Trade Commodity Finance Back Office Team Leader

Support of trade finance business for the AMER region including the processing of:

• Letters of Credit (Standby / Documentary)
• Collection
• Post-financing products (Acceptances/Deferred payments, etc.
• Offers a web-based client platform
• Acts as L/C Provider for commodity and corporate clients
• Offers client specific processing

Primary Applications:

• AllTRA:  Trade Finance Back Office system
• E3F:  Document Repository used by Middle and Back Offices
• CMT:  Incident Repository
• Konsole: ebanking global platform for Trade Finance products
• SWIFT Alliance
• MonTran
• Fircosoft
• Loan IQ
  

The Operations Specialist has dual duties:
1.    They are responsible for the servicing of corporate clients trade needs with regards to the above products. They must effectively manage the operational/documentary risk of the transaction from its inception through the life of the deal. They must also efficiently coordinate the actions of the various internal and external parties attached to the deal while adhering to industry practices and regulatory guidelines.
2.    They must also work as a project specialist to assist the department in introducing efficiencies via electronic, systems or other means. This aspect will require an understanding of all products, processes and business lines so as to effectively guide any projects through to a successful completion.

Main responsibilities:

• Report directly to the TCF BAC Manager
• Ensure a rigorous day-to-day monitoring of BAC activity around the fundamentals of the GBSU strategy (decrease of operational risks, enhancement of service quality to clients and reduction of costs) by reviewing and validating the various tasks on their desk within the limits set by the TCF BAC manager:
  o    Act as an advisor to internal and external clients and attorneys on trade finance related issues
  o    Review trade finance documentation (credit agreements; letter of credit wording, etc)
  o    Support new business initiatives involving trade finance products and services
  o    Manage risk inherent to the products serviced via internal tools
  o    Update statistics in tracking tool on a daily basis
  o    Perform duties as Letter of Credit Technician for specified accounts when coverage is needed
  o    Compile data for preparation of KPI statistical reports on a monthly basis
  o    Maintain and keep current the departmental procedure manual for your specific portfolios
  o    Conduct daily review of reports for various systems: allTRA; Loan IQ; CS Portal; PeopleSoft; SWIFT Alliance; Quartz; Montran and Flexcube.
  o    Sort and distribute incoming work received via SWIFT, email and mail to respective staff members in a timely manner

Project responsibilities:

• Participate and/or Lead in user testing for any software relating to trade finance products
• Attend required meetings
• Generate minutes or comment on meeting minutes to provide accuracy
• Adhere to deliverables schedules
• Communicate any issues that may impact completion of project(s)
• Generate test cases and document the results
• Create test plans and training schedules
• Coordinate user access with ITEC and have user profiles created
• Monitor user testing
• Control the team's activity, i.e., : detect any issues, escalate them promptly to the TCF BAC manager; identify new ways of improving and prioritize these actions
• Escalate any incident, mistake or anomaly to the TCF BAC manager and put in place actions to remediate the issue
  
• Constant exchange with the TCF BAC Manager when any decision/process improvement needs to be taken and/or regarding the workload of the team
• Back-up of the TCF BAC manager whenever needed on some specific tasks (morning meetings, capacity management tool (KPI generation), monthly reporting, documentation review, etc.)
• Provide feedback on the training progress to the TCF BAC manager for updates to the skill matrix
  
• Apply all Group rules and procedures linked to Financial Crime risks prevention (KYC, AML, sanctions and embargo) on a daily basis while processing operations. Contribute to adapt rules and processes linked to Financial Crime.
• Participate in strategic decisions regarding any of the Back Office systems, in relation with the Head Office
• Review overall processes, analyze and deliver process improvements opportunities, participate in PSS group sessions (Problem Solving Sessions), remove non added value tasks, automate manual tasks. 

Secondary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Whenever needed, create and/or maintain reports for account officers detailing activity under specific products on a monthly basis
• Ensure proper circulation of the information to all partners (FO, MO, DFIN)
• Identify potential issues, analyze them and propose corrective actions
• Develop the partnership with the Front-office and other GBS stakeholders. Coordinate team interaction with other departments, including the FO, LSG BO, TCF MO, other support departments.
• Guide Team members on the creation of Simplified Operating Procedures format (SOP) and make sure they are regularly updated for scope and accuracy, identifying controls and implementing changes
• Creation and/or maintenance of reports for Senior Management or account officers detailing activity under specific products on a monthly basis

External Clients Relationship: 

• Manage the relationships inherent to the transaction, e.g., the applicant (borrower) and the beneficiary; Compliance; Legal; Front and Middle office for the most sensitive or complex deals
• Efficiently manage client relationship 

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:
Developing the business:

• Results orientation: organizes own work to make optimal use of available resources
• Client focus: Involves the appropriate teams or departments to handle client demands

Preparing the Future:

• People Development: Develops others by sharing own experience and expertise

Working Together:

• Change Leadership: Actively drives changes, defining the concrete steps to implement them
• Cooperation: Facilitates discussion and resolution of conflict

Technical Skills

Products:

• Letter of Credit / Trade Commodity Finance products (as noted above)
• Some project experience, a plus
  

IT systems:

• Automated letter of credit system, Compliance system (ex: Fircosoft), Loan IQ or equivalent loan processing system, LAN Workstation, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) 

Profile:

• Must have extensive knowledge of UCP600/500, URR725, ISP98, ISBP, URDG and URC522
• Should have automated letter of credit systems knowledge
• Knowledge of SWIFT processing
• Must possess at least 10 years Letter of Credit technical experience and 5 - 10 years supervisory/management experience
• Should have knowledge of a facility monitoring and batch input system
• Should have regulatory knowledge with regards to trade finance products, i.e., AML, OFAC, Anti-Boycott

Possibility of Evolution:

• Management role
  
• Compliance; Collateral Management; Loan Servicing; Sales Support; Audit
  

Context:

• International
• Complex / structured deals; transactional deals part of a credit line offered to Corporates
• Strong Specialization and technical skills
  

Stakes: 

• Provide a high level of service to corporate and internal clients

Contacts:

• Internal: Front Office, DFIN, STR, Sales Support, Foreign Exchange (traders); Funds Transfer; ITEC; Compliance; Legal
• External: Clients, Syndicated Banks; Beneficiaries; Forwarders; Advising / Confirming Banks; Collecting Banks
  

Trade Finance Back-Office mission:

• Manages customers portfolios on a Transactional basis from purchase to the sale using all Trade Finance Banking Products
• Provides advice to customers to build Trade Finance Products and day to day contact regarding the follow-up of their transaction from issuance to payment 
  o    Ensures that the transactions involving TCF customer and third parties are processed in accordance with internal procedures and compliant with ICC rules
  o    Ensures that instructions received from customers are compliant with credit agreements, transactions approved and regulatory framework (AML, Sanctions & Embargoes....)