Role Overview
The Head of Corporate Operations will serve as the company's senior-most administrative executive, responsible for building and leading an independent corporate and administrative capability for the industrial zone. This is a foundational governance role: the successful candidate will be tasked with gaining full visibility over the corporate, financial, administrative, and commercial support functions performed on behalf of the company by an externa service provider and progressively assuming direct responsibility for all corporate and administrative activities.
This Head of Corporate Operations will gain a complete overview of the corporate backbone functions — finance, HR, administration, procurement, IT, customer interface, and business development — where institutional knowledge, relationships with authorities, banks, and clients, and control over financial flows are critical to the company's autonomy and governance integrity in preparation for establishing an independent organization to receive handover of these functions.
Key Responsibilities
Knowledge Transfer & Transition
- Document all processes, workflows, institutional knowledge, and key relationships currently held within the Service Provider's corporate departments.
- Prepare the ground for the company's assumption of independent management of all corporate functions, identifying gaps in capacity, systems, or personnel that must be addressed.
- Maintain a comprehensive transition readiness assessment and report progress to the Board.
Required Qualifications
- Experience: Minimum 10 years in corporate operations, finance, or general management roles. At least 5 years in a senior position with responsibility for multiple functional areas (e.g., CFO, COO, VP Corporate Services, or equivalent). Experience in industrial real estate, infrastructure development, or a related capital-intensive sector is strongly preferred.
- Education: Bachelor's degree (minimum) in business administration, finance, accounting, economics, or a related field. Professional certifications (CPA, ACCA, CMA) or MBA are a plus.
- Language: Local Vietnamese with fluency in English — ability to draft reports, review contracts, and communicate with an international board is essential.
- Regulatory Knowledge: Strong understanding of Vietnamese corporate law, accounting standards (VAS), tax regulations, labor law, and procurement practices.
- Technical: Proficiency with ERP systems, financial reporting tools, and corporate IT platforms.
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior experience in a foreign-invested enterprise (FIE) in Vietnam, particularly in an industrial zone, infrastructure, or real estate development context.
- Experience in Northern Vietnam (Hai Phong / Quang Ninh region is preferred).
- Track record of managing relationships with Vietnamese provincial authorities, tax authorities, and banking institutions.
- Experience overseeing corporate transitions, carve-outs, or post-acquisition integrations.
- Familiarity with land-use rights management, investment licensing (IRC/ERC), and industrial zone regulatory compliance.
Key Competencies
- Independence & Governance Mindset: Ability to exercise independent judgment and maintain objectivity while operating with the Service Provider's organization. Willingness to escalate concerns to the Board without hesitation.
- Attention to Detail: Meticulous approach to financial oversight, procurement review, and documentation. Ability to detect anomalies and ensure completeness of information.
- Cross-Cultural Communication: Comfort operating in an international team where English is the primary working language, bridging Vietnamese regulatory and business practices with international corporate governance standards.
- Stakeholder Management: Strong interpersonal skills for managing complex relationships with the Service Provider's staff while maintaining the company's independent oversight mandate.
- Resilience: Ability to navigate an organizational transition period that may involve ambiguity, competing priorities, and institutional resistance.
Compensation
Competitive package commensurate with experience, comprising base salary, performance-based bonus linked to governance and transition KPIs, 13th-month salary, health insurance, and standard statutory benefits. The Board is prepared to offer a premium package to attract the right candidate for this critical governance role.
