Job Summary

The Associate Principal role within Funds & Fiduciary Services Operations at Standard Chartered is an exceptional career opportunity designed for finance professionals dedicated to upholding financial integrity and ensuring compliance within a complex and evolving regulatory landscape. This role requires a comprehensive understanding of investment accounting principles, financial reporting, and governance, with emphasis on navigating global financial markets and investment bank products.

In this pivotal position, you will be responsible for the accurate preparation, review, and interpretation of crucial financial documentation that reflects our organisation's fiduciary duties. Your expertise will contribute to both operational excellence and strategic financial decision-making, helping shape our fund services to meet the highest standards of regulatory compliance and client satisfaction globally.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Operational Excellence

• Lead and align funds and fiduciary service operations with the Group’s strategic goals, fostering innovation and business growth in line with market dynamics.
• Collaborate closely with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for enhancing fund service capabilities, implementing risk-management strategies to safeguard our reputation in the market.

Fund Accounting Accuracy and Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure meticulous and timely calculation of Net Asset Values (NAV), validating data integrity against regulatory frameworks applicable within South Africa and international jurisdictions.
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders and external service providers to maintain compliance and operational fluidity.

Client Onboarding and Documentation Governance

• Oversee comprehensive onboarding processes for new clients, facilitating seamless coordination among sales, product, and operations teams to ensure all documentation such as Private Placement Memorandums, Fund Administration Service Agreements, and Service Level Manuals are complete, compliant, and reflect best practices.

Daily NAV Processing and Client Reporting

• Take ownership of daily NAV reporting processes by liaising with global centres to confirm data accuracy and transaction correctness.
• Ensure prompt client communication for NAV approvals and respond to queries on the same day via established communication channels.
• Conduct thorough investigations into reconciliations of bank accounts and holdings, proactively resolving discrepancies.
• Collaborate with auditors and global business services to audit and finalise client financial statements within stipulated deadlines.

Compliance Monitoring and Risk Mitigation

• Perform daily compliance assessments utilizing systems like CRIMS and manual reviews, escalating breaches as necessary to uphold transparency with trustees, clients, and regulators.
• Drive process optimisations by reducing manual interventions and promoting automation initiatives.
• Develop contingency plans addressing system outages, operational volume fluctuations, and resource management to ensure service continuity.
• Identify procedural gaps leading to operational risk and implement corrective actions.
• Regularly review and update Delegation of Authority (DOI) and compliance checklists to maintain regulatory alignment.
• Ensure unwavering compliance with all applicable Fund Services regulations and standards.

Qualifications and Experience

• Prior experience is critical, requiring a minimum of three years in investment administration and accounting roles, with at least two years of relevant custody experience. 
• Must have a solid foundation in investment compliance, evidencing their capability to navigate and uphold regulatory and industry best practices.
• A well-rounded understanding of fund accounting within the financial services industry, coupled with practical experience navigating complex regulatory environments.
• The ideal candidate will combine formal education with hands-on experience and a thorough understanding of the regulatory landscape governing investment funds and fiduciary services.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to build and sustain effective relationships across diverse teams, clients, and stakeholders.
• Proficiency in leveraging technology and digital tools to enhance operational efficiency and accuracy, alongside advanced analytical capabilities to interpret financial data and translate it into actionable business insights.
• Adaptability and a commitment to continuous improvement are essential, as is the ability to deliver consistently high-quality outcomes that meet or exceed customer expectations.
• Proactive approach to problem-solving and a passion for maintaining the highest standards of integrity and financial governance.

About Standard Chartered

We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us.

Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion.

Together we:

• Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do
• Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well
• Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term

What we offer

In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

• Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
• Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
• Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
• Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits
• A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
• Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.