Yehu Microfinance began as a project of CHOICE Humanitarian in 1998 with 300 female members in a small rural village in the Kwale County, Kikoneni located in the former (before the promulgation of the new Constitution) Coast Province of Kenya.

Summary

As a Credit Risk Officer, the successful candidate will play a pivotal role in assessing creditworthiness, managing risk, and ensuring the sustainability of our lending operations.

Key Specific Responsibilities

• Establishment of a Supportive Credit Risk Environment:
• Develop and operationalize a sound credit risk strategy aligned with management’s risk appetite.
• Ensure proactive guidance on conflicts between remuneration policies and credit risk strategies.
• Communicate and enforce credit risk policies and procedures across the organization.
• Development and Enforcement of Credit Provision Operating Process:
• Define clear criteria for approving credit in a safe and sound manner.
• Determine the information required to assess the risk profile of each borrower effectively.
• Establish processes for evaluating and approving new loans, ensuring compliance with policy guidelines.
• Credit Administration, Risk Measurement, and Monitoring:
• Oversee the maintenance of a reliable credit administration function.
• Develop and enforce an effective credit monitoring system, including risk assessment and measurement.
• Implement an internal risk rating system and analytical tools for continuous risk monitoring.
• Management of Effective Credit Risk Controls:
• Conduct regular assessments of Yehu’s credit risk management processes.
• Establish and enforce internal controls, operating limits, and best practices.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and risk management practices.
• Sustenance of an Effective Delinquency Management Process:
• Implement a disciplined management process to minimize loss from delinquent loans.
• Develop and enforce a delinquency management policy to detect and address problematic cases early.
• Report on delinquency status and actions taken to management monthly.
• Credit Risk Management and Business Sustainability Measurement:
• Establish and review financial indicators to measure the effectiveness of credit risk management.
• Analyze financial statements to assess trends and correlations with portfolio performance.Identify causal factors affecting portfolio quality and propose remedial measures.

Job Specifications

Behavioral Competencies

• Uphold a high level of personal and professional ethics in every aspect of the job.
• Ability to operate independently, making informed decisions when necessary.
• Consult and clarify where necessary, demonstrating a balance of independence and teamwork.
• Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Key skills requirement

• Proven experience in credit risk management, preferably in the microfinance sector.
• Strong understanding of regulatory compliance and risk assessment techniques.
• Capacity to develop frameworks to enable analysis of macro and micro environmental analysis to influence the quality of annual plans.
• Capacity to oversee the corporate annual plan process for the desired outcomes that influence the sustainable growth of the institution.

Academic Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Economics, Business Administration, or related field.

Professional Qualifications: 

• Professional qualification (CPA, ACCA) is highly desirable. Other risk related professional qualifications are preferable.

Desired work experience: 

• At least 4 years’ experience in a similar role, preferably in the financial sector with sound exposure to credit or lending and debt recovery.