Investment Officer- Kakuma at African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC)

Responsibilities

DUE DILIGENCE and INVESTMENT PREPARATION (60%): 

• Respond to inquiries from prospective borrowers; support them to apply for our facility/investment products. 
• Introduce the investment products to entrepreneurs, explaining the requirements for repayment and the seriousness of taking on debt financing. 
• Conducts investment appraisal, collects detailed information (personal, business, and guaranties), and arranges to open a new investment account. 
• Prepares and executes investment contracts and arranges for disbursement of investment in kind. 
• Conduct due diligence on prospective borrowers, including site visits, document preparation, coordination with the Business Development Advisors and Business Associates, etc. 
• Communicate all materials to the Portfolio Manager, and assist in preparing credit reports for Investment Committee meetings. 
• Take photos of entrepreneurs, have them sign photo waivers, and ensure entrepreneurs’ stories are posted on the Kiva platform for fundraising with all correct information. 

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT (20%) 

• Offer excellent customer service through daily conversations, correspondence, and site visits as needed to maintain strong positive relationships with borrowers. 
• Work with the Inkomoko Kenya Business Development Services team to ensure borrower success, and Visit clients for monitoring. 
• Maintain both delinquency and default rates below set rates during yearly goal setting, 
• Track information about borrowers and communicate effectively with key stakeholders about client status. 
• Actively participate as a key staff in the weekly Portfolio Review Meeting. 
• Maintain a tracking system of borrower payments and contact information. 
• Work with the Finance & Admin team to produce invoices for payments and monthly reconciliation of investment department transactions. 
• Interact with government leaders, court systems, and others for follow-up on lack of payments. 
• Ensure that we are adhering to the requirements of our Kiva partnership, including reporting and journaling. 
• Other duties as assigned by the supervisor 

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (20%) 

• Update both disbursements and investment repayments in the Investment Management System (LMS-powered by odoo)
• Maintain and demonstrate proficiency with investment software applications
• Work with system providers to utilize applications to their fullest capacity, streamlining processes and procedures, ensuring accuracy and compliance 
• Assist with system parameters and design to meet the needs of multiple departments. 
• Manage user security access
• Ensure proper segregation of duties, develop and maintain workflows for all stages of investment 
• Advise the Management team on how to automate key lending processes
• Supervise all aspects of the investment operations. This supervision includes posting of payments, payoffs and balancing, disbursing investment funds
• Ensure the lending team is provided with updates and procedural changes
• Participates in the review and recommendations of operational systems and procedures
• Successfully interact with lending staff to improve the accuracy and efficiencies of the Investment management system 
• Prepare related reports and administer the system
• Other duties as assigned by the supervisor 

Minimum Qualifications

The investment officer will be a trusted partner of Inkomoko Kenya clients, and basic qualifications Include:

• University degree in Finance or other related fields,
• Must speak fluent English and Swahili. Knowledge of other local languages is a plus,
• Experience in Islamic lending and practice is an added advantage,
• Strong financial and accounting skills; familiarity with business financial policies in  Garissa/Kenya
• Experience in investment management, microfinance, capital leases, and access to finance for Micro businesses and SMEs is STRONGLY preferred,
• Prior experience dealing with customers/debt,
• Prior experience in a lending environment,
• Experience providing business advice to entrepreneurs,
• Prior experience in Investment management system software, 
• Decisive individuals with the ability to deliver unpleasant messages to the debtors and assertive enough to get the debtors to pay off the entire debt,
•  Experience in managing difficult clients and reaching positive outcomes,
•  Very strong attention to detail and good follow-through,
• Comfort with the civil court system and previous experience in litigation preferred,
•  Unrelenting perseverance, personal integrity, and critical thinking skills,
•  2+ years of work experience in the relevant or applicable fields,
•   Must be able to work in Kenya legally.