Head of Collections & Recovery at Carbon Nigeria

About This Role

• The Head of Collections & Recovery will lead the Carbon's collections and recovery strategy, ensuring optimal recovery of delinquent loans while minimizing portfolio-at-risk (PAR) and non-performing loans (NPLs).
• This role requires close collaboration with the Head of Sales and Head of Credit Risk to ensure a holistic, end-to-end credit lifecycle approach — from loan origination and underwriting through to disbursement, monitoring, collections and recovery.
• The ideal candidate combines strong leadership and proven experience in collections operations with a solid grasp of portfolio management principles to proactively identify risk and drive recovery performance.

Responsibilities
Collections Strategy & Execution:

• Develop, implement, and continuously refine the bank's collections and recovery strategy across all delinquency buckets (early, mid, and late-stage/write-off).
• Design and monitor collections workflows, scripts, escalation protocols, and field/tele-collection processes.
• Set and track collection targets, recovery rates, and cost-to-collect metrics.
• Lead restructuring, negotiation, and settlement initiatives for high-risk or non-performing accounts.
• Lead the end-to-end procurement cycle for collections and recovery software, including vendor evaluation, contract negotiation, and cross-functional integration to modernize debt recovery capabilities.
• Lead the strategic evolution of the collections and recovery functions, introducing AI-driven automation, predictive modeling, and digital-first communication channels to enhance operational efficiency.

Portfolio Management & Risk Oversight:

• Maintain a strong, high-level understanding of the loan portfolio's health, including PAR trends, vintage analysis, roll rates, and cohort performance.
• Work closely with the Head of Credit Risk to provide feedback on underwriting outcomes based on downstream collections performance, helping refine credit policies and risk models.
• Identify early warning indicators of portfolio deterioration and recommend proactive interventions. - Provide regular portfolio quality reports and recovery forecasts to the MD/CEO and MCC.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Partner with the Head of Sales to ensure alignment between customer acquisition strategies and portfolio quality, providing insights on segments or channels with higher delinquency risk.
  Collaborate with the Head of Credit Risk on credit policy adjustments, risk scoring, and approval thresholds based on collections trends.
• Represent the Collections function at MCC meetings, contributing to strategic decisions on risk appetite, growth targets, and portfolio performance.
• Manage strategic relationships with third-party collection agencies, from initial vendor selection and contract negotiation to ongoing performance evaluation.
• Work with Legal/Compliance on recovery actions requiring litigation,, or regulatory reporting.
• Collaborate with Finance and Credit Risk teams to provide data-driven inputs for impairment provisioning (IFRS/ ECL) and financial forecasting.

Team Leadership:

• Build, lead, and motivate the collections team (in-house and/or third-party agents), setting clear KPIs and performance management structures.
• Drive a performance culture through training, coaching, and incentive structures aligned with recovery targets.
• Ensure collections practices comply with regulatory guidelines and ethical debt recovery standards.

Reporting & Governance:

• Prepare and present periodic collections and recovery performance reports to the MD/CEO and MCC.
• Ensure accurate and timely reporting of NPLs, provisioning requirements, and recovery rates in line with regulatory and audit requirements.

Requirements
Education:

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Experience - Minimum of 7–10 years' experience in collections, credit recovery, or risk management within a bank, microfinance institution, or fintech lending environment, with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
• Proven track record of managing large loan portfolios and driving measurable improvements in recovery rates and PAR reduction.
• Experience working within an executive management structure is highly desirable.

Skills & Competencies:

• Strong, high-level understanding of portfolio management, credit risk analytics, and loan lifecycle management.
• Excellent negotiation, conflict resolution, and stakeholder management skills.
• Data-driven decision-making ability, with proficiency in analyzing collections and portfolio performance metrics.
• Strong leadership and people management skills, with experience managing both in-house teams and external recovery agents.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present complex portfolio insights clearly to executive stakeholders.
• Familiarity with core banking/loan management systems and collections software.
• Sound knowledge of relevant regulatory requirements governing debt recovery and microfinance operations.
• Strong communication and financial acumen necessary to represent the collections function at the credit risk committee level and align recovery strategies with broader credit risk appetite.

Nice to Have:

• An MBA or relevant professional certification (e.g., ACCA, Credit Risk certifications) is an advantage.