Trade Specialist

Role Overview

This position owns the trade finance solution agenda for a diverse book of corporate clients — local businesses, pan-African groups and multinationals — spanning the major sectors of Kenya's economy. Day to day, you will work alongside coverage teams and directly with clients to design risk mitigation and working capital structures that fit each balance sheet, then steer those deals from origination through credit approval and execution. Your work directly fuels revenue growth and cements the corporate and investment banking franchise as the first call for trade finance expertise in the Kenyan market.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end trade finance solutioning process for an assigned portfolio of local, pan-African and multinational corporate clients, shaping structures around each client's specific risk and working capital priorities.
• Structure and appraise on- and off-balance sheet trade and lending facilities, including structured trade, supply chain finance, guarantees, documentary credits, and receivables or payables programmes.
• Partner with relationship managers and coverage colleagues to originate opportunities, build pitch materials and convert pipeline into booked revenue.
• Drive deal negotiations with clients and internal stakeholders, aligning pricing, terms and risk appetite while protecting the bank's position.
• Prepare and present credit applications, financial analysis and risk assessments that satisfy internal credit risk standards and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor portfolio performance, flag emerging risks or changing client needs, and recommend adjustments or new solutions as required.
• Generate market, sector and competitor insights that feed strategic planning and reporting for the trade finance business in Kenya.
• Coach and mentor junior colleagues, sharing technical knowledge and lifting the team's overall trade finance capability.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Postgraduate degree in Business Commerce, Finance, Economics or a related field.
• Professional certification in Trade Finance.
• 8–10 years of general banking experience, with the bulk of that time spent in corporate banking and corporate lending.
• Demonstrated trade finance experience gained primarily in a sales or transactor role.
• Hands-on track record structuring on- and off-balance sheet trade and lending facilities; exposure to complex products such as structured trade and supply chain finance is strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of financial analysis and credit risk management principles.
• Multi-sector familiarity with the key industries that drive the national economy.
• Technical competencies: deal structuring and appraisal, deal negotiation, economic research, financial analysis, local market knowledge, and strategic planning and reporting.
• Behavioural competencies: articulating information, convincing people, developing expertise, generating ideas, making decisions, providing insights, and teamwork.