Malaysia’s private pension administrator seeks CEO, COO

Malaysia’s securities regulator is looking to hire a chief executive and chief operating officer for the administrative unit of its planned private retirement scheme (PRS).

This continues the preparation for the PRS, a voluntary system being set up by the Securities Commission to complement the existing mandatory Employees Provident Fund. (See linked article and the forthcoming February issue of AsianInvestor magazine for more details.)

Last month the commission published eligibility requirements for firms hoping to obtain a licence to provide products under the PRS, and the scheme may be taking in contributions before the end of June.

The private pension administrator (PPA) unit is a key feature of the PRS that will be responsible for ensuring an efficient administrative system for the overall private pension industry in Malaysia, says the commission.

The PPA will facilitate and maintain all PRS-related transactions made by contributors and members, and will function as a resource centre for data and research relating to the PRS industry.

The CEO is expected to have at least 10 years' senior management experience in pension or fund administration, or in custodian, trustee or compliance business and operations. Based in Kuala Lumpur, the successful candidate will be responsible for putting in place the organisation’s management team, establishing its operations and setting its strategic direction.

The COO will assist the CEO in managing the PPA’s operations, providing oversight of operational and IT development and deployment. He or she must have at least eight years' experience in managing operations in financial services, technology development and support, in pension or fund administration, or custodian, trustee or compliance business and operations.

Applications must be submitted by February 10.