Middle Office –  Core Trade Desk Manager (UK & Europe), SVP

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Job Overview

The SVP, Middle Office – Core Trade Desk (UK & Europe) Manager is a senior, strategic leadership role responsible for directing and managing the Core Trade Desk Middle Office team across the UK and Europe markets.

The role is composed of two primary, high-impact responsibilities:

Client Transactional Inquiries Management: Overseeing the seamless execution, governance, and resolution of day-to-day and complex transactional inquiries related to Trade Import/Export Letters of Credit (LCs), Standby Letters of Credit (SBLCs), and Guarantees. Middle Office Commercial Outreach: Leading proactive client outreach strategies to expand credit line/facility utilization, enable sales growth, and aggressively prevent revenue attrition.

The SVP will manage a regional team of Middle Office professionals (including AVPs and VPs) who perform the newly integrated role of Client Service Manager & Middle Office. This leader must possess exceptional verbal and written communication skills to engage with senior internal stakeholders and external client executives, combined with strong strategic, analytical, collaborative, innovative, and people management capabilities.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Team Leadership & People Management

• Direct Line Management: Manage, mentor, and develop a regional team of Client Service Managers & Middle Office professionals (AVPs and VPs) across the UK & Europe markets.
• Capability Building: Raise institutional knowledge of trade within the team, actively coaching junior members, closing skills gaps in core trade products, and fostering a high-performance culture.
• Resource & Portfolio Allocation: Strategically align team resources to support diverse client segments, including the "Trade 500", "Priority Growth", and "Long Tail" portfolios.

2. Transactional Excellence & Client Delivery

• SLA & Quality Governance: Oversee the end-to-end management of client transactional inquiries, ensuring industry-leading service delivery, rapid resolution of complex issues, and strict adherence to global standards.
• Senior Escalation Point: Act as the ultimate regional escalation point for critical client issues related to Trade Import/Export LCs, SBLCs, and Guarantees.
• Process Innovation: Drive operational efficiency and process simplification to continuously enhance the client experience and maintain Citi's position as a top-tier trade services provider.

3. Proactive Outreach & Commercial Growth

• Credit Line Optimization: Design and execute programmatic client outreach strategies to maximize credit line and facility utilization across the UK & Europe portfolio.
• Sales & Product Integration: Partner closely with Sales and Product teams to identify untapped wallet opportunities, facilitate smooth hand-offs of complex deals, and support the "holistic intensity sales model."
• Revenue Attrition Mitigation: Implement robust attrition-prevention frameworks, proactively identifying at-risk revenue and deploying targeted engagement strategies to retain clients.
• Deal Execution Oversight: Oversee the team's execution of simpler trade deals, ensuring efficient price quoting (using tools like Instaquote) and seamless online closure.

4. Strategic & Analytical Leadership

• Data-Driven Strategy: Utilize advanced analytical tools and internal data (e.g., Banker Direct Access (BDA) transaction dashboards, facility utilization, pipeline, and attrition dashboards) to derive actionable client insights and drive regional strategy.
• Programmatic Coverage: Champion data-driven decision-making within the team, establishing programmatic coverage models based on client segmentation.
• Market Foresight: Anticipate market trends, regulatory changes, and evolving client needs in the UK & Europe trade landscape to innovate service delivery models.

5. Stakeholder Collaboration & Communication

• Executive Communication: Maintain exceptional verbal and written communication with senior internal stakeholders (Sales, Product, Operations, Risk, and Credit) and external client executives (C-suite, Treasurers).
• Regional Representation: Represent the UK & Europe Core Trade Desk Middle Office in regional leadership forums and steering committees.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Drive cross-functional collaboration to ensure integrated workflows and seamless client onboarding and lifecycle management.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or a related field (Master's degree or MBA preferred).
• Experience: Progressive experience in trade finance, client relationship management, or middle office operations within a global financial institution, and in a senior people management capacity.
• Trade Expertise: Deep, comprehensive knowledge of Trade Finance and Documentary Trade products (LCs, SBLCs, Guarantees) and a holistic 360-degree view of import/export activities.
• Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication, negotiation, and presentation skills, with a proven ability to influence senior decision-makers.
• Leadership: Strong people management skills with a track record of building, coaching, and leading high-performing, diverse teams.
• Strategic & Analytical Acumen: Proven ability to interpret complex data, formulate regional strategies, and drive programmatic client engagement.
• Collaboration & Innovation: Highly collaborative mindset with a track record of driving innovative solutions in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive experience managing regional portfolios (UK & Europe) and diverse client segments ("Trade 500", "Priority Growth", "Long Tail").
• In-depth familiarity with Citi's global Trade Product suite and proprietary tools (e.g., Instaquote, Banker Direct Access / BDA).
• Proven experience in strategic client segmentation, wallet-share maximization, and revenue attrition mitigation.

What we can offer you:

By joining Citi Dublin, you will not only be part of a business casual workplace with a hybrid working model (up to 2 days working at home per week), but also receive a competitive base salary (which is annually reviewed) and enjoy a whole host of additional benefits that support you (and your family) to be well, live well and save well. Discover more here.

Alongside these benefits Citi is committed to ensuring our workplace is where everyone feels comfortable coming to work as their whole self every day.  We want the best talent around the world to be energised to join us, motivated to stay, and empowered to thrive. 

Sounds like Citi has everything you need? Then apply to discover the true extent of your capabilities. 

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Job Family Group:

Operations - Transaction Services

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Job Family:

Cash Management

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Time Type:

Full time

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Primary Location Full Time Salary Range:

109 920,00 € - 164 880,00 €

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Most Relevant Skills

Please see the requirements listed above.

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Other Relevant Skills

For complementary skills, please see above and/or contact the recruiter.

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