Head of Credit at Zola Electric

Details

• The Head of Credit is responsible for managing credit scoring processes, customer approval process, compliance to credit policy and partnerships in-country and for ensuring credit risk targets of the company are met. The Head of Credit has reporting line into the Head of Finance of Nigeria and to the Group Director of Credit for Zola.

Main Responsibilities

• Customer credit tracking, approval and compliance, process implementation, partnership development and relationship management, training and change management.
• Targeted outreach: manage third-party partner processes to identify potential customers with credit histories.
• Pre-sale: manage regular flows of customer credit scoring for customers to be financed by Zola Bank, provide recommendation on proper financing package based on customer creditworthiness and for customers to be financed by third parties, ensure efficient customer process and For all customers, record Zola credit score to enable post-sale testing and refinement of Zola-owned scoring mechanisms.
• Post-sale: monitor customer payment behavior to track customer payments against schedule and provide regular reports on payment delinquency and default, flagging when necessary that a customer’s system should be stalled or removed.
• Conduct regular quality control of third-party as well as internal credit scoring processing with individual assessment.
• Manage Credit and Compliance team (number based on deal volume), who will support quality control and customer scoring processes.
• Submit regular (quarterly) reports on credit performance and process according to scoring mechanism with results (partner, internal).
• Support group Head of Credit in designing credit-checking processes that minimize financial risk for the company while also increasing access for all Zola product lines and customer segments served in Nigeria, including internal, customer-facing, as well as third-party stages.
• In conjunction with group business intelligence team conduct cohort and post-sale payment analysis to assess performance of existing scoring mechanisms, assess credit indicators used and develop recommendations for how best to improve late payment and default rates, to be presented to Group Director of Credit.
• Collaborate with commercial team to ensure smooth integration of credit activities into existing commercial processes.
• Co-develop business requirements for technology enablers with Technology team.
• Source and recommend potential partnerships with credit assessment capabilities whose coverage includes Zola target customer segments, e.g., local credit bureaus, financial services firms, microfinance initiatives.
• Initiate and manage day-to-day communications with potential partners.
• Develop and present formal partnership proposals to local Managing Director (MD) and Group leadership.
• Notify internal stakeholders for potential partnerships and proactively engage them in negotiation design and / or execution, as needed.
• Manage term sheet as well as formal negotiation drafting process, collaborating with Legal and other Group-level resources as needed.
• Develop materials for and host training events for a) front line Zola representatives as well as b) third-party representatives for all credit-related processes and duties, in collaboration with group Head of Credit.
• Co-create onboarding materials for new hires to introduce and train them on Zola Nigeria credit scoring and management processes.
• Develop and circulate information for the full Zola Nigeria team regarding any changes to credit scoring processes, targeting three months advanced notice for upcoming changes.

Requirements

• Bachelors or Masters (preferred) degree qualification in Financial Management, Management Control, Accounting, Finance or an equivalent experience
• Ten years of credit-related experience; examples include: experience in credit analysis, consumer lending, financial risk management or in the credit / lending department of a subsidiary of a multinational group are advantages
• Management experience
• Flexible, assertive, client-oriented and results-focused
• Good communicator with a relational ease
• Excellent communications skills, and fluent in English
• Knowledge of the relevant data privacy and credit legislation pertaining to the country
• Analytical and planning & organizing skills
• Detail-oriented and deadline driven
• Ethical team player who can work under pressure
• Understanding of the local business environment
• Proper mastery of computer systems and tools (e.g., Microsoft Excel)
• Experience with living and working in Nigeria is an advantage