About the Core Operations Senior Associate Role

State Street is seeking a Core Operations Senior Associate to join its team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This full-time role is responsible for managing end-to-end post-trade custody operations for the Saudi Arabia (KSA) market. Key areas include securities settlement, cash and FX operational support, corporate actions and income, reconciliations, and onboarding/account setup. The standard work schedule is Sunday to Thursday.

Strategic Market Context

As one of the world’s largest global custodians, State Street is executing a growth strategy that includes expanding its direct market presence. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is a priority market, supported by Vision 2030 reforms, increasing foreign participation, and strong institutional demand. This role is critical for enabling scalable market entry and growth by delivering robust post-trade operations aligned with local market infrastructure and rules, ensuring a high-quality client experience, and supporting the firm’s ability to deepen relationships with key institutional clients as the market evolves.

Key Operational Areas

• Manage clearing and settlement operations for cash market instruments (Equities, ETFs, Sukuk & Bonds).
• Oversee cash settlement and funding processes, specifically those involving SAMA.
• Provide operational support for FX activities that underpin settlement and client cash requirements.
• Handle corporate actions, dividends, and income events, ensuring accurate entitlements and postings.
• Support client onboarding and investor identification in accordance with Edaa account structures.
• Ensure effective messaging, controls, and stakeholder management across all operational functions.

Detailed Responsibilities

• Manage settlement processing for Saudi Exchange transactions settling at Edaa, ensuring accurate and timely completion across relevant cycles.
• Reconcile and validate trade/settlement obligations by aligning client instructions and broker confirmations with clearing outcomes (Muqassa) and settlement processing (Edaa); investigate and resolve exceptions promptly.
• Monitor settlement status proactively, manage potential fails, and follow KSA fails workflows, including Edaa rollover/cancellation and market-claim handling.
• Ensure funding readiness for DvP settlement, understanding that KSA settlement is gross on the securities leg and netted on the cash leg, with cash settlement executed via SAMA settlement member accounts.
• Perform cash reconciliations linked to settlement activity; investigate breaks and drive timely resolution within cut-offs.
• Process FX-related operational activities supporting settlement and client cash requirements, validating confirmations and ensuring correct value dating and SSI usage.
• Manage corporate actions and income events, ensuring accurate entitlements, timely postings, and robust reconciliations; coordinate vendor feeds and security setup with internal teams.
• Support onboarding/account setup and documentation in line with Edaa account structures and membership rules; ensure correct capture/validation of investor identification in Edaa’s framework (Investor Identification Number / Investor ID).
• Use SWIFT ISO 15022 (MT) and demonstrate exposure to ISO 20022 (MX) standards for settlement/reconciliation/corporate actions messaging.
• Execute daily controls and checklists on time; ensure adherence to local cut-offs and internal policies; escalate high-risk/time-sensitive issues with clear impact articulation.
• Partner with internal teams (Operations, Risk, Client Services) and external stakeholders (brokers, clearing/settlement participants, custodians, relevant market entities) to resolve issues and improve outcomes.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree (or above) in Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
• 3–5 years of experience in custody or post-trade operations, with KSA market experience strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of the KSA post-trade flow across Muqassa (clearing/CCP) and Edaa (CSD/settlement).
• Familiarity with the implications of T+2 settlement and DvP cash settlement via SAMA.

Required Skills and Attributes

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to work effectively under strict cut-offs and manage time-sensitive tasks.
• Strong stakeholder management capabilities, fostering collaboration with internal and external parties.