AVP, Trade International Operations

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB); Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) in the UAE is seeking a Trade Finance Unit supervisor to oversee cross country TFU operations from the UAE. The role emphasizes timely service delivery, risk addressing, and ensuring alignment with internal controls and global standards.

The successful candidate will supervise staff, train and coach, ensure regulatory compliance, and drive process improvements to enhance efficiency and client experience within the Trade Finance Unit.

Qualifications

• Strong supervision and team leadership skills.
• Knowledge of trade finance processes and controls.
• Ability to ensure compliance with internal procedures and regulatory guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Organize and supervise the work of the assigned team to ensure activity is efficient and compliant.
• Provide on-the-job training and feedback to support team development.
• Promote the bank's values and ethics within the team to foster a value-driven culture.
• Monitor financial performance and report variances to management.
• Develop and implement policies, systems and procedures for the TFU.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement in processes and tools.

Job description

Job Purpose

This role is primarily responsible for supervising, authorizing transactions and acting as a point of contact related to Trade Finance Unit of the respective region (France , Singapore , UK , USA , Bahrain , KSA , Kuwait and India) and to operate during the respective country time zone from UAE location and ensuring compliance with all internal procedures, operational controls, smooth workflow and delivery of high quality / 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 Trade Finance function in the Bank.

Key Accountabilities

Generic Accountability

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, which is 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 in order to support the establishment of a value drive 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 & Procedures

• Provide inputs and implement policies, systems and procedure for the assigned team so that all relevant procedural/legislative requirements, fulfilled while delivering a quality, cost-effective service.
• Demonstrate compliance to organization’s value and ethics at all times to support the establishment of a value drive culture within the bank.

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/review sectional statements and reports timely and accurately to meet department requirements, policies and quality standards.

Job Specific Accountabilities

• 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/international sanctions in Trade Finance processes and improving the controls to identify/mitigate risk.
• Ensuring self and staff adhere to Standard Operating Procedures at all times and recommend/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 account and Attestation of the accounts as per bank policy.
• Developing and introducing robust tools/processes to identify/mitigate operational risks attached to the department.
• Support the development and implementation of policies / procedures / practices towards Cost efficiency.
• 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.
• Keeping self-apprised 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 relationship.
• Deal with internal customers/counterparts in other banks to respond to queries and problems.
• Correspondence of routine nature with customers and other external/internal contacts.
• Maintain zero operational loss.
• Achieve satisfactory Internal/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.
• To provide technical guidance to customers when needed.
• To hold records in safe custody.
• To 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.
• Preparing SOPs as per the Audit and RMU requirement for TFU products.
• Any other duty/task entrusted by the Line Manager/Head.
• 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 and SOP’s.
• NIL breaches in housekeeping (reconciliations, Tracers, DCFCL etc.).
• No. of PI (Process improvements) proposals found fruitful by management. No. of successful PI’s implemented
• Create a positive environment on the floor for employees and support them in achieving their respective goals