Senior Standby Letter of Credit Specialist

Job Title: Senior Standby Letter of Credit Specialist

Location: United Arab Emirates (Remote)

Employment Type: Full-Time

Work Arrangement: 100% Remote — Work From Home

Level: Senior

About the Role

The Senior Standby Letter of Credit Specialist oversees the technical review, documentation, coordination, and operational administration of standby letters of credit (SBLCs) and related trade finance instruments. The role focuses on reviewing issuance and amendment instructions, examining documentary requirements, monitoring expiry dates and presentation periods, coordinating with issuing and advising banks, and supporting compliant transaction processing. Working fully remotely, the specialist collaborates with corporate banking, trade finance, legal, compliance, and relationship management teams to ensure that standby instruments are accurately documented, properly tracked, and administered in accordance with applicable rules and internal controls.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate the operational processing and administration of standby letter of credit transactions from initial instruction through issuance, amendment, expiry, or closure.
• Review SBLC applications, draft instruments, supporting documentation, and transaction instructions for completeness and consistency.
• Examine standby letter of credit wording, including beneficiary details, applicant information, amount, currency, expiry date, presentation requirements, and drawing conditions.
• Review proposed terms against applicable international standards, including ISP98 and, where relevant, UCP 600.
• Coordinate with issuing banks, advising banks, confirming banks, beneficiaries, applicants, and internal stakeholders.
• Support the preparation and review of SBLC issuance requests, amendments, extensions, reductions, cancellations, and related correspondence.
• Identify inconsistencies, ambiguous clauses, conflicting conditions, and documentary requirements that may create operational or legal risks.
• Coordinate technical reviews of demand presentation requirements, supporting statements, certificates, and other documents specified in standby instruments.
• Monitor expiry dates, claim periods, extension deadlines, and outstanding documentary obligations.
• Maintain accurate electronic records of issued instruments, amendments, beneficiary details, transaction status, and correspondence.
• Support the review and administration of counter-standby letters of credit and related bank-to-bank arrangements.
• Coordinate with legal and compliance teams when instrument wording, governing rules, sanctions concerns, or transaction structures require specialist review.
• Review transaction records for consistency with approved credit facilities, internal procedures, and delegated authority requirements.
• Track outstanding fees, commissions, collateral documentation, and related operational information.
• Support investigations into discrepancies, rejected presentations, disputed document requirements, and processing delays.
• Monitor operational risks associated with fraud indicators, sanctions exposure, document irregularities, and unauthorized amendments.
• Prepare management reports covering SBLC volumes, outstanding exposures, upcoming expiries, amendments, and processing exceptions.
• Support internal audits, compliance reviews, and quality assurance assessments relating to standby instruments.
• Develop and maintain processing checklists, standard operating procedures, document review templates, and control records.
• Recommend improvements to SBLC workflows, document management, turnaround times, and operational risk controls.
• Provide technical guidance to junior trade finance personnel on standby instrument administration and documentary requirements.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Banking, Finance, Business Administration, International Trade, Law, or a related discipline.
• Significant experience in standby letters of credit, trade finance operations, corporate banking, or documentary credit administration.
• Strong understanding of SBLC structures, issuance procedures, amendments, expiry management, and documentary presentation requirements.
• Knowledge of International Standby Practices (ISP98) and familiarity with UCP 600 where applicable.
• Experience reviewing standby instrument wording, demand clauses, beneficiary requirements, and supporting documentation.
• Understanding of the roles and responsibilities of issuing, advising, confirming, and beneficiary banks.
• Familiarity with SWIFT messaging, including relevant standby letter of credit message categories and banking communication procedures.
• Knowledge of trade finance operational controls, credit documentation, sanctions screening, and anti-money laundering requirements.
• Ability to identify ambiguous clauses, documentary inconsistencies, processing risks, and potential fraud indicators.
• Experience coordinating with legal, compliance, credit risk, and relationship management teams.
• Familiarity with banking platforms, trade finance systems, electronic document management, and workflow tools.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written communication and document review capabilities.
• High attention to detail and ability to manage multiple transactions and critical deadlines.
• Ability to work independently and coordinate effectively with international teams in a fully remote environment.

What We Offer

• Fully remote working arrangement within the stated UAE-based role framework.
• Opportunity to work with sophisticated international trade finance instruments.
• Collaboration with corporate banking, legal, compliance, and trade operations professionals.
• Exposure to international banking standards and digital trade finance platforms.
• Opportunities for professional development in trade finance operations and instrument administration.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit an updated CV highlighting their standby letter of credit experience, trade finance knowledge, documentary review capabilities, and familiarity with ISP98 and UCP 600.

Application Subject: Application – Senior Standby Letter of Credit Specialist (UAE Remote)

• Candidates should confirm applicable employment arrangements, residency requirements, and work authorization before accepting an offer. This is a fully remote technical documentation review, transaction coordination, and operational oversight role. Physical handling of original instruments, in-person banking procedures, and courier activities must be performed by qualified local personnel where required. Binding issuance or amendment approvals, credit commitments, decisions on honouring or refusing demands, legal interpretations, regulatory filings, and formal banking authorizations must be undertaken by appropriately authorized banking, legal, or compliance professionals in accordance with applicable regulations and delegated authority policies.