Bright career prospects for Specialists Officers in PSBs

Aftermath of demonetisation of high currency notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 has made all to realize the significance of banks, in the changed scenario for all segments of people. Career in banking sector has always been considered as one of the most lucrative and stable choice for youth.

However, the recent push by central government to increase banking functionality and network through schemes like ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojan. Financial inclusion etc., further shifted the focus upon this sector.

With increasing competition from the private sector, public sectors like SBI, Bank of Baorda etc, have also started diversifying their operations and adopted the concept of ‘Universal Banking’, to cover different banking function. Public sector banks have also started to handle the ‘Specialist Bank Jobs’, which require specific skill set and focus.

Also for job seekers in our country banking sector offers tremendous hope as these days, maximum number of job opportunities are being offered by banks.

Large number of vacancies is advertised for specialist posts, with adequate qualifications that are willing to work in specialized areas. Major areas of specialist career opportunities in public sector banks include – marketing, security, agriculture, engineering technology, law, risk management, Hindi (Official language), finance, human resource management, economics, and information technology etc.

Recently Bank of Baroda and IBPS has announced vacancies for specialist officers in certain disciplines. The specialists’ officers’ job profile is as follows:

Marketing officer:

• A management degree (MBA/MMS) or Postgraduate diploma in Management with specialization in marketing is eligible to apply for this position.
• To formulate strategies for marketing of banking products and execute them.
• Marketing officer involved in market research and in conducting sales and publicity campaigns.
• By using their creativity, they may bring innovations in existing products and design new products.
• They get opportunity to work at corporate and field levels.

Law officer:

• A bachelor’s degree in law (LLB) with experience of legal practice of certain specified years in a court of law is eligible for this post.
• Those with a master’s degree in law may be given preference.
• A Law officer mainly deals the court cases of their banks.
• Law officers are required to draft plaints, file court cases and report the progress and proceedings in such cases to the authorities.
• They also offer legal opinion in banking matters whenever and wherever it is required.
• Law officers significantly contribute in recovery of bank dues through legal recourse.

Finance/Credit officer:

• Postgraduates with specialization in finance or financial management are eligible for this position.
• In some cases chartered accountant (CA), cost and work accountant (ICWA), chartered financial analyst (CFA) also work as desired qualifications.
• Finance / credit officers examine the requests for loans, recovery of loans, ascertain the repaying capacity of loan applicant carries inspection of the securities proposed and gets the documents executed.
• Important steps in loan processing and management of credit portfolio.
• Monitoring of loan accounts is also done by them to initiate corrective steps wherever necessary.

Agricultural officers:

• Four year graduate degree in Agriculture/ Horticulture/Animal Husbandry/ Veterinary Science/ Dairy Science/ Fishery Science/ Pisciculture/ Agricultural Marketing & Cooperation/ Co-operation & Banking/ Agro-Forestry/Forestry/ Agricultural Biotechnology/ Food Science/ Agriculture Business Management/ Food Technology/ Dairy Technology/ Agricultural Engineering etc are eligible to apply for this post.
• Even, postgraduates and Ph.D holders also look forward to this career.
• Agricultural officers assess the potential and requirement of farm credit in the area where they are working, examine loan proposals, organize loan campaigns for farmers and rural people.
• Most important contribution is towards promotion of financial inclusion schemes on which the government is putting high emphasis.

HR Officers:

• Postgraduate qualification in Human Resources Management, one may apply for this position.
• Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) is also eligible.
• HR officers look after manpower planning, performance appraisal, placements, compensation and benefits, training and development and industrial relations matters.
• Maintaining proper HR data is also their responsibility.

Hindi Officers:

• All public sector organizations including banks have requirements of Hindi Officers.
• Postgraduates in Hindi or English are considered eligible provided they have studied English/ Hindi at graduation level.
• Postgraduates in Sanskrit should have studied both Hindi and English in their graduation.
• A diploma in translation and/ or a Ph.D qualification will strengthen your candidature.
• The job involves translating circulars, documents, forms etc. from English to Hindi and vice versa, conducting Hindi classes and workshops, organizing competitions for promoting use of Hindi.
• Hindi officers are fully involved in implementing the official language policy of Central government.

Information Technology officers:

• Post Graduate Degree in Computer Engineering/ Computer Applications/ Information Technology/ Electronics/ Electronics & Telecommunications/ Electronics & Communication/ Electronics & Instrumentation holders is eligible to become an Information Technology officer.
• Graduates having passed additional qualification like Degree/Diploma/ Certificate in Networking, Programming, Languages, Database, IT are desirable.
• IT officers job is to ensure proper functioning of hardware and software and help employees in use of technology. Within the area of Information Technology, include database administration, networking, information security, software development and testing etc. Sometimes there are specific vacancies for job functions.

Technical officers:

• Graduate engineers having (B.E/B.Tech) in mechanical/ electrical/civil engineering are eligible to become technical officer in a bank.
• Technical expertise is needed to assess proposals received for industrial financing.
• Technical officers examine technical feasibility and other aspects of projects.
• Inputs given by Technical officers help authorities in taking decisions on such loan proposals.

Economists:

• Banks appoint economists to deal with numbers and statistic at macro level.
• For the position of economist a candidate needs to have a Master’s degree in economics having studied the subject at graduation level.
• Postgraduates in econometrics/ statistics may also check their eligibility. A M Phil/Ph.D Degree in economics or related subject is often considered desirable.
• Economists analyze their bank’s performance and compare this with performance of other banks.
• This analysis helps in formulating corporate strategy.
• The job of economists is also to study the emerging trends in national and global economy and keep the top management apprised of it.

Security officers:

• Security is a vital aspect of banks’ working and to strengthen the banks appoint security officers.
• Graduates with specified experience as officer in army or police or para military forces are eligible.
• To become a security officer the applicant should have worked as an officer not below the rank of Captain of Indian Army or equivalent rank in Indian Navy / Air Force with a minimum of 5 years of commissioned service or as an Officer not below the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (SP)/ Deputy SP/Assistant Commandant /Deputy SP/ Assistant Commandant / Deputy Commandant of Indian Police / Para Military Forces with a minimum of 5 years’ service as an officer in such force.
• Security officers observe the security arrangements at various establishments of the bank and suggest corrective measures wherever needed.
• Purchase, installation of security gadgets like close circuit camera, fire alarm etc. also come under their jurisdiction.

Risk Management officers:

• Considering the importance of risk management many big banks have started recruiting specialist Risk Management Officers.
• Master’s degree holders in statistics/ financial management/ statistics/ financial engineering/ risk management have the opportunity to take up this role.
• The job of risk management officers is to analyze various risks bank face and formulate strategies to minimize the effects of such risks.

Selection process for specialist officers:

• For positions in Scale I written test is conducted, candidates are tested for
• Reasoning,
• English Language,
• Quantitative Aptitude
• General Awareness with special reference to banking (any of these two as per area of specialisation) and professional knowledge in the area of specialization.

By Gudipati Rajendera Kumar