Securities Settlement Officer

Job Summary

We are seeking a precise and driven Securities Settlement Officer to join our back-office operations. You will directly manage the post-trade lifecycle for equities, fixed-income instruments, and investment funds, ensuring flawless execution through clearing systems. The Securities Settlement Officer ensures the timely matching, clearing, and settling of domestic and international securities transactions. This role focuses on trade processing, proactive exception management, and maintaining rigorous compliance standards across European and global clearing infrastructures.

Key Responsibilities

• Clearing & Settlement Management: Instruct, monitor, and finalize trade settlements for equities, fixed-income bonds, and investment funds via Euroclear and SIX platforms.
• Instruction Matching & Verification: Execute pre-matching protocols to verify DVP, RVP, FOP instructions, resolving discrepancies prior to market deadlines.
• Fails Tracking & Risk Mitigation: Investigate trade fails, identify cause issues, and implement resolution strategies with custodians, clients and counterparties to mitigate market penalties (e.g., CSDR). Implement controls to minimize operational risk.
• Reconciliation: Conduct rigorous daily reconciliations of cash accounts and security positions between internal ledgers and clearing house registries.
• Platform Operations: Utilize SWIFT formats (primarily MT5xx series) and depository-specific interfaces to manage cross-border settlement flows.
• Client Management: Open and configure cash and securities accounts directly onto the firm’s core internal custody and settlement platform. Serve as a dedicated operational touchpoint for clients, resolving inquiries promptly and professionally. Provide proactive settlement status updates regarding matched, pending, failed, or exception-held trades.
• Cash Management: Monitor client cash accounts and position limits daily to ensure adequate funding for incoming settlement obligations. Administer and execute inbound and outbound client fund transfers. Proactively investigate payment delays or compliance holds (stuck payments) by communicating with banks.
• Fee Calculation & Processing: Perform monthly calculations of custody fees, generate and issue monthly client invoices, coordinate the debiting of fees from client accounts and respond to client inquiries regarding fee breakdowns and adjustments.
• Operational Process Improvement & New Product Development: Managing projects in this area, such as system upgrades and modifications, improvements to data processing workflows, and system testing. Actively participate in the analysis of existing processes and the implementation of new processes related to settlement workflow, such as the onboarding of new clients and custodians, as well as the implementation of new products, markets, regulatory rules, compliance requirements, and procedures, ensuring the highest level of client service through appropriate control mechanisms.

Required Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or Business Administration.
• Experience: Minimum of 4-5 years of operational experience within a Custody, Wealth Management, or Brokerage environment.
• Language Skills: Professional fluency in English and at least one CIS language (e.g., Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Armenian), with a proven ability to explain complex financial structures and market deadlines to regional clients clearly and professionally.
• Technical Proficiency: Hands-on experience processing SWIFT messages (specifically MT540 through MT543). Proven operational proficiency handling trade cycles natively through custodians systems. Strong competency in advanced Excel features is also required.
• Industry Knowledge: Comprehensive understanding of global asset servicing, custody workflows, and depository mechanics (e.g., Euroclear, Clearstream, DTC).
• Core Competencies: A goal-oriented, teamwork-focused person with an excellent work attitude, outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, proactive mindset toward systemic risk mitigation. Attention to detail, the ability to work under pressure, to operate under strict cut-off deadlines, prioritize tasks, and handle multiple tasks simultaneously.

Reporting Line: Head of Operations

Work Model: On-site (office in Dubai, UAE) or Remote options available

Benefits:

• Visa sponsorship
• Medical insurance
• Bonuses are awarded based on company profitability and individual performance