Branch Operations Specialist

Deposit Operations Specialist

HOPE Overview

HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Credit Union and Hope Policy Institute) provides financial services; leverages resources; and engages in advocacy that strengthens the financial health of people in under-resourced Deep South communities. Since 1994, these efforts have benefitted more than three million people in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, and influenced billions in persistent poverty communities across the nation. Learn more at hopecu.org.

Job Summary

The Deposit Operations Specialist is responsible for providing critical back-office support to ensure smooth and efficient deposit operations across the organization. They are responsible for processing back-office transactions and providing research support across all HOPE branch locations, ensuring accuracy and confidentiality in handling sensitive situations. Specialists will be assigned to focus on one of three areas: Account Management, Card Services, or Payments. This role involves ensuring compliance with organizational policies and regulatory requirements, resolving operational issues, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to provide excellent service to members and internal stakeholders.

Essential Functions

All Deposit Operations Specialists will be responsible for the following:

• Provide excellent member service in all interactions with members and vendors
• Comply with all regulatory compliance requirements
• Participate in cross-training initiatives to gain knowledge of all specialization areas, providing support to other teams as needed to ensure operational continuity during high-demand periods or staff absences

Account Management: Essential Functions

• Process ticketing requests, ensuring a response within the 24-hour SLA
• Handle certificate maturity and renewal notices and other account-related updates
• Perform IRA account and document maintenance
• Process remote deposit capture items
• Conduct routine audits of ECM Payment reports
• Research fraud alerts and provide recommendations for resolution

Compliance and Reporting:

• Manage charge-off process from initial report generation to completion ensuring collaboration with the Collections Department
• Conduct routine reconciliations of core processing system with external vendors
• Comply with all regulatory compliance requirements

Member Support:

• Assist with member disputes

Quality Control and Risk Management:

• Review new account files and online membership applications to ensure compliance and accuracy
• Review and verify transactions, such as share drafts to maintain high accuracy and compliance
• Ensure dual control approval processes are followed for key transactions to minimize errors and fraud
• Conduct daily review of check deposits and holds, report any findings to relevant stakeholders, like Branch Managers or Compliance

Card Services: Essential Functions

• Address retail tickets related to travel alerts, card limits, PIN issues, and special handling, ensuring a response within the 24-hour SLA
• Process email requests for PIN resets, travel notices, and authorization inquiries using vendor website access
• Analyze and make recommendations regarding internal debit/credit card limits for online and offline transactions
• Monitor plastic card inventories via vendor websites to ensure sufficient supplies are on hand
• Ensure dual control approval processes are followed returned card logs

Card Production and Special Requests:

• Process VISA Credit Card production requests, ensuring dual control segregation of duties for credit card loans
• Handle special/expedited card requests by pulling email requests, reviewing cardholder information, and submitting them to the card processing vendor with special handling instructions. Track the status of these cards to ensure accuracy

Claims, Reporting, and Fraud Monitoring:

• Process and respond to member claims of fraudulent or unauthorized activity
• Conduct thorough research and investigation of disputes within the Regulation E timeframe
• Follow up to close each claim, composing correspondence, and contacting members via phone, email, or mail as applicable
• Prepare and submit claims to the designated insurance company for the recovery of fraudulent transactions
• Prepare and submit required quarterly and annual reports to card services vendors and partners
• Review daily core processing system-generated reports for card order exceptions and notify branch staff via email for corrections
• Monitor fraud-related emails, noting and blocking cardholder accounts as appropriate
• Manage VISA CAMS Alert emails, monitor for possible compromised card lists, and follow procedures to block and issue new card numbers with member notification
• Daily report review

Vendor Communication and Coordination:

• Communicate with the card transaction processing vendor regarding fraudulent transactions, chargebacks, and requests for documents or photos
• Serve as the liaison between internal teams and external vendors, managing new machine and/or software installations
• Monitor vendor websites for ATM machine malfunctions or vandalism and coordinate service or repair with the machine vendor and branch staff

Payments: Essential Functions

• Process ticketing requests, ensuring a response within the 24-hour SLA
• Process various types of transactions, including ACH files, share drafts, wires, mobile deposits, and loan payments
• Process both incoming and outgoing wire transfers and ACH transactions
• Manage consumer and business account transactions, including exceptions and fraud alerts
• Monitor FRB FedWire for incoming wire messages and manage incoming and outgoing wire requests through CT tickets
• Prepare and submit the ACH Online Account Funding file

Currency Orders:

• Manage currency orders to ensure adequate cash flow and availability for branches, maintaining an efficient operation

SEG/HAN Payroll Posting:

• Ensure that payroll is processed accurately, timely, and in compliance with all regulatory requirements

Quality and Risk Management:

• Review and verify transactions, such as ACH exceptions, to maintain high accuracy and compliance
• Provide timely dual control approval in FedLine for uploaded ACH files and outgoing wire approvals

Accountability for Business Results:

• Ensure accuracy of work products
• Accurate member transactions
• Accurate and timely member account research

Specified Authority Level:

• Access to member account information
• Authority to conduct transactions as requested by member on their accounts
• Access to vault with one member of management present
• Access to card services portals (Card Services)
• Authority to open and close member accounts (Account Management)

Qualifications:

Required:

• High school diploma or GED required

Desired:

• Bachelor's degree in business or related area preferred
• 2+ years of experience in related back-office functions preferred
• Experience in banking/credit union back-office functions
• Customer service experience

Work Environment:

• Employee spends the majority of time in office environment, generally accessible to the public, members, and potential members
• Noise level in the work environment is usually moderate
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions

Physical Demands:

• Employee is regularly required to sit, stand and walk
• Employee will use hands to finger, handle or feel, reach with hands and arms, and talk or hear
• Employee will irregularly lift and/or move up to 10+ pounds
• Employee will frequently travel to various branches within the company's market
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions

Comprehensive Benefits Package:

• Paid Vacation and Sick Time
• 11 Paid Holidays
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