Unit Head - Trade Finance Operations

ahlibank; Muscat; On-site; OMR 58,000 - 73,000; Full time

Job summary

ahlibank in Muscat seeks Head – Trade Finance Operations to lead the day-to-day Trade Finance function, ensuring high-quality service and compliance with policies and international standards. The role drives strategic improvements in processes and systems and establishes performance and service quality KPIs.

You will manage end-to-end Trade Finance products including LCs, LGs, Collections, Bill Discounting, LTRs, and Loans Against Trust Receipts, while collaborating with relationships managers

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Certification: CITF / CDCS / CIDG.
• Minimum 15 years of banking experience.
• Minimum 10 years in trade finance managerial roles.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day processing of Import and Export LCs, Collections, LTRs, Bill Discounting, and LGs.
• Ensure processing meets TAT and SLAs with zero breaches.
• Supervise processors and allocate work based on volume and complexity.
• Ensure regulatory/compliance scrutiny of all trade transactions.
• Oversee SWIFT message processing and timely payments.
• Develop and monitor performance and service quality metrics.

Education

Bachelor’s degree

CITF / CDCS / CIDG certification

Job description

Summary of role

The Head – Trade Finance Operations is responsible for leading and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Trade Finance function, ensuring the delivery of high-quality service in compliance with internal banking policies, regulatory requirements, and international trade finance standards. In addition to managing daily operations, the role plays a pivotal part in driving strategic change initiatives—including the continuous enhancement of the Trade Finance service model, processes, and systems—while establishing robust performance measurement and service quality monitoring frameworks.

The position encompasses the end-to-end management of core trade finance products, including Import and Export Letters of Credit (LCs), Import and Export Collections, Letters of Guarantee (LGs), Bill Discounting, and Loans Against Trust Receipts (LTRs). The role also contributes to the design and implementation of new trade finance offerings, aligned with the Bank’s corporate product strategy and evolving client needs.

Responsibilities

• Trade Finance Operations & Supervision
  • Oversee day-to-day processing of Import and Export LCs, Collections, LTRs, Bill Discounting, and LGs.
  • Ensure timely and accurate processing of trade finance transactions, maintaining TAT and SLAs with zero breaches.
  • Supervise the processors handling transaction inputs, ensuring proper scanning, recording, and approvals.
  • Distributes work/transactions based on volume and complexity to the best-fit team members.
  • Ensure regulatory and compliance-related scrutiny of all trade transactions before approvals.
  • Monitor and authorize trade finance transactions, ensuring correctness in financial, technical, and regulatory aspects.
  • Ensure thorough checking of L/C documents and discrepancy messages are communicated to relevant parties without delay.
  • Oversee SWIFT message processing for inward and outward payments.
  • Ensure timely payment processing, approvals, and reconciliation with relevant parties.
• Compliance & Risk Management
  • Ensure sanctions and compliance screening is conducted as per bank policies.
  • Maintain robust internal controls to mitigate risks in trade finance transactions.
  • Ensure reconciliation of trade transactions with general ledger (daily, weekly, monthly).
  • Conduct periodic risk assessment for all trade finance products and implement necessary control measures.
  • Ensure financial entries, system-generated output validation, and data postings are accurately recorded.
  • Ensure correct calculation and recovery of commissions and interest charges in alignment with the bank’s tariff structure.
  • Monitor Nostro reconciliations in collaboration with the Finance department.
• Process Improvement & Documentation
  • Regularly review and update process manuals and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to align with new implementations.
  • Identify process gaps, recommend improvements, and ensure continuous enhancement of trade finance operations and overall service model
  • Ensure effective escalation of operational risks and concerns to senior management
• Product Expertise, Customer Service & Stakeholder Management
  • Contributes to the design and implementation of new trade finance offerings, aligned with the Bank’s corporate product strategy and evolving client needs
  • Ensure high-quality customer service by responding to trade finance inquiries in a timely manner.
  • Work closely with relationship managers, branches, and other stakeholders to resolve client concerns.
  • Ensure that customer requests and transactions are processed within agreed SLAs.
• Reporting & MIS
  • Prepare periodic reports on trade finance activities, risks, quality of service KPIs, and operational performance.
  • Provide necessary reports to senior management, regulators, and internal stakeholders as required.
  • Track and monitor trade finance trends to provide strategic insights and recommendations.
  • Is responsible for building and improving performance management framework for i) productivity/capacity measurement; ii) quality of service measurement; iii) Trade Finance Operations team maturity/skill measurement

Requirements

Education & Experience Requirement

• Omani Nationals only.
• Bachelor’s degree
• CITF / CDCS /CIDG certification
• Minimum 15 years of banking experience
• Minimum 10 Years of Trade Finance Managerial experience