Summary

The role of South Africa Rates Trader within Standard Chartered Bank offers an exceptional opportunity to engage deeply with the financial markets, focusing on the dynamic ZAR Rates & Credit sectors. As part of the Financial Markets business, this role is pivotal in driving business growth through the strategic development and management of trading activities related to South African Rand rates and credit products. The position demands a proactive approach to market analysis, trade execution, and collaboration with sales teams to optimise the bank's positioning and revenue stream in this specialised area.

This position is based in our London office and functions within a professional, fast-paced environment, blending analytical acumen with strategic foresight. You will interact with various internal and external stakeholders, ensuring that pricing and trade execution meet client expectations while aligning with regulatory and compliance requirements. This role is key to expanding the bank's footprint in African markets through effective risk management and market insight.

Ideal for individuals who thrive in a collaborative and challenging setting, this role provides clear pathways for career development within the evolving landscape of global financial markets.

Key Responsibilities

The South Africa Rates Trader will have a diverse range of responsibilities critical to the bank's success in the ZAR market. Key duties include:

• Developing robust strategies to grow the ZAR Rates & Credit business, ensuring alignment with the Financial Markets business's overarching goals and shareholder interests.
• Collaborating closely with sales heads and the head of Africa Rates to identify and implement initiatives that support business expansion and meet predefined revenue targets.
• Providing precise and timely pricing of derivatives and bond products to both internal teams and client counterparts, maintaining competitiveness and market relevance.
• Upholding best practices for risk capture, trade processing, and management reporting to ensure operational excellence and compliance.
• Managing daily funding of trading positions, adjusting to market conditions and tenor requirements effectively.
• Maintaining strong communication channels with sales and client franchises to keep them informed of market developments, emerging trends, and pricing dynamics.
• Contributing to continuous improvement processes within the trading desk to optimise performance and client satisfaction.

Skills and Experience

To excel as a South Africa Rates Trader, the following skills and experiences are essential:

• Customer Behaviour and Preferences: Understanding client needs and tailoring strategies to meet market demands effectively.
• Financial Mathematics: Competence in quantitative analysis and complex financial calculations to support accurate pricing and risk assessment.
• Investment Performance Measurement: Ability to analyse and interpret investment outcomes to inform trading strategies.
• Investment Risk Economics and Finance: Proficient in identifying, quantifying, and managing risks associated with financial products and market conditions.
• Market Risk: Deep knowledge of market risk factors and mitigation techniques specific to rates and credit trading.
• Securities Laws and Regulations Compliance: Familiarity with relevant legal frameworks and regulatory standards to ensure all trading activities comply with laws and ethical standards.
• Trading Experience: Practical exposure to trading workflows, systems, and market dynamics pertinent to rates and credit instruments.

Qualifications

The qualifications supporting success in this role include:

• University Degree: A degree in Finance, Economics, Mathematics, or a related quantitative discipline is required to provide a solid foundation in financial theory and practice.
• FSA Certification: Relevant certification demonstrating proficiency and regulatory knowledge applicable to financial trading activities.
• English Proficiency: Strong command of the English language, both written and verbal, to communicate effectively within a global business context.

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.