Assistant (Banking Working Group)

ASSISTANT TO BANKING WORKING GROUP

Tasks and responsibilities

I. Introduction

Vietnam Business Forum (VBF)

The Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) was established in 1997 during the annual Consultative Group meeting between the Vietnamese Government and its donor partners, as a not-for-profit, non-political channel for nurturing public-private dialogue to develop a favourable business environment that attracts domestic and foreign private sector investment and stimulates sustainable economic development in Vietnam. This is done primarily through high profile bi-annual Forums between the business community and Vietnamese leadership and through specialized Working Groups cutting across sectors.

Serving as a regular and high-level channel of communication between the business community and Vietnamese Government, the VBF is widely recognized as an important actor and reliable partner in shaping reforms that provides concrete results towards delivering a better business environment in Vietnam. Key VBF objectives include working with the Government to create pathways to long-term and sustainable business performance as well as to promote the interests of national and international business community in Vietnam and enhance investment and trade in local and overseas markets. VBF works to provide research, legal analysis, identification of problems and practical solutions.

Banking Working Group (BWG)

The Banking Working Group (BWG) was set up in 1998 with the objective of providing a forum for the foreign banks and credit institutions operating in Vietnam to work closely with the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and improve the regulatory system for the country’s banking sector.

The Banking Working Group is a working group of the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF). As of March 2023, BWG has a total of 40 foreign banks and credit institutions.

BWG’s objectives are: (i) to support the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and other regulatory bodies in improving the legal and regulatory framework for the banking and financial sector in Vietnam, and help develop a strong and sustainable banking system in the country; and (ii) to be an effective communication forum between foreign banks and credit institutions operating in Vietnam and the SBV, so that issues which are common to BWG members can be raised to the SBV collectively.

II. Role of BWG/VBF Secretariat

1. Provide daily support for the BWG/VBF Secretariat by performing a wide range of administrative duties, including: (i) arranging logistical preparations for semi - annual Forums, working group meetings and other events/workshops; (ii) following up with both Forum members and government counterparts to provide comments/inputs for discussions/dialogues at working level; (iii) assisting in preparation of working group position papers/reports for working group meetings, Big Forum and VBF book; (iv) maintaining and updating database of the consortium’s members, working group members and stakeholders; (v) translating/drafting a variety of routine documents, applying effective proofreading and grammar skills in English; (vi) collect and consolidate monitoring & evaluation data

2. Conduct administrative tasks for BWG/VBF, including: goods and services procurement, contract preparation for vendors/suppliers/ translators, payment settlements, VBF Website updates,

3. Undertake ad hoc inquiries in relation to other tasks and assignments as required.

III. Role of BWG Secretariat

1. Administrative support to the office operation:

Support BWG/VBF Officers in coordinating activities of VBF Working Groups, including but not limited to:
Consolidate comments/ inputs from members regarding law/ policy issues;
Translate and draft documents/ letters;
Logistic preparation for meetings;
Attend events when required and prepare the minutes.

2. Facilitate the continued development of the BWG which includes:

Coordinate BWG meetings conduct meeting follow-up actions.
Provide necessary support to enable better participation of foreign banks in the BWG.
Be a point person for collaboration with the Government and VNBA
Organize BWG internal activities such as a quarterly ‘learning’ session, etc.
Work closely with BWG members to organize technical meetings/workshops with related government bodies
Other responsibilities involve.

3. Support the BWG Coordinator in promoting partnership between Banking Working Group and the State Bank of Vietnam and other related government bodies. Act in the best interest of the private banking sector to foster good working relations between the BWG and government counterparts to support and promote policy initiatives that emanate from the BWG.

IV. Selection criteria

Academic background: Minimum bachelor’s degree in banking – finance, law, business or an aligned area.

Experience:

At least 1-2 years of previous experience working for a bank or performing tasks relevant to this position, in relevant coordinating position in multi-national or international organization, banking and finance background is preferable.
Experience in specialized administrative/operational support functions (e.g., task management, database management, event/workshop planning, etc.) and ability to apply relevant procedures, processes and systems

Skills & Knowledge:

Keen to work in a dynamic environment, proactive and continuously strive to improve work processes and products.
Proficient in MS Outlook, Word, Excel and Zoom. Have good written and verbal communication and can adapt communication style to a variety of audiences.
Have a can-do attitude and enjoy problem-solving. Have worked with different cultures, ideally in an international setting.
Willingness to conduct additional ad-hoc responsibilities other than duties directly related to this position as requested.

Languages: English is the working language of BWG-VBF. Good verbal & writing skills are required. Knowledge of other languages is an asset.