Loan Officer

Duties and Responsibilities

• Portfolio Management: Actively manage, support, and maintain a minimum portfolio of 15 active lending groups, ensuring high retention and healthy repayment rates.

• Active Recruitment: Conduct continuous market outreach and field mobilization to actively recruit and onboard new clients and self-help groups into the microfinance program.

• Client Engagement: Meet with loan applicants and group members to assess financial needs, explain different loan products, and guide them through the application process.

• Credit Evaluation: Conduct thorough credit assessments, analyze group dynamics and financial histories, calculate debt-to-income ratios, and verify supporting documentation (KYC, income proofs, collateral) to determine creditworthiness.

• Loan Processing: Process and submit loan applications within specified limits, ensuring complete accuracy and compliance with institutional lending guidelines and local regulatory frameworks.

• Decision Making & Reporting: Prepare detailed credit memoranda, justify lending decisions (approvals/rejections), and present complex files to the credit committee when required.

• Portfolio Monitoring: Maintain active management of the loan pipeline, monitor account records post-disbursement, and proactively identify early warning signs of default to initiate remedial actions.

• Relationship Building: Develop referral networks, build long-term relationships with clients, and cross-sell microfinance products to meet performance quotas while maintaining high customer satisfaction.

• Compliance: Operate in strict compliance with Kenyan lending laws, internal policies, and risk management standards.

Requirements and Skills

• Experience: Proven experience working as a Loan Officer or in a similar credit support role within microfinance, banking, or credit unions, with specific experience in group lending models.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, Banking, or a related field.

• Technical Skills: Familiarity with computers, loan management systems, CRM tools, and credit evaluation techniques.

• Analytical Ability: Strong numerical skills with an eye for detail and a methodical approach to risk assessment.

• Fieldwork & Sales Focus: Excellent field-mobilization, recruitment, and relationship-management skills, with the stamina to actively manage multiple field groups simultaneously.

• Communication: Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills for clear client interactions and stakeholder reporting.

• Mindset: Goal-oriented, organized, and capable of working effectively under pressure while maintaining the highest level of confidentiality and professionalism.