Vice President, Trustee Operations, Hong Kong (Hybrid)

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Shape your Career with Citi

Citi’s Securities Services(SS) supports our clients’ business by drawing on the strength of our unmatched global footprint, which provides them with access to local expertise and scalable solutions to support their ambitions.

We’re currently looking for a high caliber professional to join our team as Vice President, Trustee Operations, Hong Kong (Hybrid) (Internal Job Title: Fund Accounting Sr Mgr - C13) based in Kowloon, Hong Kong.  Being part of our team means that we’ll provide you with the resources to meet your unique needs, empower you to make healthy decision and manage your financial well-being to help plan for your future.  For instance:

• Citi provides programs and services for your physical and mental well-being including access to telehealth options, health advocates, confidential counseling and more. Coverage varies by country.
• Citi provides access to an array of learning and development resources to help broaden and deepen your skills and knowledge as your career progresses.
• We have a variety of programs that help employees balance their work and life.

In this role, you’re expected to:

This is an exciting opportunity in the Trustee & Fiduciary Oversight Operations team within Citi’s Issuer and Investor Services operations in Hong Kong. The Trustee acts on behalf of its investors and ensures that all trust assets are protected, the appointed administrators and service providers comply with its service and regulatory obligations & requirements, maintains best practices, and prepares/files all necessary fund statutory documentation.  Performs periodic and/or ad-hoc regulatory tasks to ensure that the fund is being managed in accordance with set guidelines of the trust agreements and statutory regulations.

Key responsibilities

The candidate is required to have strong knowledge and extensive practical experience of the following core trustee and fiduciary services and processes:

• Work with various product and operation teams to develop trustee operations solutions for unit trusts, mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETF)

• Ensure daily compliance monitoring, cash flow oversight monitoring, financial statement review and regulatory reporting are conducted

• Implement a robust control, monitoring and reporting when onboarding new Fund Managers/Funds and handling existing Fund Managers/Funds.

• Work with both external (fund managers, professional firms, bankers etc.) and internal stakeholders including product, custody, client services team, fund administrator etc. to ensure the smooth and proper running of the trustee operations e.g. account opening and maintenance, tax filing and reclaim handling, fair valuation review, internal management reporting and manage regulator and auditor queries.

• Ensure the conduct of the fiduciary and fund services business is conducted in accordance with all relevant internal and external rules and regulations.

• Conduct due diligence and monitor performance of all agents (internal and external) in compliance with applicable policies and guidelines.

• License with Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for individual licence Type 13 Providing depositary services for relevant Collective Investment Schemes (CISs) and fulfill licensing requirements.

• Stay abreast of market and regulatory developments in the fiduciary and fund services industry.

• Assist the Regional Head to share best practices and deliver projects assigned from time to time.

The candidate should also have experience and the following responsibilities:

• Review fund prospectuses / offering documents, operating memorandums and key fund documentation

• Fund launches and implementation

• Client conversions

• Client change request management

• Client & vendor management

• Oversight of trustee & fiduciary obligations and functions

• Oversight and control management for domestic and outsourced functions

• Managing client due diligence visits

• Awareness of regulatory and industry change and how it impacts the business

The following aspects of the role as a team manager are also important:

Project and Change Management:

Besides assisting the Head of Trustee Operations Hong Kong to delivery Business As Usual activities (BAU), the candidate need to champion change management projects to improve the control, effectiveness and efficiency of the business. The candidate will also assist Regional Head Trustee Ops on global, regional and Hong Kong sites activities and projects.

People Management:

This role is for a people manager and in addition to managing the daily responsibilities of the team, the candidate will also be required to build an effective working relationship with and across team members and to guide them in their tasks. Regular effective one-to-one sessions with direct reports are required and a planned approach to staff development is a key part of the role.

Control Environment:

The candidate will be expected to identify issues or inefficiencies within the team and to build a strong, controlled working environment, concentrating on error prevention and mitigation.

Relationship and Network Building:

The candidate is expected to focus on building relationships with clients, business partners, service providers and vendors, as well as other Citi stakeholders in other Citi locations that perform tasks on behalf of the fund. The candidate will act as the Trustee operation’s Single Point of Contact for the vendor and sites performing functions on behalf of its trustee clients and will require strong skill sets and experience in respect of:

• Acting as key relationship and escalation point for the vendors/other Citi locations across all trustee appointed functions, taking end-to-end responsibility for the trustee relationship.

• Manage change with these business partners to ensure a controlled change environment

• Engage in proactive added-value communication with the vendors/other Citi locations, and conduct briefings within trustee operations to build awareness across the teams.

Understand the requirements of oversight and control of third party outsourced functions and the importance of adhering to regulatory obligations.

As a successful candidate, you’d ideally have the following skills and exposure:

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s/University degree or equivalent experience. Professional qualifications are preferred

• More than 5 years of experience within the Trustee Services &/or Fund Services Operations or in a Fund Services support role e.g. Fund Compliance &/or Fund Administration Service Support role and should have been in a people management position for at least 3 years

• Solid knowledge investment or fund compliance, fund products and operations, due diligence.  Audit experience will be advantageous

• Previous exposure in trustee fiduciary, fund services and operations, transaction control, audit, internal risk & controls or compliance experience are preferred

• Candidate with SFC individual licence for Type 13 Providing depositary services for relevant CISs preferred

• Self-initiative, take ownership, ability to motivate others and drive for excellence

• Analytical thinking and able to work independently

• Sensitive to business risk areas

• Good reasoning and communication skills

• Be a team player and able to build rapport to internal and external stakeholders

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