CREDIT AND PRODUCT OPERATIONS OFFICER – Sdf

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor the performance and output of the automated loan origination and decisioning system across all SDF lending products, tracking approval/decline rates, scoring accuracy, and portfolio risk indicators product by product, recognizing that each product’s eligibility rules, affordability caps, and access-tier logic differ and must be individually understood.
• Review and action system-referred or flagged applications that fall outside automated approval thresholds, applying judgement within delegated authority.
• Conduct periodic testing and validation of each product’s credit scoring model and decisioning rules to confirm they continue to perform as intended, escalating anomalies to management and IT/Risk.
• Monitor and administer the loan status classification workflow across the portfolio (from early arrears through to default and write-off), ensuring accounts are correctly classified, required internal and partner notifications are issued within the applicable timelines, and revenue-share or income-suspension treatment is applied correctly at each stage.
• Prepare restructuring and write-off recommendations for accounts meeting the relevant criteria, with supporting analysis, for review by the Credit Manager and other approval authorities as required.
• Periodically review affordability thresholds and lending caps (such as income- or commission-based debt service coverage limits) against actual portfolio performance, and recommend adjustments where warranted.
• Support collections and recovery efforts on past-due accounts in coordination with the Collections team.
• Ensure the automated lending process complies with SDF’s credit policy, the Reserve Bank of Malawi’s regulatory requirements, and the Group’s risk and compliance framework.
• Maintain accurate records of system-driven credit decisions, exceptions, and overrides for audit and regulatory review.
• Contribute to the review and continuous improvement of credit policies, procedures, and automated scoring criteria.
• Manage the day-to-day operation of SDF’s digital lending products, including product configuration, parameter changes, and system settings within approved governance controls.
• Coordinate with distribution partner platforms and internal IT/Product teams on product functionality, integration issues, and enhancement requests.
• Support product pilots and rollouts, including User Acceptance Testing (UAT), pre- and post-implementation sign-offs, and stage-gate governance requirements including reconciling discrepancies between formal test records and live implementation status before sign-off is granted.
• Monitor the performance of automated, wallet-based repayment recovery mechanisms in partnership with distribution partners, including partner notification service-level performance, and escalate recurring failures through the appropriate governance channel.
• Support agent and merchant whitelisting activity, including applying segmentation criteria correctly, tracking whitelist pool capacity and exhaustion, and flagging capacity constraints ahead of need.
• Represent SDF’s operational interests in joint governance meetings with distribution partners (or support those who do), covering matters such as affordability caps, service-level performance, and portfolio reporting.
• Track product performance against targets (uptake, disbursement volumes, turnaround times, customer experience) and report findings to management.
• Maintain and periodically review product documentation, including Business Requirements Documents, terms and conditions, technical implementation documents, and process manuals and ensure these remain consistent with each other, with partnership or distribution agreements, and with how the product actually operates in production.
• Support preparation and maintenance of regulatory product-approval submissions to the Reserve Bank of Malawi.
• Identify and escalate operational issues affecting product delivery, working with relevant teams to resolve them promptly.
• Prepare periodic reports on loan and product performance, portfolio quality, and credit risk indicators for management review.
• Liaise with the Risk & Compliance function and IT/Product teams to support credit- and product-related regulatory reporting, audits, and system enhancements.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of credit policies, product features, procedures, and automated scoring criteria.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Banking, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience in credit analysis, lending, or a related role, preferably within microfinance, digital lending, or banking.
• Experience with product or process documentation such as business requirements documents, technical specifications, or regulatory submission documents is an advantage.
• Working knowledge of Reserve Bank of Malawi regulations applicable to credit and lending operations is an advantage.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office required, including advanced Excel skills (formula-based analysis and financial modelling, not just basic spreadsheet use), and familiarity with loan management systems.
• Strong analytical and credit risk assessment skills, including the ability to interpret system-generated scoring and portfolio data.
• Comfort working with loan management/decisioning systems and reading data to spot performance anomalies.
• Ability to build and maintain structured analytical models (such as segmentation, whitelisting, or financial projection models) using clear, auditable formulas rather than one-off manual calculation.
• Ability to read across multiple related documents such as policies, technical specifications, and partner or distribution agreements and identify where they are inconsistent with each other or with actual operating practice.
• Sound judgement and decision-making within delegated authority, particularly on exception and referral cases.
• High level of integrity and attention to detail.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills, including liaising with IT/Product teams and distribution partners on system-related issues.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet turnaround targets.
• Knowledge of relevant regulatory and compliance requirements.

How to Apply