Specialist, Assets Services Services (Emiratized)

Role Overview

Specialist, Assets Services (Emiratized) at First Abu Dhabi Bank, located in Abu Dhabi. This role sits within the Funds Custody & Issuer Services department, supporting the Securities Service Operations (SSO) team.

Company Overview

First Abu Dhabi Bank operates a Funds Custody & Issuer Services department delivering custody and securities services to clients across domestic, regional, and international markets.

Role Purpose

Deliver exceptional custody services by managing end-to-end corporate actions processing, client relationships, and compliance requirements. Drive efficiency and accuracy in securities service operations across multiple markets and product types, ensuring the highest quality client experience aligned with international standards.

Key Responsibilities

Corporate Actions Processing

• Process corporate actions end-to-end in accordance with regulatory and compliance requirements, prioritizing accurate and timely execution.
• Monitor and process corporate actions daily across domestic, regional, and international markets for mandatory and voluntary events.
• Handle moderately intricate to extremely complex corporate action events across local, regional, and international markets.
• Receive and scrub market and sub-custodian announcements, compare data, and notify clients of corporate action events.
• Reconcile client positions with sub-custodians and markets, monitoring appropriate posting of accruals and entitlements to client accounts.
• Solicit and receive client responses for all voluntary events, submitting instructions to sub-custodians, markets, agents, processing banks prior to deadline dates.
• Process corporate actions across diverse products including equities, mutual funds, fixed income, hedge funds, structured funds, and ETFs to international standards.
• Demonstrate knowledge of corporate actions SWIFT messages and their usage.

Stakeholder Communication & Coordination

• Communicate with markets, sub-custodians, agents, companies, depositories, brokers, and issuers to ensure smooth, accurate, timely corporate actions processing.
• Track and respond to internal and external client queries with clear, detailed corporate actions information aligned with market rules, regulations, and corporate actions best practice.
• Participate in section-related projects, system changes and upgrades, new client requirements, and sub-custodian and client SLA implementation.

Asset Services Operations

• Manage corporate actions, support tax reclaims, provide proxy services, manage network support, manage income, and perform reconciliation activities.
• Monitor sources for corporate action announcements via newspapers, Bloomberg, Reuters, sub-custodians, and local market websites, submitting information for system input.
• Support tax reclaims and proxy services.
• Review clients' positions and holdings daily, reconciling with sub-custodians and markets to identify discrepancies.
• Review client cash positions daily to ensure appropriate funding, escalating potential overdrafts or insufficient balances.
• Escalate any position and cash discrepancies to AVP and Middle Office as required.

Cash and FX Settlement

• Review and validate all cash and FX transactions inputted by officers or other specialists.
• Validate all data entered into the system and forward to AVP for review.
• On transaction settlement date, ensure settlement completion and execution of appropriate accounting entries.
• Escalate settlement issues and discrepancies to AVP.
• Validate and sign vouchers for FX and cash execution prior to AVP review.

Validation & SWIFT Processing

• Validate all transactions entered by officers or other specialists into the custody system, ensuring appropriate processing.
• Validate SWIFT instructions inputted by officers or other specialists for AVP authorization.
• Serve as second level of SWIFT generation process.

Reconciliation & Quality Assurance

• Conduct second-level reconciliation, ensuring all appropriate checks prevent discrepancies.
• Escalate reconciliation issues to AVP.
• Review processes and suggest and implement changes to enhance client satisfaction, reduce manual intervention, and reduce overall cost.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure controls and procedures are adhered to by the section.
• Monitor all KPIs, KRIs, and capacity planning.
• Submit incidents and issues to AVP for review.
• Monitor transactions to ensure processing according to compliance and audit standards and requirements.
• Responsible for ensuring reliability by taking necessary actions to continuously meet required deadlines and goals.

Ad Hoc Support

• Support the AVP as required for business-as-usual matters, projects, and initiatives.

Stakeholder Management

• Articulate information clearly and present information effectively and confidently when working with others.
• Convince others by making a strong case and bringing others along to viewpoints; maintain strong, trusting relationships while remaining comfortable challenging ideas.

Qualifications & Experience

• University graduate or bachelor's degree, or 5+ years related work experience.
• Minimum 5+ years related experience in security services and/or back-office operations, such as managing corporate actions and securities settlements.
• Solid understanding of security services, operations, and accounting activity related to security services.
• Specific experience in securities-related functions such as client services, corporate actions, settlement, data maintenance and billing, or custody account opening is an added advantage.

Skills & Competencies

• Ability to work under pressure, prioritize, and manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Team-oriented approach and ability to work under pressure.
• Ability to achieve business objectives without compromising controls and risk parameters established.
• Strong execution skills in multi-tasking mode and effective follow-up.
• Self-starter with excellent attitude, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Excellent team working skills.