Consultant Trade Operations

Job Summary

Delivering exceptional business performance through working as part of a team which undertakes
a wide range of Trade Finance processing and servicing.

Job Description​

Key Accountabilities:

Business Execution & Performance - 30%

• Provide guidance to the team on handling Bank Guarantees, Letters of Credit (LC), Trade Loans and Bills for Collection from time to time by providing guidance on transaction processing including technical solutions etc;

• Review and authorize trade transactions booked in the core banking system FCC and SWIFT platform - Morongwa provided:

>It is per customer application request and approved draft (for LC);

> Signed and verified as per customer mandate;

>Screened and passed successfully under Third Party Screening Portal (TPS);

>Supported with all necessary documents based on products requirements; 

>Supported with valid facility letter and must be within the approved limits.  

• Ensure customer’s account has sufficient balance to cover processing of transaction commission, related charges and /or cash cover (if applicable) before authorizing on FCC and /or Morongwa;

• Manage trade products processes by adhering to operations manual and process maps whereby ensuring that all applications, payments, and claims are dealt with accurately and timely;

• Daily review and print all trade finance related inward swift messages from Morongwa and identify those that need to be worked upon/responded and assign to maker and follow up for closure;

• Daily review of maturity reports on various products such as LC Bills, Import LC, Bank Guarantee, Trade loans, unpaid export bills and advise for settlement or closure for non-performing or expired contracts;

• Daily review the Nostro reconciliation report as circulated by the reconciliation team identifying and working on all Trade finance outstanding entries such as liquidated LC Bills, Export proceed etc to ensure they are not outstanding for more than 3 working days;

• Work closely with other units within the Banks such as Business Banking (BB), Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), Legal, Treasury and Finance including Absa Group counterparts for consistent achievement of agreed service standards;

• Ensure commissions and charges are collected as per prevailing bank tariff guide or as per customer approved rate furnished in the approved facility letter documents or as will be approved from time to time;

• Provide support to the Line Manager by coordinating the team to ensure effective teamwork across the Trade Operations Unit;

• Monitor for  proper filling of transactions such as  LC, Guarantees, Bills for collection and Trade Loans according to the agreed filing standards and transaction status in the cabinets for future reference and easy retrieval of documents.

Innovation & Change -10%

• Support the Business on new trade finance products initiatives including process changes from testing stages (UAT) till implementation as and when the need arises;

• Provide suggestions to the line manager on process change, improvements (if any) to improve unit’s efficient in transaction processing;

• Continuously look for opportunities to further develop own skills and expand knowledge base.

   Customer Service & Stakeholder Management - 30%

• Own and manage Trade Operations queries and complaints under area of supervision and ensure they are recorded and resolved conclusively and timely;

• Monitor Service Level Agreements between the department and other stake holders within the Bank to ensure smooth transactions flow from when received, reviewed for workability to when the limit marking request is sent and marked for execution;

• Manage the performance of the team and ensure that they meet or exceed agreed service levels (both internal and external), take ownership of overall service performance and accuracy levels in responsibility;

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• Ensure the team performs monthly reconciliation on LC and Guarantee liability, Cash cover and income including Trade loan, import and export Bill volume report and submit to unit team leader for review before circulating to other stakeholders with the agreed timelines;

• Provide leadership to staff and champion a strong culture of delivering excellent operational and customer service standards;

• Provide support and produce evidence to auditors as and when will be required during internal and external audit activities;

Controls & Risk Management - 30%

• Ensure all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with current regulatory requirements, NBC Policies and procedures together with ABSA Group  Standards;

• Ensure compliance to UCP 600, URC 522, URR, URDG758, Foreign Exchange Controls on payments, NBC operating procedure and AML/KYC when handling  import and export letters of credit, import and export bills for collection, Trade loans and Bank Guarantee;

• Understand and manage key risk indicators falling under the role and escalate any risk issues in a timely manner;

• Ensure adherence to the Group IT security policy and controls in accessing the system;

• Comply with Operational risk and rigour in respect to protecting our people, customer’s assets, and the organization;

• Adhere to the delegated matrix during transaction handling and processing;

• Ensure screening for all eligible trade transaction is done before authorization in the FCC and /or Morongwa also AML check and other sanctions related issues are performed whereby supported by AML checklist attached;

• Ensure Valid and  approved Customer facility letters for LC  ,Gtee ,Avalized bills and Trade loans are available , utiliztion is verified against aproved limit and  Limit is  set by RCU before  authorization  of  LC ,Gtee  and Trade loans;

• Ensure end of month reconciliations on letter of credit , Cash cover, Guarantee, Trade loans,  and also carry out monthly income reconciliation on LC  and Guarantee etc are  done;

• Perform any other duty as will be assigned from time to time.

Education and Experience Required

• University Degree in Banking, Accounting, Finance and Business Administration or related field;

• At least 6 years Technical experience in similar environment.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Good knowledge of Banking products and services;

• Proficient in internal computer Operating Systems and Applications;

• Good knowledge of all trade products;

• Knowledge of International rules governing trade operations. Including the UCP600 and, ISP 98, URC 522 and URDG;

• Working knowledge of relevant legislation e.g. KYC, Sanctions Screening, Money Laundering, Service standards, Healthy and Safety Standards etc;

• Interpersonal skills: enthusiastic and diligent;

• Excellent Customer Service.

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree - Banking, Business Improvement Orientation (Meets some of the requirements and would need further development), Digital familiarity (Meets all of the requirements), Enabling team success (Meets some of the requirements and would need further development), Experience in a similar environment, Openness to change (Meets some of the requirements and would need further development), Operational administration (Meets some of the requirements and would need further development), Product and/or Service Knowledge (Meets some of the requirements and would need further development), Quality orientation (Meets some of the requirements and would need further development)