Associate Director - Brand & Communications

Eastspring is a global asset manager with Asia at its core. We create a culture in which diversity is celebrated and inclusion assured, for our colleagues, customers, and partners. We provide a platform for our people to do their best work and make an impact to the business, and in exchange, we support our people's career ambitions. We pledge to make Eastspring a place where you can Connect, Grow and Succeed.

Key Accountabilities

• Brand Strategy & Competitive Positioning
• Own and drive Eastspring Malaysia's brand strategy, narrative, and architecture across EIMY and EIMYA.
• Define and sustain the firm's competitive brand positioning in the Malaysia asset management market.
• Measure brand equity and report annually to EXCO on brand health, perception, and market standing.
• Govern the application of Eastspring and Prudential brand standards across all local communications and materials.
• Oversee trademark and intellectual property matters for both entities in Malaysia.
• Commercial Marketing Leadership
• Direct all marketing campaigns and product marketing with defined commercial objectives linked to AUM growth.
• Lead distributor-enabling marketing programmes to strengthen relationships with bank, IFA, and digital distribution partners.
• Oversee campaign ideation, agency briefing, and effectiveness measurement, ensuring every campaign has measurable business outcomes.
• Own the CRM strategy to enable personalised investor and distributor communications at scale.
• Manage the B&C budget with full accountability for spend governance and return on investment.
• Investor & Institutional Communications
• Own the firm's investor communications framework across retail, IB, institutional, and unitholder audiences.
• Ensure all investor-facing and regulatory communications meet SC and BNM compliance standards, including AIR distributions, fund factsheets, and EMIS publications.
• Develop and maintain a thought leadership content strategy to build brand authority with investors and the media.
• Oversee internal communications to keep employees informed and aligned with business priorities.
• Public Relations & Reputation Management
• Lead the firm's PR and earned media strategy, managing media relationships and driving proactive media engagement.
• Oversee executive communications including CEO speeches, Q&A briefings, and spokesperson preparation.
• Manage the firm's crisis and issues communications framework to protect reputational standing.
• Direct the corporate events programme including New Year Rally, Breakthrough Rally, EARN, and Executive Roundtables.
• CSR Programme Management
• Own Eastspring Malaysia's CSR programme including Springboard Challenge, Business Challenge, and FEN Collaborations.
• Set CSR strategy, manage the programme budget, and measure and report community investment outcomes.
• Coordinate with the CEO's office on CSR advisory input where relevant.
• Team Leadership & Capability Development
• Lead, develop, and manage a team of five across digital marketing, integrated marketing communications, creative services, and analytics.
• Build a commercially accountable team culture where every role connects clearly to business outcomes.
• Identify capability gaps and build structured development plans for all direct reports.
• Manage agency and vendor relationships strategically to ensure commercial and creative value.
• EXCO & Regional Engagement
• Represent B&C in EXCO discussions and business planning cycles, contributing a commercial brand and marketing perspective.
• Engage with the Eastspring regional marketing team to leverage group-level resources, platforms, and best practices locally.
• Participate in regional brand governance and digital marketing forums on behalf of Eastspring Malaysia.
  
  
  

Experience & Qualifications

Education

• Degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or a related discipline. Postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
  
  
  

Experience

• Minimum 12–15 years in brand, marketing, or communications, with at least 5 years in a financial services environment.
• Proven track record leading a marketing function with commercial accountability. Asset management, banking, or insurance experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing a team and developing talent across multiple marketing disciplines.
• Experience working within a regional or global enterprise, managing the balance between regional brand standards and local market requirements.
• Exposure to digital-led marketing transformation including CRM, marketing automation, and performance marketing.
  
  
  

Knowledge & Skills

• Commercially fluent — able to connect brand and marketing activity directly to AUM growth, distribution effectiveness, and investor engagement outcomes.
• Sound understanding of Malaysia's asset management market, investor landscape, distributor dynamics, and regulatory environment (SC and BNM).
• Competent across digital marketing disciplines including SEO/SEM, social media strategy, CRM, and digital performance analytics.
• Strong communicator with the gravitas to engage EXCO, Board, regional leadership, and external media credibly.
• Proficient in English and Bahasa Malaysia. Mandarin language ability is an advantage.
  
  
  

Eastspring is an equal opportunity employer. We provide equality of opportunity of benefits for all who apply and who perform work for our organisation irrespective of sex, race, age, ethnic origin, educational, social and cultural background, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, disability or part-time / fixed-term work, or any other status protected by applicable law. We encourage the same standards from our recruitment and third-party suppliers taking into account the context of grade, job and location. We also allow for reasonable adjustments to support people with individual physical or mental health requirements.