Senior Associate, Relationship Management

This role is responsible for implementing ITFC’s strategies for trade financing solutions and willl support the Istanbul Regional Hub in the implementation of ITFC market penetration strategy in Türkiye and the CIS Region. This role is intended to provide operational and administrative support to the senior members of the team in managing the client relationships first-hand and oversee the end-to-end implementation of the financing process under the guidance and supervision of the senior member of the team. This role is also responsible for ensuring adherence to ITFC’s risk guidelines, policies and procedures. The candidate will report to the Division Manager, Private Sector.

Main responsibilities will include, among others, the following: coordinate, follow up, and report on ITFC’s interventions in the region; provide technical, analytical, operational, and logistical support to the senior members of the team; provide support in portfolio management (disbursements, repayments, follow-ups, etc.) and reporting; manage incoming and outgoing correspondences; manage the files and original documents for the operations in the region. The role may also involve communicating with clients in the region, liaising with internal departments to respond to customer requests and/or solve customer concerns, and reporting results/outcomes to the senior members of the team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Core Responsibilities

Relationship and Portfolio Management

Origination (Business Development):

• Support the senior members of the team in sourcing and assessing the opportunities, identifying bankable prospects in target regions, grow and develop new/existing business relationships.
• Support the Relationship Management team throughout the deal cycle, from deal generation to deal closure.
• Under the guidance of the senior members of the team, liaise with prospective clientele to build awareness around the nature of Islamic Trade Finance products offered by ITFC (such as Murabaha) and various mode of financing provided (Import financing, export financing, LC Confirmation, working capital solution including structured trade commodity transactions etc).

Structuring and Negotiation:

• Work with the senior members of the team in building the needed understanding of the existing/prospective client needs, structuring the transactions, and drafting of Term Sheets in line with the relevant guidelines of ITFC.
• Under the guidance of the senior members of the team, contribute to the due diligence on prospective deals by evaluating the associated risks in a robust manner to validate the client’s risk profile and risk exposure.
• Support the senior members of the team in processing KYC and Compliance check requirements.
• Support the senior members of the team in negotiating and closing with prospective clientele on the proposed Term Sheet in line with the relevant guidelines at ITFC.

Deal Execution:

• Support the team in the processing of new operations / onboarding new clients; and follow up on Credit Memorandums (CM) under approval process, ensuring timely submission to all relevant committees and final approval by the CEO.
• Support the team with the preparation of Credit Memorandum and clarify the terms and conditions for the provision of Trade Finance instruments.
• Support the team with conducting a thorough risk evaluation to identify the potential risk factors and incorporate mitigating clauses in the Credit Memorandum.
• Contribute to the presentation of prospective deals in the Credit Committee meetings at ITFC and work to secure approval for implementation.
• After approval of the deal, under the guidance of the senior members of the team, work towards the legal documentation and disbursement of the financing in a timely manner. Coordinate all communications between the clients and other internal stakeholders within ITFC.

Portfolio Management:

• Support the regional office with the overall management of the trade finance portfolio.
• Support the team with periodic reports related to the performance of the regional office.
• Monitor the transactional approvals are executed accordingly and conduct weekly/monthly call reports for timely disbursement, repayment, and renewals.
• Schedule and coordinate follow up actions with clients in the designated region in case of overdues within the stipulated Days Past Due (DPD) in line with ITFC’s guidelines.
• Support the team with the timely follow ups and collection of various reports from clients on a quarterly basis.
• Follow up with internal departments on various matters in order to ensure timely processing of pending transactions, e.g., Legal for documentation, Treasury for syndication, Operations for disbursement and repayments, Credit for limit setting and for facility processing support, and Risk, Compliance & Credit Administration for obtaining clearances.
• Contribute to efficient and effective management of new and existing operations in the region by taking ownership of issues and tasks and following through to ensure timely and successful resolution of matters.

Market Intelligence Gathering:

• Develop in depth understanding of the target countries and sectors which serve as focus areas for ITFC’s export/import financing products. Gain insight on the economic, political, social, and regulatory factors impacting the ease of facilitating international trade across the member countries assigned.
• Develop market intelligence to build an understanding of the predominant players In the Trade Finance market, and their offering across member countries assigned within the designated region.
• Coordinate the collection and dissemination of field presence related knowledge and expertise to ensure key data/information is safely kept and shared with relevant stakeholders in HQ.
• Any other relevant assignment as may be required from time to time.

Integrated Trade Solutions:

• Originate leads for ITFC’s Integrated Trade Solution offerings from existing as well as new clientele in the assigned region based on sound understanding the market opportunities and clients stated and unstated needs and requirements.
• Work with the relevant departments to cross-sell ITFC’s products and services for financial sustainability and developmental impact.

Managing Regional Presence:

• Provide input to devise country specific strategies for effective penetration and lead generation in the designated region for ITFC’s Trade Finance offering.
• Contribute to the sales planning by delivering market information of their respective segments/markets.
• Contribute to maintaining relationships with clients in the designated region and oversee the upstream investment process in order to ensure seamless implementation.
• Contribute to ensuring ITFC’s visibility activities are maximized with internal and external stakeholders to support the ITFC brand awareness and trade finance business. Support the team in coordinating efforts and activities with the Corporate Communications and the local media partners on any required media and communication support in line with ITFC’s visibility and branding strategy.
• Coordinate between and/or among relevant ITFC functions and IsDB Group on all operational and administrative matters related to ITFC’s operations and regional presence requirements in general.

Administrative Support:

• Support the team with tasks related to administrative, budget, and logistical matters.
• Collect and file for safe custody original documents/files for operations under implementation.
• Maintain the physical files for active operations kept in HQ on behalf of the Relationship Managers in the outposts and ensure all necessary documents are properly filed and maintained.
• Coordinate necessary logistical arrangements for delegations visiting the Istanbul Regional Hub.
• Coordinate the preparation of documents that may be required by ITFC management in connection with delegation visits (i.e., Country briefs, talking points, delegation profiles, etc.).

Qualifications & Other Certifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree, preferably with a specialization in Finance/Accounting/Economics/International Business/Trade

Language Skills:

• English and Russian are compulsory
• Turkish is preferable

Source: https://www.isdbcareers.com/careers/isdb/VacancyDetail.aspx?VacancyID=169836