Specialist, Trade Finance Operations

JOB SUMMARY / INTRODUCTION

This role is primarily responsible for processing and/or authorizing Trade Finance transactions for International Operations including France, Singapore, UK, USA, Bahrain, KSA, Kuwait, and India while ensuring full compliance with internal procedures, regulatory requirements, operational controls and service standards. The incumbent is responsible for maintaining smooth workflow management and delivering high quality, timely and error-free services to both internal and external clients.
In addition to supporting International Operations, the role holder must demonstrate flexibility to act as a backup for UAE Trade Finance Operations ensuring uninterrupted service. This includes supporting transactions across multiple regional time zones from the UAE location, as required.

• The role requires proactive identification, assessment and mitigation of process related risks, while continuously contributing to the enhancement of operational efficiency, controls, processes and systems within the Trade Finance function.
• The incumbent is also expected to support process improvement initiatives and ensure adherence to all regulatory, compliance and risk management requirements.
• Must be flexible to work across all operational shifts including USA business hours, weekends (where required) and any other schedules necessary to meet business requirements and service commitments.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Follow all relevant departmental policies, processes, standard operating procedure and instruction so that work is carried out in controlled and consistent manner.
• Demonstrate compliance to organization’s value and ethics at all times to support the establishment of a value drive culture within the bank.
Contribute to the identification of opportunities for continuous improvement and sustainability of systems, processes and practices considering global standards, productivity improvement and cost reduction.
• Assist in the preparation of timely and accurate statements and reports to meet department requirements, policies and quality standards.
The job-holder is responsible for processing or authorising (as per the delegation provided ) in a sub-section of operations, within a specific product or functional area and ensure quality and timeliness of the delivery in a cost-efficient & error-free manner, subject to high risk management and Bank’s / Regulator’s Compliance standards.
• Responsible for effectively processing/checking, verifying and authorizing trade finance transactions as per approval matrix, ensuring processing of transactions is carried out in a controlled manner.
Effectively monitoring compliance to regulatory guidelines and local/international sanctions in Trade Finance processes and improving the controls to identify/mitigate risk.
• Ensuring self and staff adhere to Standard Operating Procedures of FAB at all times and recommend/implement changes in policies, procedures, processes and systems in line with development in the industry.
Support the line manager in sustaining higher / acceptable rate of Employee Satisfaction in line with Bank Policy.
Ensure Anti money laundering, Central Bank guidelines and other internal policies / procedures are strictly followed and any unusual transactions are reported to levels prescribed.
• Proactively highlight situations of extraordinary non-operational risks e.g., market and legal risks, which may arise due to transactions that are entered into.
• Prepare statistical data for internal and external relationship.
• Deal with internal customers/counterparts in other banks to respond to queries and problems.
• Correspondence of routine nature with internal contacts.
• To hold records in safe custody.
• To participate in new system testing and other initiatives applicable to the department.
• Support Line Manager in monitoring staff performance and arranging remedial training wherever necessary.
• Support multi desk and multi functions within the department.
• Zero Ops Loss; NIL near miss/ income leakage event , target zero high risk error.
• Target Zero complaints, minimum 95 percent adherence to TAT standards as agreed with business. Achieve more than 90% satisfaction score in the internal customer survey.
• NIL unauthorized breaches in Policy/regulatory requirement ad SOP’s. Satisfactory rating in all audits-INA/RMU/OCS/Self- Assessment.
• NIL breaches in housekeeping (reconciliations. Tracers ,DCFC etc).
• NIL critical findings in regulatory/external/internal audits.
• No. of PI (Process improvements) proposals found fruitful by management. No. of successful PI’s implemented.
• Execute departmental initiatives as advised.
• Ensure adherence to Training Man-Days for team and self.
• Execute departmental initiatives as advised.
• Functions within the framework and boundaries of Group policies as well as overall organisational and governance frameworks.
• Adherence at all times to external and regulatory guidelines and domestic and international norms as applicable.
• Adherence to Standard Operating Procedures and Delegation of Authority Matrix.

REQUIREMENTS / QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in any stream or related Discipline.
• Through understanding of ICC Rules, Local laws and legal risks, trade documentations. Shipping terms and standard operating procedure of the bank.
• Minimum 5-8 years of experience in Trade finance with hands on experience in all trade finance products.
• Hands on experience on Core Banking Solutions.
• Specialisation in own area of work and working knowledge of all Trade products.
• Conversant with MS Office and other Analytical tools.
• Working knowledge of associated activities like the ones related to IMB, Insurance Business, SWIFT etc.
• Extensive knowledge of UCP, URC, ISBP and URDG.

Preferred / Beneficial

• CITF/CDCS/CSDG preferred.