Trade Finance Subject Matter Expert (SME)

CTC

Dubai, UAE

Contract

Senior

Onsite

1 weeks ago

Trade FinanceLetters of CreditBank GuaranteesSWIFT StandardsICC Rules (UCP 600, URDG 758, ISP98, URC 522)Temenos T24

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Key skills for this role

Trade FinanceLetters of CreditBank Guarantees

The Trade Finance Subject Matter Expert (SME) is the domain authority for the Trade Finance Digitalization programme at Emirates Development Bank (EDB), providing deep techno functional expertise across the full suite of Trade and Working Capital products – Letters of Credit (Import/Export and Stand

Serve as the single point of reference (go to SME) for all functional and techno functional queries across Trade Finance products – Letters of Credit (Import/Export and Standby), Bank Guarantees, Bills for Collection, and Trade Loans / financing.
Interpret business requirements, FSDs, product rules, and ICC/SWIFT standards (UCP 600, URDG 758, ISP98, URC 522) and translate them into clear functional guidance for the test and development teams.
Advise on real world trade scenarios, edge cases, and exception handling so that test coverage reflects actual operational and customer situations.
Provide product walkthroughs, knowledge sharing sessions, and on the job coaching to raise the Trade Finance domain competency of the test team.

Guide the test team in designing test cases and test scripts that achieve complete functional coverage across all trade products, transaction types, and lifecycle stages (issuance, amendment, drawing/utilisation, settlement, liquidation, and closure).
Review test scenarios, cases, and scripts for functional accuracy, completeness, and best practice – identifying coverage gaps, missing scenarios, and negative/exception cases that must be added.
Define and embed Trade Finance testing best practices, reusable scenario libraries, and acceptance criteria – including maker checker controls, charges and commissions, and limit and collateral checks.
Ensure complete requirements to test traceability so that every Trade Finance business rule, product feature, and SWIFT/ICC requirement is covered by the test suite.

Guide the functional data mapping between the front end portal, the Newgen/BPM workflow layer, and the Temenos T24 core banking system, ensuring trade data fields, codes, and values are correctly translated end to end.
Advise on field level mapping for trade transactions (LC, guarantee, collection, and loan attributes, SWIFT fields, parties, dates, amounts, and charges) and flag functional mismatches or gaps between systems.

Guide the test team through functional defect analysis – distinguishing genuine defects from expected behaviour, clarifying root cause from a Trade Finance perspective, and advising on prioritisation and resolution with development, business, and vendor teams.
Act as the bridge between Trade Finance business/operations, product owners, and the testing/development teams – clarifying functional intent, supporting UAT, and validating that business outcomes are correct.
Contribute Trade Finance insight to continuous improvement – refining the test strategy, identifying automation candidates, and building reusable scenario and test data libraries; escalate functional risks to the Test Manager.

Exceptional attention to detail, particularly in relation to trade finance calculations, transaction accuracy, and trade document and SWIFT message validation.
Strong analytical and problem solving skills with the ability to navigate complex, multi system financial workflows and identify root causes of intricate defects.
Excellent communication skills to effectively bridge the gap between business requirements and technical testing.
Ability to work under pressure and support time sensitive testing cycles.
Proactive and self motivated, with a strong sense of ownership for the quality of the Trade Finance domain.
Collaborative team player with the ability to build effective working relationships across business, technology, and vendor teams.

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Banking, Business, Economics, or a related field.
Trade Finance domain certification strongly preferred (e.g., CDCS – Certificate for Documentary Credit Specialists, or CSDG – Certificate for Specialists in Demand Guarantees).
ISTQB Foundation Level or other testing familiarity is an advantage (not mandatory).
12+ years in Trade Finance, with deep techno functional expertise across LCs, Guarantees, Bills, and Trade Loans – gained in trade operations, trade product, or trade finance systems implementation.
Proven experience acting as a Trade Finance Subject Matter Expert on digitalization, core banking, or trade system implementation/transformation programmes.
Demonstrated experience guiding test teams on functional coverage, test case and test script design, and defect resolution – without necessarily performing the testing directly.
Experience advising on functional data mapping between front end/workflow systems and a core banking system (Temenos T24 exposure an advantage but not essential).
Strong, current knowledge of ICC rules and SWIFT standards for trade finance (UCP 600, URDG 758, ISP98, URC 522).
Experience collaborating across business, operations, technology, and vendor teams in Agile or hybrid delivery environments.
Experience supporting UAT and guiding business/operations users through trade finance scenarios and functional sign off.