Credit Manager

Job description

Company Overview:

Stargate Finance Limited is a fintech company founded in 2018 and commenced operations in 2019 in Zambia. Initially established as a microcredit provider, the company aims to expand its services to include savings and other financial products, leveraging technology to serve the Zambian market. Stargate Finance is overseen by a competent board of directors and driven by a highly skilled management team and staff.

Role Summary:

The Credit Manager will lead the Credit & Risk Department, overseeing the evaluation of creditworthiness, managing credit risk, and ensuring the full recovery of all loans disbursed. This role is pivotal in maintaining the financial health, security, and sustainability of the business through effective credit management and risk analysis.

Key Responsibilities:

Credit Policy Development: Develop and review customer credit policies to provide clear lending guidelines, ensuring adherence to company credit criteria.
Credit Evaluation: Evaluate customer creditworthiness for underwriting decisions, conducting detailed affordability and financial analyses on applicants.
Loan Processing: Oversee the processing of loan applications within a 24-hour turnaround, considering relevant ratios and metrics.
Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with laws, regulations, and lending guidelines, engaging with external stakeholders, including the Bank of Zambia and other financial institutions, on policy matters and financial information.
Risk Management: Manage the evaluation of customer risk to determine lending conditions, conducting regular account reviews to manage bad debts and improve portfolio quality.
Financial Analysis: Collect and analyze financial data for lending and investment decisions, monitoring and reviewing payments and settlement times to ensure policy compliance and protect the company’s interests.
Reporting: Prepare credit, risk, and portfolio reports efficiently by the 10th day of the following month.
Resource Management: Effectively manage human, financial, and other resources to achieve departmental and company objectives, developing and implementing performance management systems for monitoring and evaluating performance.

Qualifications and Experience:

Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, Finance, Operations Management, or a related field.
A minimum of 4 years of work experience, with at least 1 year in the Microfinance sector.
Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Project software.
Strong analytical, planning, and organizational skills.
Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills, with the ability to manage and motivate a team.
Ability to handle sensitive matters with discretion and maintain strict confidentiality.
Capability to produce reports to acceptable standards with clear outlines of SWOT analysis.
Flexibility and effectiveness in responding to requests made at short notice with minimal supervision.

Preferred Attributes:

Certification in Credit Management (e.g., CICM, CCMP) is advantageous.
Familiarity with PayGo industry regulations and standards in Zambia.
Strong collaboration skills to work effectively with Sales, Marketing, Operations, Finance, and Customer Loyalty teams.