Operations Hiring in Asia: The Talent Is There, but Are the Right Skills?

Operations hiring trends across Asia are picking up, particularly across hedge funds, asset managers and other buy-side firms. But this is not a return to broad headcount growth. Firms are approving roles where there is a clear business need, and that puts more weight on each hire. 

At the same time, the Operations profile is changing. Product knowledge now sits alongside automation, transformation, controls and stakeholder management. For internal HR and Talent Acquisition teams, the challenge is less about generating applicants and more about finding people who can meet that broader brief. 

Buy-side growth is increasing pressure on Operations 

As investment platforms grow, the workload behind portfolio managers and trading teams grows with them. 

Hong Kong is a strong example. The city’s asset and wealth management industry reached a record HK$42.2 trillion in assets under management in 2025, up 20% year on year, according to the Securities and Futures Commission. Net fund inflows also rose 193% to HK$2.1 trillion. 

Read the SFC’s 2025 Asset and Wealth Management Activities Survey findings

For Operations teams, that growth can mean more settlements, reconciliations, corporate actions, fund activity and oversight of administrators, custodians and other service providers. New asset classes and strategies add another layer of complexity through different workflows, systems and control requirements. 

For lean hedge funds and asset managers, the need is often not simply another pair of hands. They need someone who can take ownership across several parts of the operating model. 

Our Hong Kong Buy Side Hiring Trends 2026 analysis looks more closely at how Operations teams are changing as buy-side firms grow. 

The brief is getting broader 

Traditional experience across trade support, settlements, reconciliations and fund Operations remains important. Firms are now layering process improvement, systems, data, transformation and control expertise onto those requirements. 

That changes the shape of the search. A candidate may have strong product knowledge but limited transformation exposure. Another may understand systems and change programmes but lack the markets experience needed to support the front office. 

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower has identified a similar challenge across professional hiring. The proportion of PMET vacancies left open for six months or longer rose from 14.4% in 2024 to 16% in 2025, with greater specialization contributing to longer hiring periods. 

Read Singapore MOM’s analysis of specialist skills mismatches

For Operations hiring, this means the initial market may look large, but the genuinely relevant shortlist can be much smaller once product, systems and change experience are considered together. 

This is also where Talent Acquisition can challenge the brief. If every preference becomes mandatory, firms risk excluding candidates with strong transferable skills who could perform well with limited product or systems training. 

Automation is changing what good Operations talent looks like 

Technology is removing some repetitive work from Operations, but it is also increasing expectations of the people who remain. 

In Singapore, 56.4% of Financial and Insurance Services firms reported adopting AI, one of the highest adoption rates among the sectors measured by the Ministry of Manpower. The data suggests job redesign is currently more common than headcount reduction. 

Read Singapore MOM’s research on AI adoption and jobs

For Operations teams, that means more focus on exceptions, controls, analysis and process improvement. Firms still need people who understand how a trade, reconciliation or fund process works, but they increasingly value candidates who can also identify where that process can be improved. 

This experience does not always appear under a formal transformation title. It may come through a workflow someone redesigned, a manual control they removed or a systems project they supported alongside their main role. 

Our APAC Financial Services Hiring Outlook 2026 explores how technology, automation and changing skills requirements are affecting financial-services hiring across the region. 

Senior Operations talent is a different market 

The available pool narrows further at VP, team-lead and Head of Operations level. 

Senior hires are often expected to combine technical Operations experience with people leadership, front-office credibility, control oversight and the ability to lead change. Many of the people who meet that profile are already well established in their organizations and are not actively applying for roles. 

That changes how the market needs to be approached. An advertised vacancy can reach active candidates, but it may not reach the people a business most wants to speak to. 

At this level, role scope, reporting line, leadership exposure and the longer-term opportunity can matter as much as compensation. 

Recruitment and retention are becoming harder to separate 

When specialist Operations talent takes longer to replace, retaining existing capability becomes more important. 

Losing an experienced team member can remove product knowledge, systems expertise and established relationships at the same time. The remaining team then absorbs the workload while recruitment takes place. 

That makes internal development part of the hiring strategy. Giving existing Operations professionals exposure to automation, new products, transformation projects and wider responsibilities can build capabilities that may be difficult to buy externally. 

Retention also matters at offer stage. Specialist candidates can face counter offers from their current employer, particularly where replacing them would create an immediate capability gap. Our Counter Offers in Financial Services employer handbook looks at how employers can manage this risk. 

What does this mean for internal Talent Acquisition teams? 

The Operations hiring trends emerging across Asia point to a more selective and specialised market. 

Buy-side growth is increasing operational requirements. Automation is changing the skills firms value. Senior Operations professionals remain difficult to reach through active applications alone. 

For internal HR and Talent Acquisition teams, the priority is to understand the addressable market early. That means testing the job specification against available talent, identifying which skills are genuinely essential and recognizing where adjacent experience may be transferable. 

It also means knowing when additional market reach could help. Specialist searches, particularly at VP and leadership level, may require passive candidate mapping and deeper market coverage alongside existing internal recruitment activity. 

Hiring Operations talent in Asia? 

If your internal Talent Acquisition team is building an Operations function, replacing a specialist hire or needs a clearer view of the available market, Selby Jennings can work alongside your existing recruitment resources. 

Our specialist teams provide candidate mapping, additional reach and current insight into Operations talent across Asia. 

Talk to a Selby Jennings specialist about your Operations hiring plans. Request a call back.