandarin, and possesses exceptional project management skills. This role involves end-to-end management of partnerships, ensuring compliance, and driving growth in transaction volume.

Qualifications

• 8–10 years of channel development or partnership management experience in payments or fintech.
• Proven track record of independently closing partnerships with banks or major channels.
• Understanding of APAC regulatory requirements is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Formulate and execute annual channel strategy.
• Manage channel partnerships from cold calling to contract signing.
• Collaborate with internal legal, compliance, and risk teams.

Skills

Fluent in English

Fluent in Mandarin Chinese

Cross-functional execution

Project management skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree or above

Job description

Key Responsibilities

1. Work closely with the Head of Channel Partnerships to formulate and execute the annual channel strategy, identify business expansion opportunities, maintain existing partnerships on a mutually beneficial basis, and drive sustained growth in transaction volume and company revenue.
2. Build and dynamically manage channel partners pipeline; establish and continuously optimize Key Account (KA) selection criteria.
3. End-to-end management of channel partnerships: from initial cold calling, product evaluation, commercial negotiation, contract signing, compliance & risk review, technical integration to successful go-live.
4. Proactively collaborate with Legal, Compliance, and Risk teams to expand service scope of channel partners (Visa & Mastercard, banks, non-banks) and coordinate AML/CFT risk assessments and urgent risk incident responses.
5. Functional key stakeholder management (BD, Operations, Finance, Marketing, Legal, Compliance, Risk, HR etc.) to ensure overall collaboration efficiency and effectiveness.
6. Act as PMO between internal teams (Product, R&D, and Technical Implementation) and external partners to ensure timely project delivery with desirable quality as mutually agreed with external partners.
7. Support the Head of Channel Partnerships to follow up pre-screened leads from industry conferences/expos and partner events, converting high-potential partners into signed agreements.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Number and quality of newly signed channel partners (with emphasis on KA ratio)
• New channel conversion rate (initial contact → signing)
• Channel acquisition cost control and growth in channel-attributed transaction volume
• On-time delivery for strategic projects: SLA on delivery will be measured as well

Requirements

• Fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese (high English proficiency is a must)
• 8–10 years of channel development or partnership management experience in the payments, cross-border acquiring, card scheme cooperation, or fintech industry
• Proven track record of independently closing and launching partnerships with banks, licensed payment institutions, large PSPs, or other major channels
• Candidates who bring mature, immediately actionable channel resources (e.g. in Singapore, Hong Kong, Europe, UK, US) will be prioritized (resources may be verified during background check)
• Understanding of APAC regulatory requirements and Visa/MC card scheme rules is a plus
• Exceptional cross-functional execution and project management skills; able to lead complex strategic deals independently
• Bachelor’s degree or above; willing to be based in Johor Bahru with 30–40% regional travel