Assistant Vice President And Manager, Trade Finance Operation
About the company
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is the largest bank in the UAE and one of the world's largest and safest financial institutions. We offer a comprehensive range of personal and private banking services, including credit cards, Islamic banking, investments, loans, and mortgages. Our commitment to excellence and innovation drives us to provide top-tier financial solutions to our clients.
Life at FAB Working at FAB means being part of a team of talented and passionate individuals with a shared vision to support the ambitions of our stakeholders to grow stronger. We embrace the needs of our customers across the globe with a sense of responsibility and confidence driven by extensive expertise that can only be delivered by an ambitious world-class organization.
Our values At FAB, we place our customers at the core of our activities, live our values each day in every way, celebrate achievements, and empower each other to deliver leading solutions. We have structured plans for the recruitment and career progression of Emirati talent to enable them to make a mark in the financial and banking sector both regionally and globally that rewards your hard work and dedication.
Your tasks
This role is primarily responsible for supervising and authorizing transactions related to the trade finance unit while ensuring compliance with all internal procedures and operational controls, to ensure smooth workflow and delivery of high quality and timely service to the clients. Whilst timely analysing and addressing any process related risk, this role is also responsible for developing and maintaining efficient processes and systems for the trade finance function in the bank.
Team supervision
- Organize and supervise the work of the assigned team to ensure that all work within a specific area of the activity is carried out in an efficient manner, consistent with operating procedures and policy.
- Provide on-the-job training and constructive feedback to assigned team to support their overall development.
- Promote the organization's values and ethics in all activities within the team to support the establishment of a value-driven culture within the bank.
Budgeting and financial performance
- Monitor the financial performance of a given area of activity versus budgets and ensure all activities are carried out in line with the approved guidelines while promptly reporting on any variances to management.
Policies, systems, processes and procedures
- Provide inputs and implement policies, systems and procedures for the assigned team so that all relevant procedural and legislative requirements are fulfilled while delivering a quality, cost-effective service.
Continuous improvement
- Participate in the identification of opportunities for continuous improvement and sustainability of systems, processes and practices considering global standards, productivity improvement and cost reduction.
Reporting
- Prepare sectional statements and reports timely and accurately to meet FGB-NBAD and department requirements, policies and quality standards.
Job specific accountabilities The jobholder is responsible for processing and authorizing (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 and error-free manner, subject to high risk management and bank's and regulator's compliance standards.
Responsible for effectively processing, checking, verifying and authorizing transactions as per approval matrix, ensuring processing of transactions is carried out in a controlled manner. Maintaining the highest level of internal and external customer satisfaction standards. Minimizing operational risks for the bank by ensuring that all transactions processed comply fully with underlying customer or internal instructions and that these instructions are properly processed.
Effectively monitoring compliance to regulatory guidelines and local and international sanctions in trade finance processes and improving the controls to identify and mitigate risk. Ensuring self and staff adhere to standard operating procedures at all times and recommend and implement changes in policies, procedures, processes and systems in line with development in the industry.
Participate and drive collaborative efforts to advance tools, technology, and ways of working to better serve an evolving client base. Support in preparation, control testing for BIA, RCSA, as per risk and audit management policy. Monitoring and reconciliation of internal, income, suspense accounts and attestation of the accounts as per bank policy.
Developing and introducing robust tools and processes to identify and mitigate operational risks attached to the department. Support the development and implementation of policies, procedures and practices towards cost efficiency. Support the line manager in sustaining higher or acceptable rate of employee satisfaction in line with bank policy.
Ensure anti-money laundering, central bank guidelines and other internal policies and procedures are strictly followed, and any unusual transactions are reported to levels prescribed. Keep self-appraised of developments taking place in the industry and disseminate them to staff under direct and indirect reporting where applicable.
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 relationships. Deal with internal customers and counterparts in other banks to respond to queries and problems.
Correspondence of routine nature with customers and other external and internal contacts. Maintain zero operational loss. Achieve satisfactory internal and external audit, OCS and OR ratings. Undertake employee productivity measures. Ensure adherence to training man-days for team and self. Execute departmental initiatives as advised.
Provide technical guidance to customers when needed. Hold records in safe custody. Participate and implement projects, system development and other initiatives applicable to the department. Support line manager in developing, coaching, monitoring staff performance and arranging remedial training where necessary. Prepare standard operating procedures as per the audit and RMU requirement for trade finance unit products. Any other duty or task entrusted by the line manager or head.
Target zero complaints, minimum 95 percent adherence to turnaround time standards as agreed with business. Achieve more than 90% satisfaction score in the internal customer survey. No unauthorized breaches in policy, regulatory requirement and standard operating procedures. No breaches in housekeeping (reconciliations, tracers, DCFCL etc.). Number of process improvement proposals found fruitful by management. Number of successful process improvements implemented. Create a positive environment on the floor for employees and support them in achieving their respective goals.
Requirements
Minimum qualification Graduate (preferably in commerce, financial services, banking and finance etc.) and CDCS or equivalent certification preferred.
Minimum experience Minimum 8-10 years of experience in trade finance with at least 3 years as supervisor. Excellent customer service skills, relationship skills, customer focused with interpersonal skills. Proactive and self-motivated with ability to work independently with minimal supervision and under tight deadlines.
Proven ability to meet new challenges, assimilate new information and influence people through maturity of approach. Working expertise and knowledge of the ICC publications, ICC banking commission opinions and other compliance and trade related rules and regulations.
What we offer
FAB offers unique career choices, a chance to innovate, craft solutions for the future, and express yourself in a performance-based culture that will unleash the best in you. Whether you are an experienced professional or just starting your career, FAB provides a range of learning and development initiatives to support all employees through training and skill development.
Other
Staff should be flexible to work on a shift basis being backup for international trade operations including USA timing and as per the respective country requirement. Primarily responsible to support end-to-end trade products, especially letters of credit and document checking process for UAE operations.