Specialist Trade Finance Operation

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 procedures, and instructions so that work is carried out in a controlled and consistent manner.
• Demonstrate compliance to the organization's values and ethics at all times to support the establishment of a value-driven 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.
• Process or authorize (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/regulator's compliance standards.
• Effectively process, check, verify, and authorize trade finance transactions as per approval matrix, ensuring processing of transactions is carried out in a controlled manner.
• Monitor compliance to regulatory guidelines and local/international sanctions in trade finance processes and improve controls to identify and mitigate risk.
• Ensure self and staff adhere to standard operating procedures of FAB at all times and recommend or implement changes in policies, procedures, processes, and systems in line with industry developments.
• Support the line manager in sustaining higher or acceptable rates 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 prescribed levels.
• Proactively highlight situations of extraordinary non-operational risks, such as market and legal risks, which may arise due to transactions 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.
• Handle correspondence of routine nature with internal contacts.
• Hold records in safe custody.
• 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.
• Achieve zero operational loss; no near-miss or income leakage events; target zero high-risk errors.
• Target zero complaints and minimum 95 percent adherence to turnaround time standards as agreed with the business.
• Achieve more than 90% satisfaction score in the internal customer survey.
• Ensure no unauthorized breaches in policy, regulatory requirements, and standard operating procedures.
• Obtain satisfactory ratings in all audits including INA, RMU, OCS, and self-assessment.
• Maintain no breaches in housekeeping such as reconciliations, tracers, DCFC, etc.
• Ensure no critical findings in regulatory, external, or internal audits.
• Submit process improvement proposals and track the number found fruitful by management.
• Implement successful process improvements.
• Execute departmental initiatives as advised.
• Ensure adherence to training man-days for team and self.
• Function within the framework and boundaries of group policies as well as overall organizational and governance frameworks.
• Adhere at all times to external and regulatory guidelines and domestic and international norms as applicable.
• Comply with standard operating procedures and delegation of authority matrix.

Requirements / qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in any stream or related discipline.
• Thorough understanding of ICC rules, local laws and legal risks, trade documentation, shipping terms, and standard operating procedures of the bank.
• Minimum 5-8 years of experience in trade finance with hands-on experience in all trade finance products.
• Hands-on experience with core banking solutions.
• Specialization 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 such as those related to IMB, insurance business, SWIFT, etc.
• Extensive knowledge of UCP, URC, ISBP, and URDG.
• Preferred/beneficial certifications: CITF, CDCS, CSDG.

About us

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.

Career development

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.

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. We reward your hard work and dedication.

Join our team and be part of a journey to shape the future of banking.