Trust Officer at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• To administer day to day benefits of minor beneficiaries and process financial transactions accurately and timeously through the investment execution of predefined objectives as per agreed standard operating procedures.

Job Description

Accountability:  General Administration of Trusts                                    

• Receive and open new file ensuring that all documents received are in line with the regulatory requirements for a Beneficiary Fund Administration.
• Check and ensure that the information received is captured accurately on the Trust system.
• Ensure that all outstanding core documents and information in terms of the Absa Trust Beneficiary Fund Policy is on the file, and if not, that all attempts are made to collect them.
• Make the first call and prepare the welcome pack to be sent to the client.
• Prepare investment proposal for the capital received in trust on behalf of the beneficiaries on the standard model for approval by the responsible person / committee according to the Policy and Investment policies.
• Give the necessary instructions to the Fund Managers to invest the capital in the different investment portfolios as per approved proposal to ensure the correct placement of Investments for the Trust according to the prescribed Investment Policy
• Draft monthly debit orders for maintenance as approved by the Manager/Investment Committee on the Investment proposal. The decision of the maintenance amount is guided by the needs of the beneficiary and recommendation by the trustees. Hand to Trust Manager for final approval and capturing of the payment on the trust system.
• Facilitate ad-hoc payments, like applications for school fees, clothing etc to clients in the same manner as the monthly allowances. Evaluate the requests by considering the trust capital, termination date of the trust, client's circumstances etc.; as guided in the Trust policies.
• Draft correspondence to the guardian of the beneficiaries per letter, sms or e-mail giving feedback regarding the outcome of application for financial assistance.
• Interact via telephone or in writing to provide information regarding the trusts i.e. payments made, investments, etc
• Organize, sort, process and prioritize daily incoming and outgoing mail, e-mails and telephone enquiries from clients to ensure excellent client service and communication regarding their need for financial assistance from the trust.
• Revise regularly the Trust investment portfolios as per the Investment policy and automated investment reports generated from the Trust system on a monthly basis.
• Attend to all monthly reports which ensure high quality administration of the trusts.
• Ensure liquidity of funds on the different trust accounts by giving instructions timeously to the data capturers in the admin team and the Fund Managers when investments should be realised
• Give instructions to the administration department to take distribution fees and management fees when capital was realised to pay for ad hock, maintenance or when the general management fees were not taken automatically by the trust system due to insufficient funds.
• File correspondence, yearend statements and returned Certificates of Maintenance in the Trust file for record keeping
• Trace Beneficiaries which cannot be allocated or whose contact details have changed on the Trust system and letters to the client's last known address.
• Request Trust Manager to perform a verification search on the ITC-System, if unsuccessful send an instruction to the Tracing Agents for further action and investigation.
• These methods are also used to follow up regularly on outstanding contact details, bank details and maintenance payments in respect of clients as and when required.
• Draft termination statements, on receipt of termination documentation completed by the trust beneficiary, in order for the Trust to be terminated as per the Resolution received from the Fund and/or as per auto-generated monthly report printed from the trust system
• Process final payments to clients, when the trust has to be terminated, according to the mandate given by the legislation.
• Prepare final letters according to the trust processes as documented in the Trust policies.
• Ensure proper records are kept as per Trust policy and procedures.  
• All tasks need to be performed in conjunction with the PD objectives.

Accountability:  Client Service                                                                  

• Interact with walk-in and telephone clients on a daily basis to find out what their needs are and assist them
• Attend to requests/queries received per e-mail or mail to find out what the clients need and assist them in obtaining what they expect
• Keep clients informed of processes, procedures and progresses of their Trust Fund so that they can be updated on income earned, investment made, payments and expenses.
• Adhere to client complaints from Trust Customer care and process within stipulated timeline.
• Adhere to the guidelines of the Service Level Agreement to ensure that Absa Trust is not in breach

Accountability:  Investments                                                                    

• Review and manage all the existing investment portfolios of the trusts as per investment policy.  
• Use the prescribed investment model to calculate the optimum investment composition when opening and activating a new trust or reviewing existing trust, on the trust system
• Hand the proposed portfolio to the Trust Manager/Investment Committee for approval according to Absa Trust Policy
• Ensure that the necessary instructions are given to the data capturers in the Admin department and Fund Managers so that the investments are restructured in accordance with the approved proposals
• File investment proposals in the relevant trust file for record keeping purposes

Accountability:  Reports                                                                          

• Check and manage all the administration reports which are generated by the Trust system according to the Trust manual on a monthly basis for discrepancies from the norm.
• Indicate on report/s the reasons for discrepancies, sign off the reports and date as per prescribed rules
• Hand over the reports to the Trust Manager on/or before the due date to ensure that the administration of each trust is in line with policy.

Accountability: Beneficiary Holding Account and Office Accounts            

• Check the list that is prepared by the Administration Department and follow up on amounts under unallocated funds on a daily basis within the prescribed period.
• Instruct Administration Department to transfer funds to the correct trust account as soon as the service provider confirms with proof of payment that the funds have been deposited so that the trust capital is reflected correctly on the trust system.
• Follow up with Fund if they deposited monies into this account without informing Absa Trust, so that the monies can be allocated to the correct trust account
• Report outstanding allocations to the Trust and Business Development Managers to assist with follow up on the outstanding matters.

Accountability:  Year-End Statements                                                     

• Check capturing by the data capture staff of transactions throughout the year for correctness.
• All Financial year end statements and confirmation of existence forms need to be prepared and distributed to clients as per the beneficiary fund rules and guidelines.
• Upon receipt of the DHA beneficiary deceased status report ensure termination of all payments to guardians/beneficiary.

Education

• Further Education and Training Certificate (FETC): Financial Sciences (Required)

End Date: August 30, 2025