Head of Credit Job (100K)

Reports to: Managing Director

Direct Reports Credit Analysts, Debt Recovery/Collections Team and other Credit staff as assigned

Finance Jobs. Corporate Staffing Jobs. Head of Credit owning the overall management and performance of the credit portfolio covering the full lifecycle from credit assessment to debt recovery, requiring a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance or Credit Management with a minimum of 8 years progressive credit management experience including 5 years in a senior credit role, in a financial services environment, on-site role.

Role Summary

Our client is looking to hire a Head of Credit to own the overall management and performance of the Company’s credit portfolio, covering the full lifecycle from credit assessment and approval through portfolio monitoring, collections, debt recovery and legal recovery. The role leads the Credit Analysts and Debt Recovery Unit to ensure sound credit decisions, timely collections, reduced Portfolio at Risk (PAR) and Non-Performing Loans (NPLs), and maximum recoveries, while protecting the Company’s capital, liquidity and asset quality and supporting sustainable growth.

Key Responsibilities

Credit Risk Strategy and Governance

• Develop and implement a credit risk strategy aligned with business strategy, risk appetite and growth objectives.
• Set credit risk parameters, limits, approval thresholds, concentration limits and portfolio quality standards.
• Review credit policies, products and lending processes; advise Management on the credit implications of new products, markets and segments.
• Ensure credit decisions are objective, well-supported and compliant with laws, regulations and delegated authority limits.

Credit Analysis and Approval

• Lead the Credit Analysts to deliver high-quality, independent and timely assessment of applications, covering repayment capacity, credit history, cash flows, collateral, existing debt, sector risk and overall risk profile.
• Ensure proper verification, due diligence and documentation before approval and disbursement.
• Approve proposals within delegated authority, escalate those outside limits, and challenge analysts’ assumptions where necessary.
• Monitor turnaround times and coach analysts on recurring weaknesses without compromising credit quality.

Portfolio and PAR Management

• Hold overall accountability for portfolio quality, monitoring PAR 1, 7, 30, 60, 90 and NPLs daily, weekly and monthly.
• Analyse performance by product, Fulfilment Centre, Relationship Officer, segment, sector, vintage, loan size and location.
• Establish early-warning indicators, monitor concentration risk, and conduct portfolio reviews, stress testing and scenario analysis.
• Ensure portfolio growth does not compromise asset quality, and give Management actionable recommendations.

Debt Recovery, Collections and PAR/NPL Reduction

• Lead the Debt Recovery Unit; set recovery targets and segment delinquent accounts by risk, arrears age, exposure and security.
• Drive recovery through customer engagement, payment plans, restructuring, collateral recovery, demand notices, external agencies, auctioneers and legal action.
• Set PAR/NPL reduction targets, hold weekly PAR review meetings, and track roll rates (Current → PAR → NPL), cure rates and recovery rates.
• Analyse root causes of delinquency and work with Business and Operations to fix systemic issues such as poor underwriting, weak documentation and follow-up.

Credit Policy, Analytics and Reporting

• Develop and update credit policies, procedures, scorecards and risk-rating tools, including restructuring, write-off and recovery guidelines.
• Identify control gaps in the credit lifecycle and promote process improvement and automation.
• Maintain credit risk dashboards and provide timely, accurate reports to Management, committees and the Board on portfolio size and growth, PAR, NPLs, collections, recoveries (including from written-off accounts), roll and cure rates, write-offs, concentration, approval quality and credit losses.

Legal Recovery and External Service Providers

• Escalate qualifying accounts for legal action and monitor progress with the Legal function.
• Manage external collection agencies and service providers against performance standards while controlling recovery costs.
• Note: Legal retains responsibility for legal opinions, drafting and litigation; the Head of Credit owns the commercial recovery strategy and outcome.

Credit Control, Compliance and Audit

• Ensure compliance with credit policies, lending authorities and security perfection before disbursement.
• Monitor exceptions and policy breaches, implement audit recommendations, and maintain segregation of duties between origination, assessment, approval and recovery.

Team Leadership and Performance Management

• Lead, coach and mentor the Credit and Recovery teams; set clear KPIs and conduct regular performance reviews.
• Build a high-performance culture of quality, accountability and urgency, and promote collaboration with Business, Operations, Finance and Legal.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, Commerce, Banking, Credit or Risk Management, or a related field. A Master’s degree, a professional qualification in credit, risk, banking or finance, and membership of a relevant professional body are added advantages.
• Minimum 8 years’ progressive credit management experience in a Microfinance Institution, Bank, SACCO or other regulated financial institution, including at least 5 years in a senior credit role (e.g. Head of Credit, Credit Manager, Head of Credit Risk).
• Direct ownership of credit quality and portfolio performance, with measurable improvements in PAR, NPL, collections and recoveries on a significant lending portfolio.
• Strong preference for MFI experience, particularly with Microfinance, SME, Business, Boresha or similar portfolios.

Key Competencies

• Credit and portfolio management: end-to-end credit lifecycle management; credit appraisal and approval frameworks; PAR/NPL, roll-rate and cure-rate analysis; early-warning indicators; balancing growth with prudent risk.
• Collections and recovery: building collection and recovery strategies, escalation processes, loan rehabilitation and restructuring, and managing advocates, debt collectors and auctioneers.
• Governance and compliance: credit risk frameworks, approval authorities, collateral management, KYC and responsible lending, credit audits and regulatory requirements.
• Analytics: portfolio and migration analysis, Board-level reporting, advanced Excel and loan-management systems.
• Personal attributes: sound credit judgement, high integrity, strong leadership, negotiation and communication skills, the ability to challenge poor lending decisions, and effective collaboration across functions.

How to Apply

If you are up to the challenge and possess the necessary qualifications and experience, please send your CV, quoting only the job title in the email subject (Head of Credit), to vacancies@corporatestaffing.co.ke before 24^th September 2026.

NB: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you do not receive any communication from us within two weeks of your application, kindly consider your application unsuccessful. We appreciate your interest and thank you for applying.

Corporate Staffing Service never asks candidates to pay any money or pay for tests at any stage of the recruitment process