The Senior Credit Expert will be:

• Responsible for Receivable Risk Management.
• Responsible for advancing Vera International P.L.C (Vera) credit function aiming at ensuring a positive contribution to business sustainability, providing leadership, management and spirit necessary for the customer finance department to achieve its specific goals.
• Responsible for Customer Finance operations with respect to customers’ assessment, loan recovery and credit control to support the products and services of Vera International to ensure income growth and consistent implementation of Vera’s credit product awareness.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction of credit department within the organization.
• Responsible for the review and approval of commercial credit proposals of the company and to maintain a balance between returns and risks exposure according to the Receivable Policy.
• Hands-on management of all day-to-day operations of the Credit Team along the customer credit cycle, i.e. credit assessment, underwriting, loan monitoring and work-out, including development of appropriate responses to portfolio underperformance.
• Take responsibility for and manage the Credit Department as a profit centre which reports on key performance indicators related to company targets (P&L, portfolio quality, operational efficiency).
• Play a key role in the development of new lending platform, establishing and updating all lending policies ensuring full compliance with national regulations and customer protection principles.
• oster a strong credit culture in the organization, build and lead teams that act in accordance with policies and sound credit delivery principles e.g. Ensure high standard credit quality of the portfolio at all times.
• Analyse, evaluate and report internal and external risks, and provide relevant pre-cautions and solutions to the risks. Provide requirements and design inputs, particularly with regard to credit risk recognition, measurement and its reporting as a part of core team for implementation of key credit risks.
• Review and develop the credit approval and repossession policies and guidelines as well as participate in ad hoc projects of investigative or trouble-shooting nature on specific customers portfolio
• Serve as a key point of contact for domestic and international 3rd party funding partners and ensure operational compliance with related KPIs
• Ensure proper integration of the Credit department into overall operations and workflows
• Subordinates effectiveness:
• • Regular review and constant update of Department KPIs, performance assessment vs KPIs along with related internal and external reporting in alignment with local HR and Group’s/external Head of Credit.
  • Ensure staff understands the context of their roles in relation to strategy.
  • Ensure staff in your department when performing their duties exhibit proper / acceptable behaviour.
  • Ensure performance consequences are taken by the line managers in your department i.e. recognize best performers and manager poor performers from time to time through both, formal and informal feedback.
  • Assess and monitor the training and development needs of the staff in the department.
  • Ensure staff have the adequate training and resources they require to perform their work.
  • Monitor and provide updates on the dynamics of the local economy and financial market.

Education And Experience

Formal Education

• University degree from a recognised university in Finance, Banking & Finance, Economics or any other related field. Postgraduate/Master’s degree is an added advantage.

Professional Experience

• 5 +yrs relevant professional experience in credit assessment and/ or credit scoring and/ or data-smart lending and/ or portfolio management at an MFI or SME-related bank or MNO; high exposure to individual micro lending technology is an added advantage
• 5+yrs experience in managing teams, ideally as a department manager/ portfolio manager/ product manager/Credit Manager at a Microfinance Institution (MFI) or SME-related bank or Mobile Network Operator (MNO).
• High level of familiarity with typical income, expenditure and cash flow patterns of rural and semi-urban households and micro-enterprises across Ethiopia. 
• High familiarity with the Ethiopia Credit Bureau system, Microsoft Excel, Access, wording skills and understanding of Office 365.
• High level of creativity and innovation capacity to enhance and incorporate mobile-money-based lending procedures.
• High level of familiarity with typical income, expenditure and cash flow patterns of rural and semi-urban households and micro-enterprises across Ethiop