Senior Custody & Securities Services Officer (New Business Setup)

Job Summary

We seek an experienced Custody Operations professional to establish and deliver custody and securities services within Corporate Banking, ensuring smooth daily operations and process improvements.

Responsibilities

• Support the setup, implementation, and rollout of custody services including safekeeping, trade settlement, corporate actions processing, cash management, and related operations
• Develop, review, and maintain custody policies, procedures, operational guidelines, workflow documentation, and control frameworks aligned with regulatory and internal standards
• Collaborate with Operations, Compliance, Risk Management, Finance, Technology, and Front Office teams to implement and sustain custody service delivery
• Coordinate onboarding, due diligence, and ongoing management of external service providers such as sub-custodians, clearing agents, depositories, and market counterparties
• Execute daily custody operations tasks including monitoring trade settlements, processing cash transactions, reviewing reconciliations, investigating issues, handling exceptions, and managing escalations
• Support client onboarding and respond promptly to operational inquiries from internal and external stakeholders
• Monitor settlement status, corporate action events, operational risk indicators, and service issues to ensure timely resolution and reporting
• Participate in system implementation, enhancement, digitalisation, and automation projects by gathering business requirements, conducting user acceptance testing (UAT), mapping processes, and optimizing workflows
• Prepare operational reports, management information, service updates, reconciliations, and internal records including accounting and journal entry support as needed
• Identify workflow gaps, operational risks, and process inefficiencies; recommend and implement solutions to strengthen controls, improve service quality, and enhance efficiency
• Support internal audits, regulatory reviews, and compliance requests as required
• Perform additional duties and projects assigned by management

Required competencies and certifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Banking, Business, Accounting, Economics, or related discipline
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in Custody Operations, Securities Services, Asset Servicing, Settlement Operations, or related functions within financial institutions
• Solid knowledge of custody processes including trade settlement, cash management, reconciliations, corporate actions, client asset servicing, and operational controls
• Experience supporting new business setup, custody platform implementation, operating model design, or process migration projects
• Experience preparing operational procedures, workflow documentation, service manuals, and internal control documents
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and organisational skills with high accuracy and attention to detail
• Excellent stakeholder management skills to work effectively across multiple business functions and external counterparties
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently in a dynamic environment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English
• Ability to review Chinese-language materials and communicate with Mandarin-speaking stakeholders when translation support is unavailable, to support business needs

Preferred competencies and qualifications

• Familiarity with system implementation projects, UAT testing, automation initiatives, and process improvement methodologies
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and relevant banking systems
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability
• Detail-oriented with a risk and control mindset
• Proactive, adaptable, and able to thrive in a growing business environment
• Team player with excellent interpersonal and communication skills