{"id":103275,"date":"2026-07-22T16:23:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/uncategorized\/head-of-credit\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T16:23:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:23:29","slug":"head-of-credit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/jobs\/nairobi\/head-of-credit\/","title":{"rendered":"Head of Credit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\/\", \"@type\": \"JobPosting\", \"title\": \"Head of Credit\", \"description\": \"Position Purpose\\nPesapal is seeking a visionary and execution-focused\u00a0Head of Credit\u00a0to institutionalize, scale, and lead our merchant lending business. Building on our current foundation, the successful candidate will own the strategic roadmap for scaling our loan book.\\nThis role requires a unique leader who sits at the intersection of traditional credit discipline and modern fintech innovation. You will leverage Pesapal\u2019s rich proprietary data ecosystem\u2014including POS transactions, e-commerce volumes, reservation data, and digital spend metrics\u2014to build highly automated, low-NPL Non-Performing Loan underwriting engines while designing robust capital-raising and portfolio management frameworks.\\nKey Responsibilities\\nStrategic Leadership & Portfolio Growth\\nScale the Loan Book:\u00a0Formulate and execute the growth strategy to scale the merchant lending portfolio safely to cover our markets.\\nCredit Policy Ownership:\u00a0Design, implement, and continuously iterate the Credit Policy and Risk Management frameworks tailored specifically for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises MSMEs.\\nCapital & Liquidity Management:\u00a0Partner with the executive team to secure debt facilities, warehouse funding, or off-balance-sheet banking partnerships to fund portfolio growth.\\nDepartment Architecture:\u00a0Scale the credit department from the current staff to a high-performing team of specialists across underwriting, data science, operations, and collections.\\nCredit Risk, Underwriting & Data Innovation\\nAlternative Data Underwriting:\u00a0Collaborate with software developers and data scientists to translate Pesapals transactional data POS cash flows, seasonality, reservation volumes into predictive scoring models.\\nCredit Committee Leadership:\u00a0Chair the internal Credit Committee, personally reviewing and approving high-value merchant exposures above management thresholds.\\nVintage & Portfolio Analysis:\u00a0Monitor portfolio health through strict vintage analysis, transition matrices, and early warning systems to mitigate credit migration and macro-economic shocks.\\nOperations & Collections Control\\nSeparation of Duties:\u00a0Enforce structural firewalls ensuring clear demarcation between product growth, loan underwriting, and collection workflows.\\nCollections Automation:\u00a0Optimize the collections architecture, implementing automated reminders, tiered queues Soft vs. Hard collections, and data-driven recovery triggers to maintain market-leading NPL ratios.\\nRegulatory & Compliance:\u00a0Ensure full compliance with Central Bank regulations e.g., CBK digital credit provider frameworks, data protection acts, and AML\/KYC guidelines across all operating countries.\\nCandidate Profile & Experience\\nRequired Qualifications\\nExperience:\u00a0Minimum of 8\u201310 years of total experience in credit risk management, commercial lending, or digital microfinance, with at least 3\u20135 years in a senior leadership role Head of Credit, Chief Risk Officer, or Senior Credit Manager.\\nFintech \/ Digital Lending Track Record:\u00a0Direct experience working within a Tier 1\/Tier 2 digital lender or a progressive commercial bank\u2019s digital lending\/MSME cash-flow lending division.\\nEducation:\u00a0Bachelor\u2019s degree in Finance, Economics, Statistics, Actuarial Science, or a related field. Professional certifications e.g., CFA, FRM, or Certified Credit Analyst are highly desirable.\\nKey Competencies & Traits\\nData-Driven Credit Mindset:\u00a0Proficient in algorithmic scoring concepts. You understand that a merchant\u2019s daily POS consistency is often more valuable than a physical asset or a 3-year audited financial statement.\\nBalanced Risk Appetite:\u00a0A business enabler who knows how to optimize risk rather than blindly avoid it\u2014understanding when to tighten limits or loosen them to capture safe market share.\\nChange & Scale Management:\u00a0Proven ability to build structures, hire the right talent at the right time, and manage a team through high-growth operational friction.\\nRegional Market Context:\u00a0Deep operational understanding of the MSME ecosystem, merchant pain points, and regulatory terrains.\\nKey Performance Indicators KPIs\\nPortfolio Size:\u00a0Safe growth of the active loan book toward the OLB milestone.\\nPortfolio Quality:\u00a0Maintenance of Non-Performing Loans NPL well within budgeted boundaries.\\nTime-to-Decision:\u00a0Optimization of automated approval rates to deliver instant or near-instant credit decisions to qualified merchants.\\nCost of Risk & Collection Efficiency:\u00a0Minimizing recovery costs while maximizing the Net Recovery Rate on past-due obligations.\", \"datePosted\": \"2026-07-22\", \"hiringOrganization\": {\"@type\": \"Organization\", \"name\": \"Pesapal\"}, \"jobLocation\": {\"@type\": \"Place\", \"address\": {\"@type\": \"PostalAddress\", \"addressLocality\": \"Nairobi\", \"addressCountry\": \"KE\"}}, \"directApply\": true, \"validThrough\": \"2026-08-05T23:59:59\", \"employmentType\": \"FULL_TIME\"}<\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Company:<\/strong> Pesapal<\/p>\n<p><strong>Location:<\/strong> Nairobi<\/p>\n<p><strong>Job Type:<\/strong> Full Time<\/p>\n<p><strong>Apply Before:<\/strong> 2026-08-05<\/p>\n<h3>Job Description<\/h3>\n<p>Position Purpose<br \/>Pesapal is seeking a visionary and execution-focused\u00a0Head of Credit\u00a0to institutionalize, scale, and lead our merchant lending business. Building on our current foundation, the successful candidate will own the strategic roadmap for scaling our loan book.<br \/>This role requires a unique leader who sits at the intersection of traditional credit discipline and modern fintech innovation. You will leverage Pesapal\u2019s rich proprietary data ecosystem\u2014including POS transactions, e-commerce volumes, reservation data, and digital spend metrics\u2014to build highly automated, low-NPL Non-Performing Loan underwriting engines while designing robust capital-raising and portfolio management frameworks.<br \/>Key Responsibilities<br \/>Strategic Leadership &#038; Portfolio Growth<br \/>Scale the Loan Book:\u00a0Formulate and execute the growth strategy to scale the merchant lending portfolio safely to cover our markets.<br \/>Credit Policy Ownership:\u00a0Design, implement, and continuously iterate the Credit Policy and Risk Management frameworks tailored specifically for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises MSMEs.<br \/>Capital &#038; Liquidity Management:\u00a0Partner with the executive team to secure debt facilities, warehouse funding, or off-balance-sheet banking partnerships to fund portfolio growth.<br \/>Department Architecture:\u00a0Scale the credit department from the current staff to a high-performing team of specialists across underwriting, data science, operations, and collections.<br \/>Credit Risk, Underwriting &#038; Data Innovation<br \/>Alternative Data Underwriting:\u00a0Collaborate with software developers and data scientists to translate Pesapals transactional data POS cash flows, seasonality, reservation volumes into predictive scoring models.<br \/>Credit Committee Leadership:\u00a0Chair the internal Credit Committee, personally reviewing and approving high-value merchant exposures above management thresholds.<br \/>Vintage &#038; Portfolio Analysis:\u00a0Monitor portfolio health through strict vintage analysis, transition matrices, and early warning systems to mitigate credit migration and macro-economic shocks.<br \/>Operations &#038; Collections Control<br \/>Separation of Duties:\u00a0Enforce structural firewalls ensuring clear demarcation between product growth, loan underwriting, and collection workflows.<br \/>Collections Automation:\u00a0Optimize the collections architecture, implementing automated reminders, tiered queues Soft vs. Hard collections, and data-driven recovery triggers to maintain market-leading NPL ratios.<br \/>Regulatory &#038; Compliance:\u00a0Ensure full compliance with Central Bank regulations e.g., CBK digital credit provider frameworks, data protection acts, and AML\/KYC guidelines across all operating countries.<br \/>Candidate Profile &#038; Experience<br \/>Required Qualifications<br \/>Experience:\u00a0Minimum of 8\u201310 years of total experience in credit risk management, commercial lending, or digital microfinance, with at least 3\u20135 years in a senior leadership role Head of Credit, Chief Risk Officer, or Senior Credit Manager.<br \/>Fintech \/ Digital Lending Track Record:\u00a0Direct experience working within a Tier 1\/Tier 2 digital lender or a progressive commercial bank\u2019s digital lending\/MSME cash-flow lending division.<br \/>Education:\u00a0Bachelor\u2019s degree in Finance, Economics, Statistics, Actuarial Science, or a related field. Professional certifications e.g., CFA, FRM, or Certified Credit Analyst are highly desirable.<br \/>Key Competencies &#038; Traits<br \/>Data-Driven Credit Mindset:\u00a0Proficient in algorithmic scoring concepts. You understand that a merchant\u2019s daily POS consistency is often more valuable than a physical asset or a 3-year audited financial statement.<br \/>Balanced Risk Appetite:\u00a0A business enabler who knows how to optimize risk rather than blindly avoid it\u2014understanding when to tighten limits or loosen them to capture safe market share.<br \/>Change &#038; Scale Management:\u00a0Proven ability to build structures, hire the right talent at the right time, and manage a team through high-growth operational friction.<br \/>Regional Market Context:\u00a0Deep operational understanding of the MSME ecosystem, merchant pain points, and regulatory terrains.<br \/>Key Performance Indicators KPIs<br \/>Portfolio Size:\u00a0Safe growth of the active loan book toward the OLB milestone.<br \/>Portfolio Quality:\u00a0Maintenance of Non-Performing Loans NPL well within budgeted boundaries.<br \/>Time-to-Decision:\u00a0Optimization of automated approval rates to deliver instant or near-instant credit decisions to qualified merchants.<br \/>Cost of Risk &#038; Collection Efficiency:\u00a0Minimizing recovery costs while maximizing the Net Recovery Rate on past-due obligations.<\/p>\n<h3>How to Apply<\/h3>\n<p>Interested and qualified? Go to Pesapal on pesapal.careers-page.com to apply<br \/>Build your CV for free. Download in different templates.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myjobmag.co.ke\/apply-now\/1286208\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"display:inline-block;padding:10px 20px;background:#2271b1;color:#fff;text-decoration:none;border-radius:4px;\">Apply Now<\/a><\/p>\n<p><small>Source: MyJobMag<\/small><\/p>\n<p><!-- job-expiry: 2026-08-05 --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Company: Pesapal Location: Nairobi Job Type: Full Time Apply Before: 2026-08-05 Job Description Position PurposePesapal is seeking a visionary and execution-focused\u00a0Head of Credit\u00a0to institutionalize, scale, and lead our merchant lending business. Building on our current foundation, the successful candidate will own the strategic roadmap for scaling our loan book.This role requires a unique leader who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1408,1409],"tags":[1425,1413,1412,2163],"class_list":["post-103275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jobs","category-nairobi","tag-full-time","tag-job-listing","tag-myjobmag","tag-pesapal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103275\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobs.dataaxisnode.com\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}