Kia ora, we're First Circle
First Circle is a Singapore-headquartered SME lender. Since launching in the Philippines in 2016, we've provided close to PHP 30 billion (around USD 500 million) in financing to more than 5,000 small and medium businesses, and this year we celebrated our 10th anniversary.
Now we're bringing that experience to Aotearoa. New Zealand's banks have traditionally lent against property, which leaves a "missing middle" of well-run, established SMEs with real trading history and cash flow who struggle to access working capital without putting their house on the line. First Circle NZ exists to back those businesses, assessing them on how they actually perform rather than what property they own.
The role
This is our first business development hire in New Zealand, and you'll be the person who takes First Circle to market here. You'll build our client base from scratch, originating Business Credit Lines for NZ SMEs, and establishing the referral relationships that will drive our growth. You'll have the backing of a proven group platform, credit team and technology, combined with the autonomy of a founding role. As the NZ business grows, there's a clear path to building and leading the local sales team.
You'll report to the Country Manager and work closely with our group Risk Operations, Credit and Marketing teams.
What you'll be doing
- Originating new Business Credit Line clients: finding, qualifying and closing established NZ businesses that need flexible working capital
- Building a referral network from nothing, with accountants, business advisors, commercial finance brokers, industry associations and business networks across New Zealand
- Guiding clients through application and onboarding, including explaining our credit process and collecting the financials, GST returns and bank data our underwriting team needs.
- Working hand in hand with credit, using your judgement to bring forward well-qualified applications and helping structure facilities that work for the client and for First Circle.
- Acting as the ongoing relationship manager for your clients, supporting drawdowns, annual limit reviews and early conversations if a business hits a rough patch.
- Feeding the market back to the business: which sectors are responding, how competitors are pricing, and where our product or process needs adapting for New Zealand.
- Helping shape our local go-to-market playbook, from messaging and events to partner programmes and CRM processes, as we move from launch to scale.
- Representing First Circle at industry events and building our brand as a credible new lender in the NZ SME market.
Requirements
- 4+ years of B2B business development, with at least 3 years in SME or commercial lending, business banking, asset finance, invoice finance or a closely related financial services role.
- A genuine network among NZ SME owners, accountants and brokers, and the credibility to open doors from day one.
- A strong understanding of business credit: you can read a set of financial statements, talk confidently about cash flow and serviceability, and recognise a good lending opportunity.
- A track record of originating new business against targets, ideally in a start-up, new-market or growth environment where you built a pipeline from zero.
- Comfort with ambiguity and a self-starting approach. You'll be the first person on the ground, so you're comfortable wearing several hats and working with teams across time zones.
- High standards of conduct and integrity. You understand what fair dealing means in lending and put clients' long-term interests first.
- Disciplined use of CRM and data to manage pipeline and forecast accurately.
- A full NZ driver's licence and the willingness to travel to meet clients and partners.
Benefits
- Competitive base salary with generous bonus scheme
- The chance to launch a new market and build the NZ team as the business grows.
- KiwiSaver employer contributions, private health insurance, paid time off, laptops
- Flexible working style
- Working with a regional fintech team across Singapore and the Philippines, with a decade of SME lending experience behind you.