JOB SUMMARY

This is a Fixed Term Contract role for 6 months duration.

•    Ensure compliance with local and international trade laws, regulations and industry standards, and Standard Chartered Bank’s (“Bank”) policies and procedures 
•    Contribute to the development and enhancement of internal policies/procedures to ensure alignment with legal and regulatory requirements 
•    Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including risk and compliance teams 
•    Provide legal insights during contract negotiations, ensuring terms are aligned with the bank’s interests and legal standards 
•    Assess, monitor and manage legal risks associated with trade finance transactions
•    Draft, review and negotiate trade documentation, including FI trade loans and advances, FI short-term loans, and risk participation agreements.  

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy
•    Anticipate and proactively provide legal advice and assistance in relation to Trade Finance and Working Capital product related projects and initiatives
•    Responsible for maintaining close relationships with internal stakeholders 
•    Adhere to the Group Code of Conduct and all applicable policies and procedures of the Bank  
•    Promote/cultivate the Bank’s “Here for good” culture in day-to-day activities 
•    Stay abreast of local and international trade law, regulation and compliance requirements that impact trade finance and working capital

Collaborate with other internal departments/stakeholders to develop and implement strategies for mitigating legal and regulatory risks associated with trade finance and working capital products 

Business
•    Demonstrate an up-to-date awareness and understanding of the Bank’s trade business, economics, regulatory and market environment, including external headwinds and internal constraints in which the Group and the Trade business operates 
•    Participate in negotiations with counterparties, including clients, financial institutions and other stakeholders, to ensure that trade finance agreements align with the Bank’s legal and strategic interests 
•    Ensure that all trade finance transactions adhere to the Bank’s legal standards and requirements, including proper documentation of trade-related instruments
•    Analyse and review trade finance contracts, agreements and documents to identify potential legal and regulatory risks and ensure that the Bank’s interests are protected

Processes
•    Work towards standardizing trade financing documentation and procedures to enhance efficiency and reduce legal and operational risks 
•    Act as process owner for any legal risk owned by Trade and Working Capital Legal where such processes are executed by the relevant business/product teams

People & Talent 
•    Conduct training sessions for internal stakeholders and other Legal colleagues involved in trade finance to enhance their understanding of legal requirements and ensure consistent compliance 
•    Support initiates and promote diversity and inclusion within the Trade and Working Capital legal team 

Risk Management
•    Conduct thorough legal reviews of trade finance and working capital agreements to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations 
•    Identify potential legal pitfalls, ambiguities and areas of disputes in contracts that may expose the Bank to legal risks 
•    Stay updated on changes in trade laws and regulations that may impact trade finance activities
•    Address any discrepancies in documentation that may pose legal risk(s) to the Bank 
•    Work with the relevant business/product stakeholders to structure transactions in a way that minimizes legal exposure 
•    Evaluate the legal implications of different transaction structures
•    Offer legal guidance to internal stakeholders on legal aspects of the proposed transactions 
•    Propose legal solutions to reduce exposure to potential legal challenges and disputes 
•    Monitor legislative and regulatory developments that may impact trade finance, and communicate these changes to relevant stakeholders and implement the necessary changes to ensure ongoing legal compliance 

Governance 
•    Have an awareness and understanding of the regulatory framework in which the Group operates and the regulatory requirements and expectations relevant to the role
•    Promote a culture of ethical behaviour and compliance with the Group’s Code of Conduct 
Ensure that contracts are in compliance with legal standards and applicable governance requirements 

Regulatory & Business Conduct 
•    Display exemplary conduct and live by the Group’s Values and Code of Conduct
•    Take personal responsibility for embedding the highest standards of ethics, including regulatory and business conduct, across the Bank. This includes understanding and ensuring compliance with, in letter and spirit, all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and the Group’s Code of Conduct.
•    Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters.

Key Stakeholders
•    Global Head of Trade Distribution 
•    Head of Trade Distribution, Trade Asset Sales and Syndications 
•    Executive Director, Product Management, Trade 
•    Global Head of Trade Lending 
•    Head of FI Loan Solutions 
•    Global Head of Documentary Trade 

Our Ideal Candidate

• Qualified to practice as a solicitor/advocate or barrister/advocate 
• 3+ years of Post Qualified Experience in Trade, Working Capital, or General Banking in private practice, or in-house
• Experience in managing Trade and Working Capital-related legal matters both in private practice and in-house, preferably with experience working in a bank
• Substantial experience in legal matters and transactions concerning Trade and Working Capital and distribution matters
• Strong written and verbal communication skills are essential for effective communication of legal advice, drafting agreements, and collaborating with various stakeholders
• Strong analytical skills in evaluating complex legal issues, identify risks, and proposing effective solutions
• Sound judgment of business practice and provision of commercial legal advice
• Ability to adapt and navigate evolving legal and regulatory environments
• Detailed-oriented with a commitment to accuracy and compliance
• Ability to collaborate with other teams, including risk, product, business and compliance teams 

Role Specific Technical Competencies

• Legal technical skills to include trade legal experience
• Communication verbal and written
• Analysis
• Collaboration, stakeholder management

About Standard Chartered

We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us.

Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion.

Together we:

• Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do
• Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well
• Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term

What we offer

In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

• Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
• Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
• Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
• Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits
• A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
• Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.

Recruitment Assessments

Some of our roles use assessments to help us understand how suitable you are for the role you've applied to. If you are invited to take an assessment, this is great news. It means your application has progressed to an important stage of our recruitment process.

Visit our careers website www.sc.com/careers