Agriculture Portfolio Manager — Client & Risk Focus

Merchant West; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 300,000 - 480,000; Full time

Job summary

Merchant West seeks a Junior Portfolio Manager to oversee a portfolio of client facilities, monitor risk, and maintain strong client service. The role involves relationship management, deal support, and ensuring governance compliance across the portfolio.

The ideal candidate has a BCom or BSc (Agri) with relevant finance/ maths subjects and at least 1 year in a client-facing financial role, with strong analytical and communication skills.

Qualifications

• BCom degree or BSc (Agri) with Finance and/or Mathematics, Accounting as a subject(s).

Responsibilities

• Manage and monitor a portfolio of client facilities to ensure strong financial performance and asset quality.
• Track client exposures, repayment behaviour, and overall portfolio health.
• Ensure portfolio performance aligns with Merchant West risk and profitability targets.
• Maintain strong relationships with clients to ensure ongoing service delivery and satisfaction.
• Engage with clients to understand business needs and identify additional opportunities.
• Resolve client queries and manage relationship issues in a timely manner.
• Monitor client financial performance and identify potential credit risks.
• Ensure compliance with approved credit terms, covenants, and facility conditions.
• Escalate risk concerns and recommend corrective actions where required.
• Support business units with deal structuring and execution within the portfolio.
• Assess financial impact of restructuring or additional funding requests.
• Identify opportunities to grow and optimise the portfolio.
• Prepare and maintain accurate portfolio reports and documentation.
• Ensure all client records and portfolio data are up to date and compliant.
• Provide regular updates on portfolio performance to management.
• Ensure adherence to credit policies, procedures, and governance frameworks.
• Maintain proper documentation and audit trails for portfolio activities.
• Support audit and compliance processes related to portfolio management.

Skills

Portfolio management

Financial analysis

Credit risk evaluation

Deal structuring

Relationship management

Portfolio reporting

Credit policy interpretation

Financial modelling

Education

BCom or BSc (Agri) with Finance/Math/Accounting

Job description

Merchant West seeks a Junior Portfolio Manager to oversee a portfolio of client facilities, monitor risk, and maintain strong client service. The role involves relationship management, deal support, and ensuring governance compliance across the portfolio.

The ideal candidate has a BCom or BSc (Agri) with relevant finance/ maths subjects and at least 1 year in a client-facing financial role, with strong analytical and communication skills.