Job Purpose: 

The Role holder is responsible for the Bank’s Settlements & Reconciliations Processes and shall develop and recommend strategies for best Settlements & Reconciliations processes. In liaison with other bank units, business leaders, and business partners, the role holder shall provide leadership for developing and executing a sustainable and appropriate reconciliations & Settlements strategy.

Key Accountabilities: 

In Charge of Settlements process.

• Review daily settlements for Cards, mobile, international money transfers and agency.
• Ensure nil loss/exposure for all settled accounts.
• Support the subsidiaries through training and couching staff on settlements.
• Ensure closure of all audit and compliance open issues.
• Ensure monthly returns to finance and controls reports to risk teams are within the SLA.
• Ensure efficient and effective responses for raised issues through service cloud.
• Ensure staff are well trained and aligned in their daily duties.
• Team lead in the automations for Settlements and reconciliation for the group.
• Review of settlement open items in General ledgers and ensure they are actioned as per the agreed SLA.
• Ensure continuous improvement of the current manual process through macros and BI technologies.
• Continuous monitoring department staff’s performance and productivity as per the departmental score card.
• Continuous improvement of the Settlements process to achieve accurate, approved and timeliness as per SLA.
• Design a comprehensive Settlements Key Performance Indicators for the staffs.
• Group settlements staff development through coaching and mentoring.
• Effectively manage internal audit process, external audits and ensure all Audit Issues are closed as per agreed timelines.
• Ensure staff are appraised and adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) requirements applicable to the unit.
• Review and maintain an updated Business Continuity Program for the unit and complete regular testing of the business continuity plans (BCPs).

Risk, Compliance controls and Customer experience.

• Accountable for risk mitigation within Settlements unit by keeping abreast with the regulatory and partner requirements on card business.
• Co-ordinate and manage new product initiatives to ensure adherence to Policies, procedures, Mandatory requirements for partners, and customer experience standards.
• Define and remain accountable for Settlements and dispute management processes.
• Digitize settlement processes to meet the Bank wide digital agenda.
• Maintain the Business Continuity Plan to include documentation, testing planning and compliance. Assure that recovery site(s) are in appropriate state of readiness to accommodate processing when relocation is required, or work with outsourced service providers to assure their plans are tested and viable.
• Responsible for Settlements SLAs through definition and continuous monitoring of service commitments both internally and externally.
• Implement Settlements Service Level Agreement (SLA) / Turn-Around Time (TAT) Maintain an up-to-date risk register, conduct Key Control Self-Assessments (KCSA).

People Management

• Provide leadership, motivation, and development to Settlements staffs.
• Foster a positive and engaging work environment for each team member by promoting skill development, coaching for improvement and growth while inspiring others thus nurturing positive employee morale and embracing our mission, vision, and core values.
• Drive competency development through continuous learning, certifications, role-based learning, and job enrichment to drive high performance.
• Implement recruitment, learning and performance management strategies, as well as cultural practices that attract, nurture, and retain the best talent within Settlements & Reconciliations Unit.

Requirements

Qualification and Experience: 

• Holder of a Business-related bachelor’s Degree from a recognized university.
• Master’s degree/additional professional qualification an added advantage.
• At least 5 years’ experience in Settlements & Reconciliations operations- 3 of which must be in leadership position.
• Certification and/or Training from Major Card Schemes (Visa, MC & AMEX)

Key skills and competencies 

• Have a strong control, process, and risk management mindset.
• Innovative and pro-active
• Strong negotiation skills
• Excellent leadership skills, communication skills, analytical, problem solving and interpersonal skills.
•  Result oriented and business focused to develop and implement project/product proposals and ability to work under pressure.
• Knowledge of emerging market trends on Telco’s business, card business, payments industry and related channels.
• Product portfolio analysis and financial management analysis skills.