Trade Operations Officer

The Trade Operations Officer is responsible for the daily execution, validation, and reconciliation of trade instructions across equities, fixed income, and money market instruments. Working under the supervision of the Team Lead, Trade Operations, the officer ensures that all trades are accurately captured, confirmed, and settled in line with client mandates, custodian requirements, and internal control standards. The role requires strong attention to detail, a good understanding of capital market settlement mechanics, and the ability to identify and escalate exceptions promptly to protect the integrity of client portfolios.

Responsibilities

• Receive, review, and capture trade instructions from Portfolio Managers, Traders, and the Customer Experience team onto core applications (MyWealth and Deluxe X-Fund), verifying that all trade parameters - stock, quantity, account link, price limit, and trade instruction - are accurately reflected before submission.
• Validate jobbed trade orders against client mandates and authorization requirements prior to execution, confirming fund availability for purchase orders and CSCS stock availability for sale orders in coordination with the Customer Experience team.
• Process Direct Cash Settlement (DCS) opt-in and opt-out requests on the CSCS Brokers Portal upon receipt of client application forms, and follow up with CSCS within 24 hours where requests remain unprocessed.
• Carry out the daily post-market call-over of all executed trades, reconciling positions across MyWealth, the NGX XGEN terminal, and the CSCS daily settlement advice to confirm that all trades are accurately reflected and no settlement breaks exist.
• Prepare and submit settlement instructions (letter of instructions and online banking platform uploads) to custodians for fixed income and money market trades, ensuring instructions are signed in line with ARM's signatory mandate before dispatch.
• Reconcile trade positions between MyWealth and CSCS stock statements on a monthly basis; investigate and document all exceptions; escalate unresolved items to the Team Lead within 48 hours with a clear description of the discrepancy and proposed resolution.
• Identify and log all trade fails, unmatched confirmations, and settlement breaks in the trade exception tracker; escalate aged or unresolved items to the Team Lead with supporting documentation and a recommended course of action.

Requirements

COMPETENCIES, SKILLS & ABILITIES

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Good understanding of trade execution and settlement processes for equities, fixed income, and money market instruments within the Nigerian capital market. Familiarity with key market infrastructure including CSCS, NGX, NASD, and DMO processes and settlement timelines.
• Proficiency in trade and fund systems including MyWealth, Deluxe X-Fund, and the NGX XGEN trading terminal; ability to navigate the CSCS Brokers Portal. Strong reconciliation skills, with the ability to identify discrepancies across multiple data sources and document exceptions clearly.
• Good understanding of financial instruments including equities, Treasury Bills, Commercial Papers, Fixed Deposits, and FGN Savings Bonds.
• High attention to detail and accuracy in data capture, with the ability to work under time pressure during market hours.

QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCE

Bachelor’s Degree.

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field. Minimum Experience
• Minimum of 1 year experience in trade operations, settlements, or capital market operations within an asset management firm, stockbroking house, or financial institution.
• Working knowledge of NGX trading mechanics, CSCS settlement procedures, and capital market instruments.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other MS Office applications.
• Strong numerical aptitude and demonstrated attention to detail in data-heavy environments