Associate, Trade Finance Operations

Santander; Hong Kong; On-site; HKD 420,000 - 660,000; Full time

Job summary

Santander Asia's Trade Finance Operations team handles end-to-end processing for letters of credit, guarantees, and documentary collections with focus on risk management and compliance. The role addresses daily operations, controls, stakeholder engagement, and ongoing process improvements to ensure service quality.

The associate will coordinate across local teams, support regulatory requirements, and participate in BAU changes and audits. Strong English and Chinese communication is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, operations management, or related disciplines.
• More than 5 years of experience in Trade Finance Operations.
• Exposure to SWIFT, trade systems and sanction checking.
• Familiar with UCP, ISP, URDG, URC, ISBP and ICC rules; able to work under pressure with tight deadlines.
• Strong communication skills and proficiency in MS Word & Excel.
• Fluent in English and Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin).

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end Trade Finance operations (LCs, Guarantees, Documentary Collections) to ensure accuracy and timeliness.
• Ensure compliance with procedures, regulations and laws.
• Coordinate with local teams to meet regulatory requirements during pre- and post-transaction processes.
• Reconcile and monitor abnormal deals; support audits and projects.
• Provide backup to other Operations functions and assist in process improvements.

Skills

Communication skills

MS Word & Excel

Bilingual English/Chinese

Calm under pressure

Trade finance operations knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business administration or operations management

Tools

SWIFT

Trade systems

Sanction screening tools

Job description

Country: Hong Kong

The Pre-Post Trade Services (PPTS) Department is within the first line of defence under COO Office in Asia and contribute to the success of the Santander Asia through a group of knowledgeable professionals that manage the branch operational process and monitor any risks or control, enabling the achievement of strategic objectives and supporting the Santander Asia corporate goals within agreed risk appetite constraints.

To support day-to-day operations ensuring that the Bank’s policies, operational guidelines are adhered to by team members, consistent delivery of quality services to clients and optimal utilization of available resources.

The Associate of Trade Finance Operations is responsible for leading end-to-end operational delivery across Trade Finance products, ensuring strong risk management, regulatory compliance, service excellence, and operational efficiency. The role oversees processing, controls, stakeholder management, and strategic transformation initiatives within the Trade Finance function.

Key Responsibilities

• Handle day-to-day Trade Finance operations (e.g., Letters of Credit, Guarantees, Documentary Collections, Supply Chain Finance) to ensure day to day transactions are executed accurately and timely to comply with the internal and external regulations/policies/procedures.
• Ensure all operations activities are performed in compliance with various procedures, regulations and laws.
• Handle the process of incoming and outgoing enquiries, instructions, physical documents with counterparties/clients to fulfil the services level standard.
• Coordinate with other local teams to ensure all bank and regulatory requirements and objectives are fulfilled during pre-transaction validation and post-transaction monitoring.
• Timely execution of tasks assigned via effective collaboration between teams and branches.
• Perform reconciliation and Monitor/follow up abnormal deals.
• Maintain up to date procedure and actively involved to the process optimization.
• Provide support to projects, new products, BAU changes and procedures update/creation in relation to Operations.
• Backup other Operations functions and other Branch’s functions as instructed.
• Support and participate in external/internal audit review Assist in ad-hoc tasks as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Operation Management, or related disciplines.
• More than 5 years of experience in Trade Finance Operations.
• Exposure in SWIFT, Trade systems and Sanction checking.
• Familiar with UCP, ISP, URDG, URC, ISBP and ICC rules. Good self-motivation with ability to work independently and under pressure with tight deadlines.
• Good communication skills.
• Hands-on experience in MS Words & Excel.
• Proficiency in both English and Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin).