Senior Officer-Group Reconciliation & Virtual RPCs – Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

Job Description

JOB PURPOSE
The role shall provide reasonable operating effectiveness of the Group Reconciliations & Proofing function across the organization. The Senior Officer – Group Reconciliation & Virtual RPCs position will:
– Provide support for the conduct of Proofing and Reconciliation of Bank Accounts for the Group
– Primary resource to support the Group’s overall Balance Sheet Substantiation and Attestation credence.
– Support the gradual centralization of all Reconciliation and Proofing activities for the group
– Primary resource for taskforce activities leading to closure of over aging outstanding items in the affiliates.
– Training and project resource for Reconciliation and Proofing projects
– Provide support responsibilities for the Operation of all Shared Service Tools, used for the conduct of Bank Account Reconciliations and Proofing.
– Maintain Accounts, to be proofed and Reconciled registers and ensure total coverage
– Implement the Standardization of Reconciliation and proofing structures across the group to seamless integrations and reporting
The Senior Officer – Group Reconciliations & Virtual RPCs, supports the Manager, Group Reconciliations & Virtual RPCs in driving the Group’s Proofing, & Reconciliations strategies and performance by:
– Continuously implementing best in quality management of the Group’s Proofing and Reconciliations of Accounts.
– Support timely conduct and Submission of proofs and reconciliation reports to Account Reviewers and Account Owners in the Affiliates
– Timely escalate identified events that could lead to material loss to ensure timely mitigation of exposures and execute assurance.
– Deploy frameworks and key risk indicators for identification, assessment, measurement reporting, monitoring, and mitigating both emerging and existing exposures.
– Support the automation of Reconciliation and Proofing processes for group wide coverage
– Support delivery of high matching rates across all account classifications

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
PROOFING AND RECONCILIATION SUPPORT
– Comply with the defined cost effective and tailored to suit best practice structures to provide assurance for the adequate conduct of Proofing and Reconciliations across the group.
– Provide continuous training to stakeholders in the execution and implementation of Group Proofing and Reconciliation Framework, policies, and procedures.
– support the coordination of Account Reconcilers to ensure effectiveness of the Reconciliation and Proofing function within the affiliate to close open items.
– Provide subject matter insight and advise on Proofing & Reconciliations Issues.
– Provide oversight for the reconcilement and Proofing of Affiliate Accounts
– Support quality output of Reconciliations & Proofing activities performed on reconciliation systems and in the affiliates.
– Work alongside the various teams at Centralized & Virtualized Process Team, Regional Offices and Group Level on Reconciliations & Proofing projects.
– Support the effective & efficient use of Control Analytics to support and facilitate remote conduct of Reconciliation and Proofing.
– Continuously seek ways by which Reconciliations & Proofing activities at the RPCs can be enhanced.
– Coordinate Timely submission of Proofs and Reconciliation Reports to Account Owners and Reconcilers in the affiliates from the RPCs.
– Perform and participate in post incident reviews, root cause identification and investigation of Groupwide operational loss events for risk mitigation and prevention of future losses and events.
– Support the standardization of transaction narrations processing for both system and manually posted transactions to promote independent proofing, reconciliation & verification of transactions on accounts

REGULATORY AND MANAGEMENT REPORTING
– Ensure timely and accurate Reconciliations Proofing of Accounts to avoid breach in Banking regulations in affiliates.
– Ensure timely submission of reports to External and Internal stakeholders including but not limited to (External Auditors, Rating Agencies, Regulators, Group Board Committees, Risk and Compliance committees, ORX)

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
– Identify and communicate items at risk and long outstanding items on regular basis to Account Reviewers and Owners.
– Develop strong relationship with key stakeholders and business partners by addressing issues/concerns in timely manner.
– Leverage knowledge of regulatory, economic, and business environment to proactively identify potential risk and develop specific recommendations for action.
– Cross-functional quality assurance and coordination of Reconciliations and Proofing.
– Work as an independent partner to mitigate material loss and improve processes and controls for proofing, reconciliations and BSS&A.
– Ensure full coverage of mandatory, targeted and ad-hoc Quality Assurance reviews.

Key Performance Indicators
PROOFING AND RECONCILIATION SUPPORT
• Reconciliation Completion Rate: Percentage of reconciliations completed within the defined timeframe.
• Proofing Accuracy Rate: Percentage of proofs and reconciliations with no material errors.
• Timely Submission Rate: Percentage of proofing and reconciliation reports submitted to account reviewers and owners on or before the due date.
• Training Delivery Rate: Number of training sessions conducted and percentage of participants reporting improved understanding of the framework and policies.
• Issue Resolution Time: Average time taken to resolve proofing and reconciliation issues raised by affiliates.
• Matching Rate: Percentage of transactions across all account classifications achieving high match rates.
• Compliance Rate: Percentage of affiliates adhering to proofing and reconciliation standards, policies, and procedures.
• Open Item Closure Rate: Percentage of long-outstanding reconciliation items resolved within a set timeframe.
• Incident Review Turnaround Time: Average time taken to complete post-incident reviews and implement corrective measures.

REGULATORY AND MANAGEMENT REPORTING
• Report Submission Timeliness: Percentage of reports submitted to external and internal stakeholders (e.g., regulators, auditors, board committees) on or before the deadline.
• Report Accuracy Rate: Percentage of reports submitted without corrections or revisions.
• Escalation Responsiveness: Average time taken to escalate and address issues that could result in regulatory non-compliance or breaches.

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
• Stakeholder Engagement Frequency: Number of monthly engagements with internal control teams, affiliates, and business partners to address reconciliation and proofing concerns.
• Risk Identification and Communication: Number of at-risk items and long-outstanding items identified and communicated within a reporting cycle.
• Process Improvement Implementation Rate: Percentage of process improvement recommendations implemented within a set period.
• Cross-functional Collaboration Success Rate: Percentage of reconciliation projects completed successfully through cross-functional coordination.
• Client Satisfaction Score: Feedback score from stakeholders regarding the effectiveness of support provided.

RISK MITIGATION AND CONTROL
• Risk Exposure Reduction: Percentage reduction in identified high-risk items after implementing mitigation measures.
• Mitigation Action Timeliness: Average time taken to implement corrective actions for material exposures.
• Financial Loss Prevention Rate: Reduction in financial losses attributed to errors in proofing and reconciliation processes.

STANDARDIZATION AND PROCESS ENHANCEMENT
• Standardization Completion Rate: Percentage of affiliates onboarded to standardized reconciliation and proofing processes.
• Transaction Narration Compliance Rate: Percentage of transactions aligned with standardized system and manual narrations.
• Automation Support Rate: Percentage of reconciliation and proofing processes supported through shared service tools.
• Process Enhancement Frequency: Number of process enhancements made based on feedback and analytics within a given period.

TRAINING AND RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
• Training Participation Rate: Percentage of stakeholders attending training sessions.
• Resource Utilization Rate: Number of affiliates actively using training materials and shared service tools provided.
• Feedback and Improvement Rate: Percentage of participants providing positive feedback and reporting improved performance post-training.

Education & Experience
EXPERIENCE
– Ideally 3+ years working experience in Operations Control/Internal Control of a commercial Bank and/or Audit Firm, commercial/retail banking.

EDUCATION
– Bachelor’s or master’s degree in business administration, Finance, Law or Science disciplines.

KEY REQUIREMENTS
– Bilingual (English & French) will be considered as an advantage
– Ability to identify core issues/root cause analysis
– Working knowledge of the bank’s operations and products
– Strong analytical and conceptual skills across business and functional activities
– Policy and Regulation interpretation and implementation.
– Challenging mindset
– Ability to lead and drive projects
– Team motivation and Management

PERSONAL SKILLS
– Comprehensive oral and written communication skills (Executive level communication)
– Can engage different levels of management to mitigate risks
– Results-oriented with outstanding ability to motivate teams to accomplish objectives
– Strong Leadership skills / demonstrate commitment to team leadership and employee development
– Ability to act as an advisor to the Reconciliations & Balance Sheet Assurance /Internal Control function
– Analytical/problem solving skills
– Strong presentation skills – public speaking across various forums
– Attention to details