Head Of Data Science & Credit Risk

Jobgether; South Africa; Hybrid; ZAR 1,500,000 - 2,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity program

International scope

Job summary

Jobgether is seeking a Head of Data Science & Credit Risk in South Africa to lead ML-powered underwriting and risk decisioning across multiple markets. You will own model development, governance, and MLOps, driving improvements in approval rates while maintaining responsible lending standards.

You will build and mentor a team of data scientists and risk analysts, collaborating with Engineering, Product, Finance, and executives to translate analytics into measurable business impact.

Qualifications

• 10+ years combined experience in data science, ML and consumer credit risk.
• Experience building and managing credit policies and portfolios at scale.
• Production ML in real-time decisioning environments.
• Strong experimentation and A/B testing experience.
• Strong statistical foundations and analytics skills.
• SQL proficiency and cloud data platforms experience.
• Cloud data infrastructure experience; familiarity with BigQuery is helpful.
• Technical leadership with hands-on problem solving.
• Excellent communication for non-technical stakeholders.
• Business judgment aligning risk with growth and unit economics.
• Startup mindset; fast-paced environment adaptability.
• Regional familiarity with Southeast Asian credit markets is a plus.
• Experience with MLflow or similar MLOps tools is a plus.
• Understanding of IFRS 9 and local credit regulations is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, testing, deployment, and improvement of ML models for credit decisioning and risk.
• Develop underwriting algorithms using alternative data to expand credit access.
• Build real-time scoring models across markets and products.
• Ensure models are interpretable, robust, and monitored for drift.
• Establish MLOps practices for deployment and lifecycle management.
• Develop credit risk frameworks and policy thresholds across markets.
• Monitor portfolio risk metrics and early-warning indicators.
• Lead A/B testing and experimentation to refine decisioning strategies.
• Oversee stress testing and provisioning with Finance.
• Drive localised risk models for new markets with regulatory alignment.
• Lead and mentor data science and risk teams; communicate with executives.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Product, and Finance to translate insights into outcomes.
• Evaluate partnerships with data providers and credit bureaus.

Skills

Data science

Machine learning

Credit risk

Leadership

Experimentation

SQL

Cloud platforms

MLOps

Communication

IFRS 9

Tools

MLflow

BigQuery

Cloud tooling

Job description

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Head Of Data Science & Credit Risk based in South Africa.

As Head of Data Science & Credit Risk, you will lead the strategy behind ML-powered underwriting and credit risk decisioning across multiple fast-growing markets.
You will own the full lifecycle of risk models, from development and deployment through monitoring, experimentation, and measurable business impact.
The role combines deep technical leadership with responsibility for credit policies, portfolio performance, and responsible lending practices.
You will build and mentor a high-performing team of data scientists and risk analysts while remaining actively involved in complex technical challenges.
Working closely with Engineering, Product, Finance, and executive stakeholders, you will turn advanced analytics into practical decisions that support sustainable growth.
You will help improve approval rates, automate decisioning, identify new customer segments, and strengthen portfolio health through data-driven strategies.
This is a greenfield leadership opportunity in a mission-driven fintech environment focused on expanding fairer and more accessible financial services.

Accountabilities

• ML and model development: Lead the design, testing, deployment, and ongoing improvement of machine learning models for credit decisioning, fraud detection, risk segmentation, customer value, monetization, and marketing attribution.
• Underwriting innovation: Develop underwriting algorithms using alternative data sources to strengthen risk assessment while responsibly expanding access to financial services.
• Real-time decisioning: Build and scale real-time or near-real-time scoring models across multiple markets and products.
• Model governance: Ensure models are interpretable, robust, fair, and reliable, with appropriate monitoring for accuracy, feature stability, performance, and drift.
• MLOps: Establish strong practices for experimentation, model versioning, deployment, monitoring, and production lifecycle management.
• Credit risk strategy: Develop and manage credit risk frameworks, policies, approval strategies, risk thresholds, and customer segmentation approaches adapted to individual markets.
• Portfolio monitoring: Track portfolio and risk metrics, investigate material changes, and establish early-warning indicators for potential deterioration.
• Experimentation: Simulate policy and model changes, lead A/B testing, and use performance data and business KPIs to continuously refine decisioning strategies.
• Stress testing and provisioning: Lead stress testing and expected credit loss modeling while partnering with Finance on provisioning and capital allocation.
• Market expansion: Develop localized risk models and policies that support expansion into new markets while aligning with applicable regulatory requirements.
• Team leadership: Build, lead, coach, and mentor data scientists and risk analysts while remaining hands-on with technical problem-solving and model development.
• Strategic planning: Own the data science and credit risk roadmap, aligning priorities with business growth, product development, and market expansion objectives.
• Executive communication: Present model performance, portfolio trends, analytical insights, and strategic recommendations clearly to executive leadership and board-level stakeholders.
• Cross-functional partnership: Work closely with Engineering, Product, and Finance to translate analytical findings into measurable business outcomes.
• External partnerships: Evaluate and establish relationships with alternative data providers and credit bureaus.
• Business impact: Improve approval rates while maintaining target default rates and responsible lending standards, reduce time-to-decision, strengthen unit economics, and identify new customer and product opportunities.

Requirements:

• Professional experience: 10+ years of combined experience across data science, machine learning, and consumer credit risk, ideally within fintech, digital lending, BNPL, or earned wage access.
• Credit risk leadership: Proven experience developing and managing credit policies and portfolios at scale across multiple products, markets, or both.
• Production ML: Demonstrated success building, deploying, and monitoring production machine learning models within real-time or near-real-time decisioning environments.
• Experimentation: Strong hands-on experience with experimentation and A/B testing to assess the impact of model and policy changes.
• Statistical expertise: Strong mathematical and statistical foundations, combining classical statistical techniques with modern machine learning approaches.
• Data skills: Strong proficiency in SQL and exploratory data analysis, alongside practical experience working with cloud-based data platforms.
• Cloud technology: Experience with cloud data infrastructure is required; familiarity with GCP BigQuery is useful but experience with this specific platform is not mandatory.
• Technical leadership: Experience building and leading technical teams while remaining actively engaged in model development, analytical work, and complex problem-solving.
• Communication: Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain sophisticated models, risk concepts, and analytical recommendations to non-technical stakeholders.
• Business judgment: Strong commercial understanding and the ability to connect technical and risk decisions with growth, portfolio performance, unit economics, and return on investment.
• Startup mindset: Adaptable, proactive, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment where priorities can evolve quickly.
• Regional expertise: Familiarity with Southeast Asian credit markets, credit bureaus, and alternative data sources is an advantage.
• MLOps tools: Experience with MLflow or similar frameworks for production machine learning development and deployment is a plus.
• Regulatory knowledge: Understanding of IFRS 9 and local credit regulations across multiple markets or regions is beneficial.

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation: Salary based on experience and location.
• Equity participation: Opportunity to participate in the company’s equity program.
• Leadership opportunity: Build and shape a growing data science and credit risk function from the ground up.
• Professional growth: Opportunities to expand your leadership, technical expertise, and strategic influence within a rapidly growing organization.
• Modern technology: Work with a modern machine learning stack and cloud-based data infrastructure.
• International scope: Lead data science and credit risk initiatives across multiple markets and support international expansion.
• Meaningful impact: Help develop models and financial services designed to expand responsible access to financial products for underbanked employees.
• Mission-driven environment: Contribute to improving financial well-being through fairer, more accessible financial services.

We appreciate your interest and wish you the best!