Operations Trainee

**Launch your career in Financial Markets**

Are you a detail-oriented individual with exceptional accuracy? Do you thrive in fast-paced environments and handle pressure with ease? Join Afrifocus as an Operations Trainee in the exciting world of stockbroking In this role, you will support critical back-office operations, where precision is key, and you will gain invaluable experience in financial markets. Flexibility with working hours is essential, as you will be playing a vital role in ensuring smooth operations based on market demands.

**Still wondering why you should choose this career?**

Starting your career in this generalist operations role provides a unique opportunity to gain broad exposure to multiple facets of stockbroking. A financial markets career path offers competitive remuneration in one of the most resilient sectors of the economy, meaning you will be setting yourself up for a stable and secure future. By working in areas like corporate actions, settlements, compliance and general operations, you will develop a comprehensive understanding of the critical processes that keep this type of financial institution running smoothly. This diverse experience builds a strong foundation for various future career path options such as becoming a compliance officer, settlements
officer, corporate actions specialist or even an operations manager, and these specialist skills are highly valued by financial services firms. The constant evolution of financial regulations and market activity ensures that no two days are the same, making this a challenging yet rewarding career with numerous opportunities for growth.
In addition to the required studies, you and other graduates participating in the Catapult Programme will be provided with skills training including but not limited to critical thinking, resilience, business communication skills and coaching.

**Duties and Responsibilities**:
**Rotation across the following areas in the business**:

- **Corporate Actions**
- Bank reconciliations
- Reconciling stock and cash positions
- Communicating with the Portfolio Managers regarding their clients’ options for the corporate action
- **Compliance**
- Conducting regulatory inspections of the stock market
- Coordination and exchange submission, sending suitable replies to the regulatory authorities.
- Ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Financial Markets Act, the Rules and Directives of the JSE and Board decisions
- **Settlements**
- Daily allocations of institutional trades
- Daily checks on committed trades
- Counter party follow ups.
- Script lending
- **Operations Management**
- Supporting the company’s daily business operations and administration
- Exposure to general HR duties when required.
- Assisting with company presentations when required
- **General administration and support**
- Opening new accounts
- Conducting client verification checks
- Handling of day-to-day client queries and requests

**Ideal Experience**:
This is a graduate opportunity thus no experience necessary.

**Ideal Qualifications**:

- Any commerce degree majoring in accounting, economics, investments, finance, business management, law or the like.

JSE and RPE Exams (willing to complete the following sponsored exams):

- Introduction to Financial Markets (RPE)
- Regulations and Ethics of the South African Financial Markets (RPE)
- Equity Market (RPE)
- JSE Equity Settlement Officer
- Compliance Officer

**Most Important Attribute**:

- Ability to be accurate and function positively under pressure.
- Attention to detail.
- Flexibility with working hours based on financial markets operational requirements

**Systems Knowledge**:
Microsoft Office Suite