Senior Director of Trade Services📣 Job Ad

About BSF and the Role

BSF (Banque Saudi Fransi) is a financial institution that merges Saudi leadership with international standards, focusing on empowering ambition and enabling growth. We are seeking a Senior Director of Trade Services to join our team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This full-time role involves the overall management and general direction of the bank’s Trade Finance Business, including setting policies, guidelines, and ensuring the accomplishment of business plans and objectives.

Strategic Leadership and Business Development

• Translate the bank’s strategic objectives into a clear Trade Finance strategy, aligning goals, initiatives, and resource allocation with business priorities.
• Manage regional Trade Finance areas to optimize resource utilization, deliver excellent service standards, and attract new clients.
• Oversee the full suite of Trade Finance products, including Letters of Credit (import/export), Documentary Collections, Bank Guarantees/Standby LCs, and Trade Loans, ensuring competitiveness and market alignment.
• Lead the development and management of Supply Chain Financing solutions, focusing on risk assessment, program structuring, and alignment with limits.
• Drive re-engineering, digitization, and automation of Trade Finance platforms and workflows, adopting fintech solutions to improve efficiency.
• Coordinate with Business lines and regional Trade Finance managers to increase business volumes, cross-selling, and profitability.
• Conduct customer visits with regional Trade Finance managers, business lines managers, and financial institution managers as needed.
• Advise and participate with regional Trade Finance managers to evaluate client training requirements and arrange seminars.
• Lead the process of effective Trade Finance manpower planning, including recruiting, adopting HR best practices, and ensuring high employee engagement.

Operational Excellence and Financial Management

• Establish smart controls on operational functions to ensure smooth process workflow, improve efficiency, and minimize risk.
• Meet business line requirements by implementing proper plans, appropriate reporting tools, and automation for efficiency and risk mitigation.
• Coordinate with Management and stakeholders to prepare operational plans and the budget for the department, implementing budgetary controls to achieve targets.
• Establish and/or maintain a clear delegation of authority (DOA) framework for approval limits within Trade Finance.
• Represent Trade Finance at relevant management and governance committees, providing input on trade-related exposures.
• Oversee staff training and development requirements based on manager recommendations and propose specialized development programs.
• Advise and follow up with the team to ensure monthly, quarterly, and yearly MIS reports are prepared and submitted to relevant parties.

Risk Management and Compliance

• Advise and follow up with Trade Finance regional managers to ensure services comply with Trade Finance policies and procedures.
• Stay informed of local (SAMA) and international rules, practices, and market trends in banking.
• Coordinate with External and Internal Auditors, providing documents and addressing recommendations.
• Proactively monitor, document, and reassess existing and emerging risks across Trade Finance operations, ensuring mitigation plans are current.
• Document, plan, and follow closely on all identified risks within Trade Finance Services.
• Report incidents and issues to top management and Operational Risk Teams, introducing corrective actions.
• Ensure Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans are in place, tested, and maintained for Trade Finance operations.
• Empower and follow a culture of transparency and escalation to relevant business lines and control functions.
• Provide consultation on ICC rules to teams and business lines to protect bank assets and assure compliance.

Qualifications and Experience

• University graduate in Business, Financial Services, Accounting, or Economics.
• Minimum of 15 years of banking experience in Trade Finance Operations, with a numerical discipline background.
• Minimum of 6 years of management experience within a banking environment.
• In-depth knowledge of ICC guidelines pertaining to Trade Finance, including UCP 600, ISBP 681, ISP 98, URC 522, URDG 758, ICC opinions, and relevant case studies.

BSF Values

At BSF, our values guide our operations and culture:

• We are BSF: Prioritizing the needs of our people, customers, shareholders, and society.
• True to ourselves, always: Maintaining honesty, even when challenging.
• Us before me: Valuing ideas over ego and leveraging collective expertise.
• Keep it simple: Striving for simplicity in all actions, empowering success, and taking ownership.
• Winning is fun: Aiming to be number one in the hearts and minds of our stakeholders with limitless ambition.
• Think big, act quick: Making long-term decisions quickly with a bias towards action.