Trade and Working Capital Solutions - Senior Product Manager Controls Lead, Director

Are you looking for a career move that will put you at the heart of a global financial institution? Then bring your skills in analysis, problem solving and communication to Citi’s Global Trade and Working Capital Solutions team.

Shape your career with Citi in Dublin. By joining Citi, you will become part of a global organisation whose mission is to serve as a trusted partner to our clients by responsibly providing financial services that enable growth and economic progress.

Citi has had a presence in Ireland since 1965, it was one of the first foreign banks to open an office in the country and is the Citibank Europe Plc Headquarters. 

Team/Role Overview:

We are seeking a highly skilled and visionary Senior Trade Finance Product Manager Controls Lead to join our dedicated team in Dublin. This critical role is designed to be at the forefront of our digital transformation journey, directly contributing to the enhancement and automation of our control environment within the global Trade and Working Capital Solutions (TWCS) business.

Reporting directly to the Head of TWCS Business Execution, the successful candidate will be responsible for conceptualizing, developing, and leading the execution of a comprehensive controls automation strategy across our diverse Trade Finance platforms. Primary focus will be on developing and implementing technology-driven solutions for Trade product controls.

This mandate spans controls automation across all our products, regions, and countries, ensuring an end-to-end focus from deal origination and execution through client onboarding and transaction processing to post-transaction servicing. The role will have full ownership of the underlying technology platform and manage relationships with key external and internal technology partners.

What you’ll do:

Key Responsibilities and Focus Areas:

Strategic Controls Automation: 

• Design and implement cutting-edge technology-driven solutions to automate existing manual controls, significantly reducing operational risk and enhancing efficiency. This includes the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to emulate human interaction with systems for repetitive tasks, along with other forms of automation such as workflow orchestration tools, business process management (BPM) systems, and scripting for data validation and reconciliation.

Automation of Controls Processes:

• Transaction Monitoring: Develop automated rules and alerts for unusual transaction patterns or deviations from standard operating procedures.
• Compliance Checks: Automate the verification of regulatory requirements and internal policy adherence at various stages of the trade finance lifecycle. This includes Anti-Money Laundering, sanctions, fraud, anti-boycott, vessel tracking, export controls and military dual use.  
• Document Processing: Utilize automation to streamline the intake, indexing, and verification of trade finance documents.
• Exception Handling: Design automated workflows to triage and route exceptions for review, improving response times and reducing manual intervention.
• New Deal Origination: Revamp new deal origination approval system, updating rules and alerts as well as improved monitoring and reporting.
• Onboarding: Support onboarding automation journey from a controls perspective. Provide onboarding team with insights and recommendations for how to reduce manual touchpoints and enhance controls.

Platform Integration and Optimization: 

• Collaborate with technology teams to integrate automated controls seamlessly into our Trade Finance systems and platforms, ensuring robust and scalable solutions. This involves working with API integrations, data warehousing, and system-level scripting to embed controls directly.

Rules Engine Management: 

• Oversee the rule-based engine, ensuring alignment with regulations and the business's risk appetite (risk owned by the product front office). This includes managing updates and changes to rules based on evolving regulatory requirements.

Risk Mitigation and De-risking: 

• Proactively identify control gaps and vulnerabilities, developing and deploying automated solutions to de-risk the business and ensure compliance with evolving regulatory requirements and internal policies. The focus will be on embedding controls "by design" within automated processes.

Performance Monitoring, Analytics and Reporting: 

• Establish robust metrics, analytics and reporting mechanisms to monitor the effectiveness of automated controls and provide real-time insights to senior management on contro