Credit Risk Lead

Network Recruitment International; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,900,000; Full time

Job summary

Network Recruitment International is seeking a Credit Lead to own credit strategy, portfolio performance, and risk decisioning for a forward-thinking financial services business operating across Africa.

In this role, you will balance risk and reward, drive profitable growth, and influence senior leadership with clear financial insights drawn from advanced analytics and large datasets. Collaboration across Data, Finance, Technology, and Operations will be essential.

Qualifications

• A quantitative degree is required in Statistics, Mathematics, Actuarial Science, Economics, Finance, or related field.
• Minimum 5–8+ years in Credit Risk with hands-on experience in credit strategy, policy development, decisioning, limits, pricing, and risk controls.
• Proven ability to design experiments, run scorecard cut-offs, and influence provisioning and forecasting.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and enhancement of credit policies and lending strategies.
• Drive improvements in credit limits, scorecard cut-offs, pricing, and decisioning frameworks.
• Monitor portfolio performance and identify opportunities to optimise profitability and risk outcomes.
• Design and execute credit strategy experiments to improve customer and business performance.
• Analyse repayment behaviour, loss trends, and emerging risks.
• Collaborate with Data, Finance, Technology, and Operations teams on strategic initiatives.
• Translate complex analysis into actionable recommendations for senior leadership.
• Review provisioning approaches and support forecasting and portfolio management.
• Ensure responsible lending practices while supporting growth objectives.

Skills

SQL

Python

Analytics

Modelling

Large datasets

Credit scoring

Risk-based pricing

Profitability optimisation

Education

Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Actuarial Science, Economics, Finance, or related quantitative discipline

Tools

SQL

Python

Job description

A forward-thinking financial services business with a growing presence across Africa is looking for an exceptional Credit Lead to take ownership of credit strategy, portfolio performance, and risk decisioning.

This is an exciting opportunity for a data-driven credit professional who enjoys solving complex business challenges, influencing strategic decisions, and driving profitable growth. You'll play a key role in balancing risk and reward while helping the business make smarter, faster, and more effective lending decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• Leading the development and enhancement of credit policies and lending strategies.
• Driving improvements in credit limits, scorecard cut-offs, pricing, and decisioning frameworks.
• Monitoring portfolio performance and identifying opportunities to optimise profitability and risk outcomes.
• Designing and executing credit strategy experiments to improve customer and business performance.
• Analysing repayment behaviour, loss trends, and emerging risks.
• Collaborating with Data, Finance, Technology, and Operations teams to implement strategic initiatives.
• Translating complex analysis into clear, actionable recommendations for senior leadership.
• Reviewing provisioning approaches and supporting forecasting and portfolio management activities.
• Ensuring responsible lending practices while supporting ambitious growth objectives.

Qualifications

• Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Actuarial Science, Economics, Finance, or a related quantitative discipline.

Experience

• 5-8+ years' experience within Credit Risk.
• Credit Strategy
• Credit Policy Development
• Credit Decisioning
• Credit Limit Optimisation
• Risk-Based Pricing
• Scorecard Cut-Off Strategies
• Provisioning and Loss Forecasting
• Credit Testing and Experimentation

Technical Skills

• Advanced SQL and/or Python.
• Strong analytical and modelling capabilities.
• Experience working with large and complex datasets.
• Credit Scoring Methodologies
• Risk-Based Pricing
• Profitability Optimisation