Investment Operations Specialist (Settlements and Trade Support)

CA Financial Appointments; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 360,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

CA (South Africa) in Cape Town seeks an experienced settlements professional to own day-to-day settlement and trade support. You will shape the local Operations function, coordinating with teams in SA and the UK and gaining exposure to international investment operations.

Responsibilities include monitoring settlements, investigating discrepancies, maintaining data accuracy in Salesforce and Excel, and driving process improvements as the team grows.

Qualifications

• Experience in financial services operations, settlements or trade support.
• Hands-on experience with South African domestic settlements and STRATE.
• Understanding of the trade lifecycle and post-trade settlement.
• Strong Excel skills with financial/transaction data.
• Experience performing reconciliations and investigating discrepancies.
• Strong attention to detail with a control-focused approach.
• Ability to work independently and in a team.

Responsibilities

• Managing and monitoring South African domestic settlements, alongside international processes including Euroclear.
• Tracking trades through the settlement lifecycle and investigating unmatched, failed or outstanding transactions.
• Liaising with custodians, CSDPs, brokers, counterparties and internal teams to resolve settlement queries.
• Performing operational reconciliations, validations and control checks.
• Maintaining accurate trade and product data across Salesforce, Excel and internal systems.
• Investigating discrepancies and owning issues through to resolution.
• Maintaining operational records, controls and procedures.
• Supporting operational reporting and management information.
• Identifying improvements to processes, controls and efficiency.
• Supporting the rollout of new products, platforms and projects.
• Working closely with colleagues across UK and South African operations.

Skills

Finance operations

STRATE settlements

Excel

Trade lifecycle

Attention to detail

Multitasking

Communication skills

Tools

Salesforce

ERP systems

Job description

Do you thrive on getting trades over the line accurately and on time? We're looking for an experienced settlements professional to help build the Operations function in the new Cape Town office of a growing international investment business.

Why join this team?

This isn't a role where you simply process transactions. You'll own day-to-day settlement and trade support activity and help shape how the local Operations function works. You'll work closely with colleagues in South Africa and the UK and gain exposure to international investment operations. As the team grows, so will your scope.

What you will be doing:

• Managing and monitoring South African domestic settlements, alongside international processes including Euroclear
• Tracking trades through the settlement lifecycle and investigating unmatched, failed or outstanding transactions
• Liaising with custodians, CSDPs, brokers, counterparties and internal teams to resolve settlement queries
• Performing operational reconciliations, validations and control checks
• Maintaining accurate trade and product data across Salesforce, Excel and internal systems
• Investigating discrepancies and owning issues through to resolution
• Maintaining operational records, controls and procedures
• Supporting operational reporting and management information
• Identifying improvements to processes, controls and efficiency
• Supporting the rollout of new products, platforms and projects
• Working closely with colleagues across UK and South African operations

What we are looking for:

Essential

• Experience in financial services operations, settlements or trade support
• Hands-on experience and strong understanding of South African domestic settlements and STRATE
• Good understanding of the trade lifecycle and post-trade settlement process
• Strong Excel skills and confidence working with financial and transactional data
• Experience performing reconciliations and investigating settlement, trade or cash discrepancies
• Strong attention to detail and a control-focused approach
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet settlement deadlines
• Strong written and verbal communication skills