Operations Analyst

Barclay Simpson; City Of London; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Barclay Simpson is seeking an Operations Officer for a banking client in London. The role covers daily payment processing, settlement and back-office controls, with cross-functional collaboration across Compliance and IT. You’ll maintain Nostro records, perform reconciliations and support accounting entries and ledgers.

Good Excel skills, keen eye for detail and clear communication are essential. Applicants must be eligible to work in the UK and be office-based in London five days a week.

Qualifications

• Basic understanding of banking operations, payments, finance and accounting.
• Good Excel skills and attention to detail.
• Clear communication when dealing with colleagues and external contacts.

Responsibilities

• Support daily SWIFT payments and settlement activity, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.
• Maintain Nostro account records, perform reconciliations and investigate discrepancies.
• Prepare accounting entries and accruals; assist daily bookkeeping and ledger reconciliations.
• Review monitoring and sanctions screening, escalate flagged activity as needed.
• Assist with resilience testing, business continuity and recovery arrangements.
• Collaborate with IT and external providers to resolve system issues and drive improvements.
• Update operational procedures and maintain records for controls and audits.

Skills

Attention to detail

Numerical aptitude

Communication skills

Tools

Excel

Job description

Operations Officer – Banking & Payments

We’re recruiting on behalf of our client, a bank, for an Operations Officer to support its daily payment, settlement and back-office activities.

This is a varied role offering exposure to the practical workings of a banking operations function. Alongside processing payments and maintaining accurate financial records, you’ll work with colleagues across Compliance and IT, correspondent banks and external providers to resolve issues and improve processes.

It could suit someone with a grounding in banking operations, payments, finance or accounting who wants to develop broader experience.

The role

You’ll support daily SWIFT payments and settlement activity, checking that transactions are processed accurately and on time. This includes maintaining Nostro account records, completing reconciliations and investigating payment discrepancies with counterparties and internal teams.

You’ll also maintain transaction and loan records within the core banking system, prepare accounting entries and accrual schedules, and support daily bookkeeping and ledger reconciliations.

Beyond the day-to-day processing, your responsibilities will include:

• Reviewing transaction monitoring and sanctions screening reports, escalating flagged activity to the appropriate colleagues.
• Supporting operational resilience testing, business continuity and recovery arrangements.
• Working with IT and external providers to resolve system issues and support improvements.
• Updating operational procedures and maintaining supporting records for controls and audits.

What you’ll need

You’ll bring a basic understanding of banking operations, payments, finance and accounting, along with good Excel skills and close attention to detail.

You should be comfortable working with figures, maintaining accurate records and following approval procedures. Clear communication matters too, as you’ll work with colleagues and external contacts from different backgrounds.

Applicants should be eligible to work in the UK.

Please note – this position requires you to be in a London office 5 days per week.