Senior Credit Officer - Nigeria & West Africa at Standard Chartered Bank

Job Summary
Strategy

• Inform the development of business plans for West Africa Cluster (Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana).
• Contribute to the development of performance management and remuneration processes, to encourage the development of an appropriate risk culture and discipline.

Business

• Communicate the Risk strategic intent and collective agenda for the Function to West Africa Cluster;
• Maintain and develop the Function's risk capabilities, and skills to meet ongoing needs and plans.

Processes

• Supervise all processes where a member of the Function is the identified first line process owner.
• Ensure effective management of the operational risks within the Function and compliance with applicable internal policies, and external laws and regulations.
• Continuously improve the operational efficiency and effectiveness of the Function’s risk management processes

People & Talent

• Employ, engage and retain high quality people, with succession planning for critical roles.
• Responsibility to review team structure/capacity plans.
• Set and monitor job descriptions and objectives for direct reports and provide feedback and rewards in line with their performance against those responsibilities and objectives.
• Set and monitor job descriptions and objectives for direct reports and provide feedback and rewards in line with their performance against those responsibilities and objectives.
• Uphold and reinforce the independence of the Function from those whose primary responsibility is to maximise short-term revenues and profits.
• Ensure the provision of ongoing training and development of the Function's people, and ensure that holders of all critical functions are suitably skilled and qualified for their roles.
• Lead through example and build the appropriate culture and values within the business and across the wider organisation

Key Responsibilities
Risk Management

• Assess the credit risk profile of the customers in the countries in which I have responsibility, maintaining alignment with risk appetite.
• Initiate stress tests as required by internal and the external environment and taking appropriate action.
• Uphold the integrity of risk/return decisions, by challenging business to demonstrate that risk origination and control decisions are properly informed and consistent with strategy.
• Direct appropriate response to material events or other risk issues that come to the SCO's attention.
• Exercise credit risk control responsibility for Credit Risk, Corporate and Commercial Banking
• Ensure that material risk exposures and related issues are reported to the responsible governance committees and to Group and business-level committees as appropriate.
• Ensure appropriate judgment is applied in the discharge of risk authorities assigned.
• Maintain a good understanding of the requirements of key external stakeholders in respect of risk management and ensure these are well understood internally and reflected in internal procedures.
• Maintain delegated authorities in line with internal policies and ensure that delegations are in line with individual capabilities.
• Actively participate in key committees through standing membership
• Ensure first line process owners understand and accept their risk management responsibilities.
• Maintain an open and cooperative relationship in dealings with regulators.
• Increasing working profits through effective management of the loan asset portfolio in order to help develop the franchise in a sustainable way and minimize provisions.
• Maximizing Economic Revenue through effective management of the risk/reward relationships.
• Maintaining credit quality and standards of professionalism for the risk function.
• Ensure effective implementation of Group Policies / Circulars / Procedures.
• Undertake regular customer visits to better understand the business environment

Governance

• Covered under the Risk Management section above.

Regulatory & Business Conduct

• Display exemplary conduct and live by the Group’s Values and Code of Conduct.
• Take personal responsibility for embedding the highest standards of ethics, including regulatory and business conduct, across Standard Chartered Bank. This includes understanding and ensuring compliance with, in letter and spirit, all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and the Group Code of Conduct.
• Lead the team covering Global Banking and Commercial Banking in West Africa Cluster to achieve the outcomes set out in the Bank’s Conduct Principles: [Fair Outcomes for Clients; Effective Financial Markets; Financial Crime Compliance; The Right Environment.] *
• Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate, and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters.
• Various Regulators; Nigeria (Central Bank of Nigeria) / other regulators in Ghana, CDI etc.

Key stakeholders
Internal

• Regional/Country Coverage.
• Regional Risk Management team
• Regional/Country Heads of MTCR, Operational Risk and Stressed Asset Risk (SAR)
• Regional/Country Head of Credit Portfolio Management (CPM) and Stressed Assets Group (SAG)
• Regional/Country Product Heads
• Regional/Country CEOs
• Group Internal Audit

External

• Regulators/Central Banks
• Economic and Industry associations
• Counterparts in major financial institutions
• Local governance bodies Leading Risk consultancies

Other Responsibilities

• Embed Here for good and Group’s brand and values in the above countries. Perform other responsibilities assigned under Group, Country, Business or Functional policies and procedures.

Skills And Experience

• Risk Management: C&I Credit Risk
• Risk Management: Operational Risk

Qualifications

• Academic or Professional Education/Qualifications; MBA (Finance), BSc. Financial Services, BSc Electrical & Electronics Engineering
• Licenses and Certifications/accreditations; N/A
• Professional Memberships; Member of the CFA Institute, Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (UK)
• Bank training; i.e. mandatory & developmental - role specific, and regulatory/compliance bank wide & role specific: CSAP, CCRMC, FICC, CCRO
• Languages; English.