Head of Customer Finance at ENGIE

Job Purpose/Mission 

Responsible for advancing EEA Kenya credit function, providing leadership, management, and spirit necessary for the customer finance department to achieve its goals. The Head of customer finance is responsible for managing country customer finance operations, provide strategic communication for customer finance in customer assessments, loan recovery and credit control to support the products and services of EEA Kenya to ensure income growth and consistent implementation of credit policy and procedures. 

Responsibilities 

• Create & manage customer finance strategy against a strategy and plan that speaks to the wider Group and Country strategic objectives.  Lead market research, customer & team insights, practices of competitors, analysis of performance by business unites, etc. to inform strategy.   
•  Identify and deliver on key projects and change management, with support from Group as needed. 
• Localize global standards, execute, ensure compliance, optimize, innovate on and (where appropriate) challenge the common strategies, policies and guidelines or test and prove out alternatives and innovations. Drive efficiency and productivity and advise on customer targeting by Risk profile. 
• Manage local organization structure, hiring, training and performance management and identify and replicate best practices. Share insights & best practices with Global and other local teams. In charge of Local hiring for the Team. 
• Responsible for the review and approval of commercial credit proposals of the company and to maintain a good balance between returns and risks exposure. 
• Hands-on management of all day-to-day operations of Credit team along the customer credit cycle, i.e. credit assessment, underwriting, loan monitoring and work-out, including development of appropriate responses to portfolio underperformance 
• Oversee the Local Risk management and compliance in the Local office and ensure adherence to policies and procedures. 
• Responsible to run the Credit Department as a profit center.  
• Foster a strong credit culture in the organization, build and lead teams that act in accordance with EEA Kenya policies and sound credit delivery principles e.g., always Ensure high standard credit quality of the portfolio. 
• Analyze, evaluate internal and external risks, and provide relevant pre-cautions and solutions to the risks. Provide requirements and design inputs, particularly about credit risk recognition, measurement, and its reporting as a part of core team for implementation of key credit risks. 

Subordinates effectiveness: 

• Regular review of Department KPIs, performance assessment vs KPIs along with related internal and external reporting 
• Ensure staff understands the context of their roles in relation to EEA K strategy. 
• Ensure staff in your department when performing their duties exhibit proper / acceptable behavior. 
• Ensure performance consequences are taken by the line managers in your department i.e. recognize best performers and manager poor performers from time to time through both, formal and informal feedback. 
• Assess and monitor the training and development needs of the staff in the department. 
• Ensure staff have the resources they require to perform their work   

At EEA, we have high expectations for our managers. Each manager plays a key role in creating an exceptional experience not only for our customers but for every person on our team. Our managers help A2E realize our ambitious goals while developing their own leadership skills and facilitating growth for their direct reports. 

We believe that great managers:

• Deliver ambitious results: As a high-performing and accountable leader, you create an enabling environment for effective action and bold decision which contribute to successful delivery of results.
• Act with integrity: As an ethical leader you are honest, respectful, objective, and transparent. You create and build upon a foundation of trust and openness.
• Inspire and mentor the team: As an inspirational leader you walk the talk. You empower and coach your team with trust and humility.
• Are accessible: as an accessible leader, you develop and maintain deep connections with stakeholders through approachability and active listening.
• Ensure diversity and inclusion: as an inclusive leader, you ensure diversity and foster a sense of belonging.

Accountabilities 

• Credit portfolio quality targets 
• Portfolio growth and management. 
• Support in sales growth 
• Team Performance  
• S/he is accountable for adherence of company’s policies and procedures. 
• S/he is accountable for adherence to the company’s budget. 
• S/he is accountable to check before approving all financial request. 

Knowledge and Skills  

Experience: 

• 8+yrs experience in managing teams, ideally as a department manager/ portfolio manager/ product manager/Credit Manager at a Microfinance Institution (MFI) or SME-related bank or Mobile Network Operator (MNO) 
• 8+yrs relevant professional experience in credit assessment and/ or credit scoring and/ or data-smart lending and/ or portfolio management at an MFI or SME-related bank or MNO; high exposure to individual micro lending technology is an added advantage. 
• High level of creativity and innovation capacity to enhance and incorporate mobile-money-based lending procedures. 
• High level of familiarity with typical income, expenditure and cash flow patterns of rural and semi-urban households and micro-enterprises. 
• High familiarity with the Kenya Credit Bureau system and Lending regulations. 
• Strong analytical skills, attention to details and able to assess risk while protecting the interest of the company, customers and investors. 
• Mature profile combining output orientation, number orientation, customer orientation and process orientation. 
• Strong communication, presentation skills, negotiation, very good organisational and interpersonal skills, dynamic self-starter and team player. 
• Experience in Budget Management, Performance and Team Management. 
• Excellent Analytical skills, Coaching Skills, Interpersonal Skills, Negotiation Skills and Networking skills. 
• Excellent sense of urgency and time management (tight deadline) with high organizational skills. 
• A passion for community for community development through sustainable renewable energy solutions is an added advantage. 

  Qualifications: 

• A minimum of bachelor’s degree in Finance, Banking & Finance, Economics, or any other related field.  
• Postgraduate/Master’s degree is an added advantage. 
• Certified public Accounts qualification is an added advantage. 

Language(s):  

Good verbal and written communication in both: 

• Kiswahili 
• English