Associate, Trade Finance Operations

About the role

The Associate, Trade Finance Operations will lead end‑to‑end delivery of trade finance products, ensuring compliance, risk management and service excellence within Santander's Pre‑Post Trade Services department in Hong Kong.

Key responsibilities

• Handle day‑to‑day trade finance operations such as Letters of Credit, Guarantees, Documentary Collections and Supply Chain Finance.
• Ensure all activities comply with internal procedures, regulatory requirements and relevant laws.
• Process incoming and outgoing enquiries, instructions and physical documents with counterparties and clients.
• Coordinate with local teams for pre‑transaction validation and post‑transaction monitoring.
• Execute tasks through effective collaboration across teams and branches.
• Perform reconciliations and monitor abnormal deals.
• Maintain up‑to‑date procedures and contribute to process optimisation.
• Support projects, new products, BAU changes and procedure updates.
• Provide backup for other operations and branch functions as required.
• Assist in internal and external audit reviews and ad‑hoc tasks.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management or related field.
• 8–12 years of experience in Trade Finance Operations.
• Proficiency in English and Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin).
• Strong self‑motivation, ability to work independently under pressure and meet tight deadlines.

Required skills

• Experience with SWIFT and trade finance systems.
• Sanction checking knowledge.
• Familiarity with UCP, ISP, URDG, URC, ISBP and ICC rules.
• Hands‑on experience with Microsoft Word and Excel.