Trade Services Officer – Documentary Credits in Slough

The role of Trade Services Officer, Documentary Credits, is to ensure that, under any necessary guidance from the Senior Officer, Documentary Credits, the Deputy or Head of Trade Services, all aspects of the Documentary Credit process, (opening, advising amending and administering), and associated instruments across both EAB plc and EAB SA are handled in line with agreed SLA’s to ensure that customer service standards are met and to ensure the smooth running of the section.

Principle Accountabilities and Duties:

• Deputise for the Senior Trade Services Officer, Documentary Credits in their absence.
• Ensure that instructions from customers/ branches of Arab Bank Group and other banks regarding all aspects of Documentary Credits and associated instruments are implemented within agreed turnaround times and are without errors.
• Approve release of transactions on PC and sign hard copies where necessary at the request of the Senior Officer, Documentary Credits or Deputy Head or Head of Trade Services.
• Ensure that documents under letters of credit are first checked/second checked so that a response can be given within agreed turnaround times.
• Effect payments/acceptances under letters of credit and deal with the disposal of the documents, (including discounting where necessary).
• Respond promptly to all queries and enquiries.
• Other duties; including processing Import L/C’s and Documentary Collections, (Export/Import).
• Prioritise work in order to meet the urgency of requests as directed by the Senior Officer, Documentary Credits or Deputy Head or Head of Trade Services.
• Action all queries efficiently or refer these to the Senior Officer, Documentary Credits or Deputy Head or Head of Trade Services as soon as they are received.
• Share responsibility for clearing outstanding reconciliation items in respect of Letters of Credit, Acceptances and Documentary Collections and any other items relating to Trade Services.
• Ensure that month end balancing of guarantees and commission accounts are done promptly.
• Assist with any other Trade Services related roles as required by the Deputy Head or Head of Trade Services.

Risk & Regulatory Duties:

• Maintain knowledge of all applicable regulatory requirements including the Bank’s Risk and Compliance policies and procedures and adhere to these.
• Report policy, procedure and/or regulatory breaches or suspicions to Deputy Head or Head of Trade Services.
• Accurately execute all controls within own area to minimise risk of policy, procedure, and/or regulatory breaches.
• Identify any new risks/control gaps within own area and escalate accordingly to your Line Manager and/or Head of Trade Services.

Financial Crime:

• Act as the “First Line of Defence”.
• Responsible for the accurate execution of Financial Crime Prevention controls in accordance with the Bank's and Departmental policies and procedures.
• Ensure Due Diligence/Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) is carried out, where applicable, on all parties to the Trade transactions and maintain appropriate records.
• Be vigilant to unusual or suspicious transactions and report any suspicions to the MLRO.
• Ensure adherence to the Bank’s AML, Financial Crime and Anti-Terrorism policies and procedures.

Training & Competence:

• Maintain working knowledge of UCP, ISP, ISBP, URR and URC.
• Complete all annual mandatory regulatory training as per the Bank's training plans and deadlines.
• Proactively seek to complete recommended technical and behavioural competencies training required for your role.

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, Experience Required:

• 5 GCSE’s or equivalent level of education and industry related documentary credits experience, or a suitable combination thereof.
• PC skills, including Eximbills experience and Excel, Word, spreadsheets and database applications.
• Knowledge of Guarantees advantageous.