Client Management Associate, PCM

Job description

The Banking Middle Office (BMO) is responsible for supporting Global Banking Relationship Managers in global client onboarding and the on-going management & oversight of due diligence activities through the full client life cycle with HSBC on behalf of Global Banking & Markets (GBM) both as a customer group and product provider.
The Banking Middle Office Client Managers are accountable for the management and co-ordination of new on-boards, client maintenance activities which includes renewals and reviews and coordination of client exits. The role of the BMO Client Management Associates is to focus on:
Providing the single point of contact for onboarding, renewal and off-boarding  activities across the BMO location (at a Country, Sector or Sub-sector level depending on the scale of the operation within the operating location)
Coordination of onboarding, renewal and off-boarding activity on behalf of the GBM Relationship Managers aligned to clients requirements.
Working closely with Global Banking Relationship Managers and Products Sales to pro-actively drive onboarding for the client to ensure all requests (new business, renewals and exits) are captured, prioritized and resolved within agreed timeframes.  For new business, supporting the GBM Relationship Managers with client selection and suitability activities
Being accountable for working closely with all onboarding functional teams (Credit due-diligence, Client Documentation Negotiation, KYC & Client Identification Due-Diligence, Entity Maintenance & Account Maintenance) to ensure priorities are aligned and that business requirements can be met across the end to end process.
Impact on the Business
 
BMO is currently expanding its scope of responsibility to ensure that it provides the above support for all product areas used by Global Banking clients.  This role will focus on performing the above activities for HSBC’s Payments and Cash Management (PCM) product line.  PCM helps clients, mainly Corporate Treasurers, to:
Move their cash – either the cash they receive from their customers, or pay to their staff and suppliers
Have visibility, control and access to their cash – how much, in what currencies and countries
Invest their cash – we help clients manage their liquidity to ensure they make their cash work hard for their businesses.
Customers / Stakeholders
Ownership for the relationship with the client as it pertains to onboarding, renewal and off-boarding activity – this includes overseeing  all aspect of client outreach
Act as a central point of contact between the Relationship Manager and the onboarding functions, ensuring an efficient and effective communication is in place between the Sector Coverage  Teams, Clients, KYCS, Compliance, and Credit
Implement the client engagement framework in order to effectively manage specific strategic clients and ensure client traction on outstanding issues across all products lines.
Work closely with Coverage RMs, GRMs and Product Partners to understand the urgency, priority and sensitivity of onboarding requests and accordingly apply necessary Due Diligence execution.
Deep knowledge of the clients being managed in a location, including maintenance of corporate knowledge about the client so that subsequent work is able to access previous data easily and consistently
Work as part of the GBM coverage team in order to understand client’s requirements and ensure current priorities are clearly understood based on developing a strategic understanding of the client requirements with the coverage teams
Liaise with the Client Selection Committees and support RMs in preparing for presenting for the acceptance of new business and the coordination of client exits and account closures
Develop strong working relationship with Global Banking Coverage Sector, KYC Services and other internal and external partners. Maintain open communication / transparency and ensure expectations are managed appropriately at all times.
Requirement to provide accurate / regular status updates to the business in terms of on-boarding requests and other related issues / events.
Providing Subject Matter Exertise input for local Compliance functions and the Head of BMO respectively in relation to the operational feasibility of proposed local and global policy and standards changes
Communicate effectively to stakeholders for any item raised from case checking
Provide input to Heads of KYCS, Credit and Documents in relation to the operational feasibility of proposed local and global policy and standards changes
Leadership & Teamwork
Lead by example by ensuring own portfolio of cases are managed appropriately and also providing guidance to Case Management Support or where applicable, to junior colleagues.
Provide support and direction to Client Management Support(this includes off-shore or near shore colleagues)
Liaise with business area/Product Partners as needed and provide advice on CDD requirements
Support the Client Management Heads by ensuring activities and daily tasks are conducted in a way that ensure alignment to the longer term strategy of the Banking Middle Office
Support the  Sector Coverage Teams in preparing for various risk, control or Governance committees
Support the Banking Middle Office Change program
Operational Effectiveness & Control
Evaluate the agreed Service Levels  relating to client onboarding or services provided by the Banking Middle Office and ensure these are managed across all functions  and any external service providers
Provide management information that demonstrates that status of the onboarding processes as measured against the defined standards, clearly articulating gaps and issues.  The Client Manager is accountable for ensuring the right level of MI and reporting is delivered to meet the requirements of client, business and internal stakeholders
Highlight problems areas and blockages and use initiative to suggest ideas to change and improve processes.
Strong emphasis on the maintenance of an effective and rigid control environment ensuring quality and adherence is never compromised.
Support the RM and Client through the conversion to the new Global AML standard including having a clear understanding of the additional due diligence requirements and how they will impact the client and support clients and functional SME’s in the gathering of this information
Support business and onboarding delivery teams to build alignment to the standards and to introduce the required controls and measures   
Adhere strictly to compliance and operational risk controls in accordance with HSBC and regulatory standards, policies and practices – at the agreed standards.  Where applicable, report control weaknesses, compliance breaches and operational loss events.
Ensure compliance with all relevant internal instructions (FIMs, GSMs, circulars) and external regulatory requirements, including the management of operational risk and adherence to the Group’s standards of ethical behaviour
Managing client KYC portfolios by taking ownership of the renewal process, as well as interactions with KYCs, Relationship Managers and the client to drive resolution of KYC cases.
Develop accurate KYC requirements (in conjunction with KYC Operations) and coordinate the associate client outreach activity
Ensure all regulatory assessments and CDDs have been conducted against the client according to local and global requirements and in accordance with FIMS
Major Challenges
Working effectively with key stakeholders using strong influencing skills to ensure mutually satisfactory resolution of key issues against extremely tight deadlines and aggressive regulatory expectations.
Working in a pressurized, time-sensitive environment.
Keeping the RMs and Sector Coverage teams abreast of changes to process as a result of changes to either regulatory or Bank Policy requirements to ensure that we are fully mitigated against risk, including reputational along with ensuring no issues are encountered during internal or external (regulatory) audits
Providing support and guidance to KYCS production and other functional delivery teams to ensure that internal SLA’s with the business are met – there is a clear expectation that relationship with the onboarding  delivery teams will need to become more formalized through the definition and usage of clear service levels
The role plays a key part in joining together the priorities and requirements of the business with the availability of internal and external service providers (e.g. KYCS, Credit, etc.). The role holder will have to build deep knowledge about the client and work closely with the business and functional delivery teams to ensure priorities are aligned with resource availability and ensure issues are resolved in a timely manner
Building trust and strengthening the relationship with the Sector Coverage teams
Role Context
The Banking Middle Office Client Manager plays a central role in managing client onboarding for GBM – operating in a dynamic, pressurized, time-sensitive environment, the Client Manager interacts with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders which includes the client,  Relationship Managers, Credit due-diligence, Client Documentation Group, KYC & Client Due-Diligence, Entity & Account Maintenance and product partners to ensure all requirements are understood to support key BMO services.   
Management of Risk
To abide by the Group Policies by containing compliance risk in conjunction with the relevant Compliance Department.  The term compliance embraces all relevant laws, rules and codes with which the business has to apply.
To continually reassess the operational risks inherent in the business, taking account of changing economic or market conditions, legal and regulatory requirements, operating procedures, management restructures, and the impact of new technology in conjunction with the donor Group companies.
Client Management Associate must take ownership of the entire on-boarding process and instructions delivered to downstream support functions must be decisive.  Extra care must be taken with complex clients and products to ensure no gaps are created in the validation and verification of data in the on-boarding process
Observation of Internal Controls
Maintains HSBC internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators.

Desired profile

Essential
Results focused individuals – driving the customer outcomes based on knowledge of the client outcomes and with expertise of the onboarding process 
Strong organisation skills, able to manage a large number of activities at any one time; able to internalise  activity in order to manage the complexity   
Exceptionally effective communicators able to build strong relationships with RM, RM Associates and the Client and provide transparency of activity e2e
Gravitas and experience to drive the required outcomes in any given situation, engaging with Sales, RM, Client and internally to achieve completion and monetise the onboarding pipeline
Taking ownership for the customer outcome – task focused but able to hold onto the required outcomes through the management of the individual tasks
Ability to build and maintain relationships by communicating, influencing and negotiating effectively with business heads, senior managers, consultants, technical experts across the whole department and business users
Ability to work well under pressure with high degree of accuracy
Desirable
Solid and proven relevant work experience (supporting Relationship Managers, Sales or working in an operational middle office or client facing support function and focus on fund managers, hedge funds and complex products), within the banking / financial services industry.*
Strong business knowledge and a working knowledge of onboarding and the products that are utilised but with the ability to gather SME’s when required to fill the skill gaps; Strong knowledge of the regulatory requirements
Commercially aware – understands the drivers behind the on-boarding requirement and the value to the bank of what is being requested and uses this knowledge to proactively manage the  prioritisation, enabling function to align and deliver their activities 
Excellent client service skills (must have minimum of 2 years of service in a client facing role)
EEO/AA/Minorities/Women/Disability/Veterans