Client Services Team Leader

GLAS; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Professional development

Job summary

GLAS, headquartered in London, is seeking an experienced Client Services Team Leader to run the traded deals team in a hybrid role. You will lead a sub-team, ensure timely delivery of complex trades, and serve as escalation for client issues and documentation matters.

The role requires strong people leadership, risk awareness, and hands-on management of a portfolio of traded loans. You will drive process improvements and collaborate with global colleagues to maintain service standards.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading Client Services teams in financial services.
• Ability to translate management priorities into day-to-day execution.
• Strong oversight of workflows, risk and controls.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support a sub-team of Client Services colleagues, setting priorities and overseeing workloads.
• Own day-to-day operational delivery, deadlines, and service standards.
• Act as escalation point for complex trades, cash movements, and client issues.
• Manage a reduced portfolio of complex traded loans and liaise with borrowers and lenders.
• Promote a consistent, client-focused approach across traded deal servicing and cash management.
• Oversee onboarding, training and development to maintain competence in high-risk activities.
• Identify performance or conduct concerns and coordinate with HR.

Skills

People leadership

Team management

Operational oversight

Client services

Risk awareness

Tools

ClearPar

Solvas

DebtDomain

Job description

Location: London
Salary: Negotiable
Hybrid Working
The role of Client Services Team Leader
GLAS is an international provider of institutional debt administration services, serving lenders, borrowers, issuers, and advisers offering a global platform across Loan Agency and related services, Capital Markets and Restructuring.
GLAS’ vision is to be recognised as the best-in-class independent, non-creditor, conflict-free provider of institutional debt administration services, enabling global clients and counterparties to achieve successful outcomes on their transactions.
The business currently comprises c.500 employees who deliver a solution-based, innovative service, ensuring GLAS is the preferred global partner of choice. GLAS has a blue-chip customer base developed over many years; select clients include Apollo, Blackstone, CVC, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. GLAS has been recognised as the premier independent provider of loan agency and bond trustee services with a portfolio of over $800 billion assets across its global platform. The company is headquartered in London with offices in Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid, New York, New Jersey, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong, Milan and Rome.
To support the continued growth of GLAS, we are seeking an experienced Client Services Team Lead to lead the operational delivery within the traded deals team within Client Services. The role combines responsibility for a reduced portfolio of heavily traded Loans with formal people leadership, risk oversight, workload management and accountability for consistent service delivery across the team. The Team Lead is accountable for translating management priorities into day-to-day execution. The role acts as the first point of escalation for operational, client and documentation matters; maintains effective controls; develops team capability; and works closely with Client Services management, Transaction Management and global colleagues to improve processes and operating standards.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead, supervise and support a sub-team of Client Services colleagues, setting clear priorities and maintaining appropriate oversight of individual and team workloads.
• Own day-to-day operational delivery across the team, ensuring deadlines, service standards, control requirements and client commitments are met.
• Act as the principal escalation point for complex trades, cash movements, documentation interpretation, client issues and operational risk matters.
• Manage a reduced portfolio of complex traded Loans, acting as the primary operational contact for Borrowers, Lenders and other transaction parties.
• Promote a consistent, controlled and client-focused approach across traded deal servicing, transfers and cash management.

People Leadership and Team Management

• Provide direct line management, including regular one-to-one meetings, objective setting, coaching, feedback and development planning.
• Allocate new transactions, trades and recurring responsibilities across the team, balancing capacity, experience, complexity and development needs.
• Monitor team diaries, shared inboxes, work queues and upcoming lifecycle events to ensure timely ownership and completion.
• Plan and coordinate coverage for annual leave, sickness and other absences, escalating resourcing pressures and control gaps promptly to Client Services management.
• Oversee onboarding, training and cross-training, ensuring colleagues can demonstrate competence before taking independent ownership of higher-risk activities.
• Identify performance or conduct concerns early, maintain clear records and work with management and HR under the relevant internal process.
• Create a culture of accountability, knowledge sharing, constructive challenge and continuous improvement.

Operational Oversight and Controls

• Oversee and, where appropriate, review or approve lifecycle events including drawdowns, rollovers, rate fixes, pre-payments, redemptions and maturities.
• Coordinate maker/checker coverage for payments, notices, calculations, settlement instructions, transfer documentation and material system updates.
• Review and sign off transfers, ensuring compliance with transaction documentation and accurate settlement through ClearPar or offline processes.
• Ensure accurate and timely maintenance of Solvas, DebtDomain and other relevant operational platforms, with discrepancies investigated and resolved promptly.
• Oversee transfer fee billing and reconciliation, including appropriate ageing, escalation and reporting of unresolved items.
• Ensure account reconciliations and cash breaks are completed, reviewed and escalated in line with internal requirements, including accounts operated through Barclays and JPMorgan.
• Oversee validation of SSIs and call-back procedures, ensuring payment controls and evidence requirements are followed before funds are released.
• Monitor the timely production and distribution of borrower and lender notices, including notices for PIK and non-pro-rata events.

Traded Deals and Portfolio Responsibilities

• Interpret facility agreements, transfer certificates, assignment agreements, accession documents and related transaction documentation to determine operational requirements.
• Oversee transfer requests from initial review through settlement, including conditions, minimum holds, consent mechanics, fees, KYC dependencies and effective-date requirements.
• Manage cash movements between Borrowers and Lenders, including principal, interest, commitment fees, other charges and foreign exchange transactions where required.
• Understand and apply waterfall provisions, agreements among lenders, fronting or loss-sharing mechanics, and letters of credit servicing requirements where relevant to the portfolio.
• Respond to complex Borrower, Lender, counsel and client queries in a clear, timely and professional manner.
• Maintain direct ownership of a smaller portfolio so that the Team Lead remains technically current and can provide credible hands-on support during peak periods or material events.

Risk, Escalation and Governance

• Conduct and oversee due diligence relating to potential fraud, money laundering, sanctions, financial risk and reputational risk to GLAS.
• Escalate material operational incidents, payment issues, missed deadlines