Manager, Business Operations

We are seeking a Business Operations Manager to run the day-to-day financial operations of Keppel's Networks business. Reporting to the Financial & Investment Lead, you will own and oversee budgets, cash flow management, payments, purchase orders, billing and management reporting across active operating systems.

This is a hands-on role for someone who combines strong financial discipline with the practicality to make processes work in a fast-moving project environment.

Responsibilities

• You will be the connective tissue between the technical, commercial, business development, procurement and corporate finance teams — ensuring that what is committed is tracked, what is invoiced is verified, what is paid is authorised, and what is reported is accurate and on time.
• Key Areas of Ownership 1.
• Budgets and forecasting Own the annual budgeting process and rolling forecasts for across Networks, consolidating inputs from technical, project, commercial and operations teams.
• Track budget vs. actuals at project and business-unit level, investigating variances and agreeing corrective actions with budget owners.
• Support scenario planning and reforecasting when project schedules, scope or supplier terms change.
• 2.
• Cash flow and treasury operations Ensure short- and medium-term cash flow forecasting across Networks entities, Projects and at operating entities, ensuring liquidity for all obligations and corporate commitments.
• Coordinate funding requests, intercompany transfers with central finance and treasury functions.
• Support drawdown requests and covenant/reporting obligations under project facility agreements, working with the commercial project management team to ensure lender requirements are met on time.
• FX exposure on multi-currency supplier contracts and customer receipts, flagging hedging needs to treasury where appropriate.
• 3.
• Payments, POs and procurement operations Govern the purchase order process end to end: PO raising, approvals in line with delegation of authority, goods/services receipting and closure.
• Working with procurement and support functions, oversee and review the payments cycle — invoice verification against contracts, milestones and POs, payment approvals, and execution through banking platforms — ensuring suppliers are paid accurately and on time.
• Working with Technical Teams, track vendor payments against contractual obligations and ensuring governance and controls, working closely with the technical teams and various workstream leads where necessary.
• Manage customer billing operations for IRU, and O&M agreements: invoicing schedules, receipts tracking and collections follow-up.
• 4.

SOP governance and process oversight

• Govern the development, documentation and upkeep of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) across the full Procure-to-Pay (P2P) cycle — supplier onboarding and due diligence, PO raising and approvals, goods/services receipting, invoice verification, payment authorisation and execution, and supplier master data management.
• Govern equivalent SOPs for the customer billing (Order-to-Cash) cycle — contract-to-billing setup for IRU and O&M agreements, invoicing, receipting, credit control and collections escalation.
• SOPs are aligned with Keppel group policies, delegation of authority and audit requirements; conduct periodic compliance reviews, track exceptions and remediate gaps.
• Train and support budget owners, project teams and new joiners on P2P and billing processes, supporting the procurement team for process, policy creation and controls.
• Review and update SOPs as the business scales 5.
• Reporting and controls Produce monthly management reporting: P&L, cash flow, budget vs. actuals, committed spend, AR/AP ageing and project cost dashboards for the FC/Investment Lead and leadership.
• Maintain and improve financial controls, approval workflows and documentation, ensuring compliance with Keppel group policies and audit requirements.
• Support statutory audit, tax filings and entity-level compliance across all Network entities, working with finance, tax, R&C, and corporate secretarial colleagues.
• 6.
• Business operations support Administer contract and document management for financial records: executed contracts, variation orders, bank guarantees and insurance certificates.
• Drive process improvement and systems adoption, automating recurring tasks where possible.
• Provide ad hoc analysis to the various Leads where required — cost reviews, supplier spend analysis, and support for new project setup, etc.

Requirements

• 5+ years' experience in business operations, financial operations, FP&A or project accounting Strong working knowledge of budgeting, cash— ideally in infrastructure, telecoms, construction, marine/offshore or another capital-intensive project environment. flow forecasting, PO/payment cycles and month-end reporting.
• Experience operating financial controls and delegation-of-authority frameworks, with a track record of accuracy and timeliness; demonstrated ability to write, implement and govern SOPs across P2P and/or billing processes.
• Confident with ERP and procurement systems (e.g. SAP, Oracle, or equivalent) and advanced Excel; comfortable building and maintaining reporting dashboards.
• Highly organised, detail-oriented and able to manage multiple entities, currencies and deadlines simultaneously.
• Strong communication skills — able to chase, challenge and support budget owners, suppliers and senior stakeholders constructively.
• Join our vibrant and inclusive workforce to shape a better future for all! #LI-AM1 JOB REQUIREMENTS Preferred Skills: Exposure to project-financed structures: drawdowns, lender reporting, covenant compliance and multi-SPV environments.
• Familiarity with subsea cable or telecoms commercial structures (supplier milestone contracts, IRU billing, O&M cost allocation).
• Accounting qualification or part-qualification (ACCA, CPA, CIMA or equivalent), or a degree in finance, accounting or business.
• Experience supporting audits and working across legal, tax and corporate secretarial functions in multiple jurisdictions.
• BUSINESS SEGMENT Connectivity PLATFORM Operating Division