The countless "lightbulb" jokes often satirize or mask pain and suffering.
Here is an ad (yes, I know better than to believe everything I read from a recruiter but...) that may seem innocuous enough but it seems like one bank has a lot of problems. Reading between the lines, a job description tells you what the company lacks or is in need of, where their weaknesses are. I'm guessing the organisation is American and has a bunch of people with vested interest: bankers, Wealth Advisors, CSS (Client Service Specialist/Support?), Trust Officers, etc. but none of them are motivated or coordinated enough to work together so we need a liaison to bring them all together! Create silos, get silo mentality.
Now factor in that most trustees are not in your home country (say Jersey), their number crunchers and support team are in another geography (like Mumbai) and their services are being marketed to you by an associate in another department (banker or wealth advisor in Singapore) and not by them directly, you can expect problems. This is like a kitchen that is not in control of the menu or waiters. God knows how the waiters (bankers and wealth advisors) are pitching the food? God knows if the waiter can answer "what's in the soup?" if ever asked? Do waiters really care about what's in the soup or understand how it is prepared? Just smile, make chit chat, write up the order and give me my tip. Sometimes, the waiter goes back to the kitchen to ask the potager for the correct answer, hence the delay. Other times, the waiter makes it up or guesses.....and of course the chef pays for it when the customer is irate that his soup which was supposed to contain lobster was actually was fish. Waiters have also been known to make promises to patrons like, of course we have lobster bisque, only to find out the potager can't deliver.
If you bank or have a trust with them, you're probably a victim of the 50 emails around the world it takes to get an answer to anything (if you get one at all). If you work for them, then you're probably pissed at the lack of teamwork, you're going round and round.
This manager role sounds like a band-aid solution to a troubling, all-too-common structural problem. I guess it's a good start that they know they have a problem.
The JD should read more like: the successful candidate will require very thick skin and expect to be thrown into harm's way. This is the UN Peace Negotiator aspect of the job I refer to in: http://trustprofessioninasia.blogspot.com/2010/04/you-are-who-you-hire.html
So here goes:
1) To represent International Fiduciary Services locally as part of the integrated team - tells you they're not a team right now, to each his own.
2) on-the-ground presence and provide a local presence - tells you they're a thousand miles away
3) timely and quick resolution - tells you they're currently doing neither
4) work through complex fiduciary issues with wealth advisors and bankers - tells you the people they have on the ground aren't very good, especially the wealth advisor who is supposed to be an expert. Then again, the wealth advisor is just there to sell, it's not his job to worry about post-sales activities which is where most fiduciary issues come up just like the car salesmen is of little use when your Lamborghini breaks down, that's the mechanic's (in Italy) problem.
5) bridge information flow between Wealth Advisors and Trust Officers - tells you the two parties aren't accustomed or are refusing to talk to one another, why else need a bridge? Can't they pick up the phone or send off an email themselves?
Trust Liaison Manager – Hong Kong, Singapore
Our client, a top tier private bank is looking for a senior trust relationship manager to be a liaison manager for its international trust offices.
Suitable candidates will already be based in Hong Kong and Singapore
Responsibilities: To represent International Fiduciary Services locally as part of the integrated team and improve service levels of fiduciary through on-the-ground presence and timely resolution of issues:
- To provide a local presence for quick resolution and feedback of client issues
- To work through complex fiduciary issues with wealth advisors and bankers
- To work with the wealth advisor to represent fiduciary on new business
- To provide training and bridge information flow between Wealth Advisors and Trust Officers
The successful candidate will serve as a liaison between the bankers, wealth advisors, CSS and the Trust locations on a wide range of fiduciary issues and act as a technical resource to fiduciary officers, wealth advisors, bankers and other practice and/or functional partners on a broad range of fiduciary matters.
Requirements
- Seasoned client management skills
- 10 years + PQE fiduciary experience in an international environment including extensive client contact
- A professional qualification Law or STEP qualified
- Extensive knowledge of the marketplace as it pertains to fiduciary structures and client needs
- The ability to develop effective solutions in respect of administrative and other legal issues and to monitor these in a dynamic environment.
[Edit: It’s now June 2011 and the JP Morgan HR team is now in carpet-bombing mode trying to fill the role above (see below). After some 8-9 months, it appears they are still stuck on square 1 and even if they found someone today, it maybe another few months before they’re on the job. While JPM deal with Santiago’s curse (see http://trustprofessioninasia.blogspot.com/2010/11/on-85th-day.html) it raises an interesting question – how mission critical is it when your operation keeps chugging along without this person/function? I'm always tempted to point to managerial ineptitude when a position is not filled for any significant period but only JPM knows the whole story. When people don’t have an excuse or recourse, they tend to get the job done. Perhaps instead of a new role, observing how the various teams cope may be part of the ultimate solution. Necessity seems to have a way of solving problems.
Job Description
PB - International Fiduciary Services - Trust Client Services-110038423
Job Description
J.P. Morgan Private Bank Asia - International Fiduciary Services (IFS) - Trust Client Services
Objective
To represent IFS in Asia and improve responsiveness and service levels of IFS through on-the-ground presence and timely resolution of complex issues. Provide the technical expertise to educate and train Trust Officers on complex jurisdictional, tax, legal issues and ensure structures are in compliance with changes/updates:
• Provide a local presence in Asia for resolution and feedback of complex client issues
• Work through complex fiduciary issues with Wealth Advisors and bankers
• Coordinate with Wealth Advisory to represent fiduciary on new business opportunities
• Provide training and bridge information flow between WA and TOs
Principal Responsibilities
• New fiduciary business: Partner with Bankers, Wealth Advisors, Clients and their advisors, and Trust Officers to structure, assess and on-board new fiduciary business
o Participate with client, client's advisors, JPM colleagues to propose fiduciary solutions appropriate to client needs
o Represent IFS in this process by assessing potential fiduciary risk and suggesting appropriate risk mitigants
o Propose and negotiate fiduciary pricing
o Review and comment on draft documents
o Work with Trust Officers to on-board new fiduciary business
• Existing fiduciary business: Partner with Bankers, Trust Officers, Clients and their advisors to retain and deepen existing relationships
o Serve as technical resource to IFS to resolve specific client issues , restructuring exercises, or complex fiduciary administration issues
o Represent IFS locally by providing real-time answers and responses to questions about fiduciary administration
• Training: Lead the IFS training agenda to ensure technical skill set of Trust Officers remains current
o Develop and deliver regular training on specific issues relating to tax, regulatory, fiduciary administration topic
o Liaise between Wealth Advisory and IFS on specific, highly technical issues with respect to fiduciary structures and administration
o Participate in roll out of changes in policies/procedures; refinements to existing fiduciary products; introduction of new fiduciary products
Qualifications
• A minimum of 10 years fiduciary experience, including extensive client interaction, in an international environment
• In depth knowledge of trust law and legal/regulatory requirements affecting international fiduciary locations
• The ability to evaluate and propose effective structuring solutions
• The ability to access Fiduciary risk to make appropriate business decisions
• Experience with cross-border tax and planning issues
• Knowledge of investment and credit products and services
• Chinese Language skills preferable
Job
Private Banking
Primary Location
CN-Hong Kong-Hong Kong
Organization
Asset & Wealth Management
Schedule
Full-time
Job Type
Standard
Shift
Day Job
Employee Status
Regular
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment