Client Finance Operations Team Lead - Automation & Process Improvement

Primary Purpose
Manages a SmartOps team delivering client administrative, financial processing and operational support tasks through a smarter offshore operating model using automation, artificial intelligence and structured controls.
Act as the day-to-day bridge between client requirements, SmartOps team delivery and Automation/Technology teams to ensure client work is delivered accurately, on time and with strong customer service.
Partner with the onshore resource responsible for maintaining the client relationship and act as the operational delivery contact for assigned SmartOps clients.
Own the day-to-day maintenance of client-facing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), internal SmartOps operating runbooks, automation requirements, testing feedback and workflow improvement actions for assigned clients.
Lead identification of automation opportunities for new client projects and continuous improvement of existing project automations.
In addition to the details listed above and below, you may be required to perform additional duties that are considered within your role and skill level.
Responsibilities
Manage SmartOps project streams that may include FinOps, RetailOps, retail data administration, AP/AR-related reconciliation and other client operational or financial administration workflows.
Manages a SmartOps team working across client administrative, financial processing, automation and operational support streams.
Assigns, prioritises and balances workloads across team members to ensure optimal utilisation, SLA adherence and high-quality customer service.
Oversees complex administrative workflows, reconciliations, payroll validations, accrual reviews, claims administration, reporting activities and other client support processes.
Leads identification of automation opportunities for new client projects and continuously improves automations for existing projects.
Works closely with Automation and Technology teams to design, build, test and refine workflow automations and operational tools.
Work closely with the onshore resource responsible for maintaining the client relationship, acting as the operational point of contact for day-to-day SmartOps delivery.
Provide timely operational updates, issue details, process documentation and automation progress feedback to onshore resources and internal onshore teams.
Ensure client questions or issues shared by onshore resources are investigated and responded to quickly with clear actions, owners and expected timeframes.
Coordinate with onshore teams before material SOP changes, process changes, automation changes or client communications are finalised.
Owns the assigned client SOP library, including client-facing SOPs, supporting documentation, process maps, change logs and review cycles.
Ensures clients have visibility of relevant client-facing SOPs, agreed service processes, escalation pathways, reporting expectations and operational responsibilities.
Maintains internal SmartOps operating runbooks where required, including detailed staff instructions, automation steps, exception handling procedures, manual fallback steps, quality checks and automation developer notes.
Prepares or reviews detailed requirements documentation, process maps, step-by-step workflow guides, sample scenarios, exception rules and test cases for automation developers.
Coordinates User Acceptance Testing (UAT), testing evidence, issue logs and structured feedback loops with automation developers.
Reviews and approves complex deliverables prior to client or stakeholder distribution.
Ensures team members provide timely responses and professional communication to clients and internal stakeholders.
Attends client meetings as required to discuss operational performance, issue resolution, workflow improvements, SOP updates and automation opportunities.
Identifies delivery, capacity, customer service and utilisation risks and proactively implements mitigation strategies.
Escalates structured operational, financial, customer service or automation risks to Senior Team Leader or Manager with clear impact analysis.
Leads onboarding, training, performance management and development discussions for team members.
Chairs operational review meetings and ensures accountability for open items and performance metrics.
Requirements
Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Information Systems, Operations or related field.
6+ years experience in structured client operations, financial processing, operational support, automation-enabled service delivery or related roles.
3+ years experience managing small teams or project streams.
Expert Excel capability including advanced reconciliation modelling and reporting frameworks.
Demonstrated ability to drive structured workflow improvement and automation initiatives.
Strong ability to document business requirements, workflow steps, SOPs and automation-ready process guides.
Strong client communication and stakeholder management skills.
Experience supporting FinOps, RetailOps or similar client operational transformation projects would be advantageous.
Being well versed in retail data and/or financial reconciliation tasks, including AP/AR-related processes, would be highly valuable in this role.
Experience working with Automation/Technology teams to translate operational processes into automation-ready requirements, process maps, step-by-step guides and testing documentation.
Experience with AI agents or agentic workflows is preferred but not required.
Significant experience in process automation workstreams related to major ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle or Microsoft Dynamics environments.
Benefits
Dynamic and professional working environment
13th and 14th month salary bonus
16 days of fully paid annual leave
100% gross salary in probation
100% statutory insurance
Days off for Christmas Day (25th December) and Boxing Day (26th December)
Bao Viet healthcare insurance
Company trip/ Team Building/ Year End Party
Annual health check
Free parking
Mid-Autumn gift/ Tet gift/ Monthly Happy hour/ Sport Day...