Head of Lending at Credit Direct Limited

Job Summary

The Head of Lending will be responsible for driving the growth and execution of lending products within the Embedded Finance portfolio, including BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later), Nano loans, merchant lending, and other lending solutions. This role requires strategic planning, operational excellence, and leadership to achieve the department's annual lending target while ensuring sustainable growth. The ideal candidate will leverage partnerships, aggregator platform networks, and innovative customer acquisition strategies to expand market reach and enhance lending operations.

Job Details

Strategic Leadership:

• Develop and execute lending strategies aligned with the Embedded Finance goals, ensuring quarterly targets for BNPL, Nano loans, and merchant lending are achieved.
• Oversee the phased execution plan, focusing on growth levers like affiliate sales, key accounts, partnerships, and existing sales teams.
• Drive customer-centric enhancements, including tailored credit offerings and optimized lending journeys.

Business Growth & Development:

• Work closely with product and engineering teams to introduce and enhance features that can achieve high impact of business goals.
• Collaborate with payment and investment teams to create cross-sales and integrated financial services.

Partnership & Channel Management:

• Identify and onboard strategic partnerships with high-value platforms.
• Ensure effective collaboration with Key account and growth managers in active and new locations to maximize territory performance.

Team Leadership & Development:

• Lead and mentor a high-performing team.
• Ensure timely recruitment of team members by closely working with the recruitment team.

Risk Management:

• Partner with collections team to reduce default rates and optimize lending decisions.
• Partner with business analytics teams to monitor real-time loan application trends, ecosystem performance, and customer feedback.
• Develop retention programs in collaboration with key stakeholders for top-performing merchants/partners to minimize attrition and maintain competitiveness.

Reporting & Insights:

• Provide regular updates to the Embedded Finance Lead on key metrics, including loan disbursement volumes, default rates, and sales channel performance.
• Monitor market trends and competitors to improve the overall lending strateg

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Finance, or a related field (MBA or advanced degree is a plus).
• 8+ years of experience in financial services, with a focus on lending or credit operations.
• Strong leadership and team management skills, with a track record of driving high-performing teams.
• Proven ability to develop and execute growth strategies in a fast-paced environment.
• Knowledge of the Nigerian lending market, regulatory environment, and customer behavior.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Data-driven mindset with proficiency in analytics tools.