Background information about the job or company (e.g., role context, company overview)

We are the world’s largest international development organisation, dedicated to empowering people living in poverty. If you were to describe this world to a child, which one of the following would you pick? It is home to magic, art, beauty, and tens of thousands of years of human talent. Or you would, even though it may be true, that our world is where...

Responsibilities or duties

The Credit Officer is primarily responsible for initiating and managing all client-facing interactions in the field: identifying, selecting, and onboarding appropriate clients as per BRAC Kenya Company Limited (BKCL’s) mission and prioritising inclusion of participants from other BRAC programmes; initiating loan applications and credit appraisals within applicable turnaround times; coordinating timely loan disbursements; managing and facilitating group meetings as per set schedules; ensuring timely collections from clients as per set schedules; ensuring effective delinquency management in adherence to BKCL’s policies; and coordinating with the Customer Service Officer to log, resolve, and/or escalate client complaints.

Across these responsibilities, the Credit Officer will adhere to the Client Protection standards, BKCL’s policies and protocols, and compliance requirements, to ensure high standards of customer service and satisfaction at each touchpoint of the client journey.

Key Responsibilities:

Client Selection and Onboarding

• Conduct product promotion activities at the individual, household, market, and community levels within demarcation limits, in collaboration with local leaders and relevant authorities, where needed, to clearly and accurately describe the value proposition of BKCL’s products and services, pricing and fees, and other terms and conditions
• Using the Digital Field Application (DFA) mobile app, conduct door-to-door household surveys in the demarcated area to identify eligible clients and generate leads as per set targets, with special focus on women, youth (aged 18-35), populations living in poverty, and participants of other BRAC programmes
• Prepare and submit member admission forms (exclusively on the DFA) for client onboarding and creation, ensuring completeness, accuracy, and authenticity of all information submitted, to facilitate verification of the client’s identity, phone ownership, credit risk score, and sanction and risk screening
• Maintain and ensure the accuracy of client records by promptly notifying the Branch Accounts Officer of any updates to the client profile and therefore any amendments to be made
• Adhere to Client Protection Standards in product promotion, and the collection and storage of client information, particularly but not limited to, transparency, and data privacy and confidentiality; ensure secure handling and responsible use of the assigned digital devices, maintaining data accuracy and confidentiality at all times

Group Formation and Facilitation

• Organise clients into groups for effective follow-up and administration, ensuring adherence to minimum and maximum group sizes; coordinate with the Branch Manager in the re-organisation of groups if they exceed maximum size
• Guide new groups in the setting up of group governance / administrative structures, such as group leadership (chairperson, treasurer, and secretary), setup of small groups and selection of small group leaders, group meeting days and locations, etc.
• Support the group chairperson in ensuring group discipline and attendance; track group meeting attendance (exclusively on the DFA) at the individual client level
• Coordinate with the Branch Manager for any transfers of existing clients into or out of the group, as well as for any group-requested changes to meeting days
• Effectively deliver Financial & Digital Literacy, and Life Skills Training (FLT) during group meetings to support the capacity-building of clients, tracking session attendance and completion rates at the individual client-level

Loan Application Initiation and Processing

• Orient (and ensure timely communication with) prospective clients on information to be collected and documents to be submitted as part of the loan application process; ensure the customer record is up-to-date for repeat clients and make amendments as needed
• Input and submit loan application forms (exclusively on the DFA), ensuring completeness, accuracy, and authenticity of all information and any supporting documentation submitted
• As part of the loan application, conduct thorough credit appraisals for clients to propose appropriate loan amounts, balancing both client financial needs and prevention of over-indebtedness
• Participate in the Branch Credit Committee (BCC) meetings as required, proposing loans based on documented appraisal findings and ensuring completeness of documentation before BCC review
• In a timely manner, act on feedback from the BCC to ensure that loan documentation is complete and compliant

Loan Disbursement Processing

• Leveraging available tools of work, orient clients in clear and simple language on the full terms and conditions of the loan (pricing, fees, deductions from the loan amount, client obligations, consequences of default, etc.) to enable them to make an informed decision prior to entering into a formal agreement
• With the Branch Accounts Officer, prepare and align on the disbursement sheets in advance of disbursement days, and prepare the disbursement file and passbooks for each client as necessary
• Support the Branch Manager in delivering in-person Pre-Disbursement Orientations (PDOs) for newly-onboarded clients prior on disbursement days
• Following loan disbursement to clients’ mobile wallets, cross-check that the appropriate amounts have been disbursed to the respective clients minus applicable deductions

Collections and Delinquency Management

• Provide continuous handholding to clients on the processes for making payments to BKCL through approved channels (M-PESA)
• At group meetings, verify loan installment payments made by each individual client against figures recorded on the system to confirm payments and identify mismatches; appropriately record / update client passbooks
• Monitor and follow up on clients with arrears, following the timelines / processes and in liaising with the relevant parties (guarantors, group members, etc.) as set out in BKCL’s lending policies and while also ensuring fair and respectful treatment of clients
• Actively prohibit group liability / contributions, ensuring that each client within the group is solely responsible for making only their own installment payments

Complaint Handling and Customer Service

• Manage and monitor client complaint handling at the branch level, ensuring that all client feedback and complaints are formally documented, escalated to the right individuals, and resolved within admissible timelines; ensure that clients are formally updated on the status of resolution
• Monitor and review trends in recorded feedback and complaints from clients, and raise them to respective field supervisors and the head office focal, as a means of guiding BKCL management on improvements that can be made to complaint handling processes and to BKCL’s overall business model
• At each touchpoint in the client journey, ensure timely, transparent client communication that is in clear and simple language understood by the clie

Qualifications or requirements (e.g., education, skills)

QualificationBA/BSc/HND , Diploma

Experience needed

Experience

Any other provided details (e.g., benefits, work environment, team info, or additional notes)

Never pay for any notarisation, certificate or assessment as part of any recruitment process. When in doubt, contact us

• Conduct product promotion activities at the individual, household, market, and community levels within demarcation limits, in collaboration with local leaders and relevant authorities, where needed, to clearly and accurately describe the value proposition of BKCL’s products and services, pricing and fees, and other terms and conditions
• Using the Digital Field Application (DFA) mobile app, conduct door-to-door household surveys in the demarcated area to identify eligible clients and generate leads as per set targets, with special focus on women, youth (aged 18-35), populations living in poverty, and participants of other BRAC programmes
• Prepare and submit member admission forms (exclusively on the DFA) for client onboarding and creation, ensuring completeness, accuracy, and authenticity of all information submitted, to facilitate verification of the client’s identity, phone ownership, credit risk score, and sanction and risk screening
• Maintain and ensure the accuracy of client records by promptly notifying the Branch Accounts Officer of any updates to the client profile and therefore any amendments to be made
• Adhere to Client Protection Standards in product promotion, and the collection and storage of client information, particularly but not limited to, transparency, and data privacy and confidentiality; ensure secure handling and responsible use of the assigned digital devices, maintaining data accuracy and confidentiality at all times
• Organise clients into groups for effective follow-up and administration, ensuring adherence to minimum and maximum group sizes; coordinate with the Branch Manager in the re-organisation of groups if they exceed maximum size
• Guide new groups in the setting up of group governance / administrative structures, such as group leadership (chairperson, treasurer, and secretary), setup of small groups and selection of small group leaders, group meeting days and locations, etc.
• Support the group chairperson in ensuring group discipline and attendance; track group meeting attendance (exclusively on the DFA) at the individual client level
• Coordinate with the Branch Manager for any transfers of existing clients into or out of the group, as well as for any group-requested changes to meeting days
• Effectively deliver Financial & Digital Literacy, and Life Skills Training (FLT) during group meetings to support the capacity-building of clients, tracking session attendance and completion rates at the individual client-level
• Orient (and ensure timely communication with) prospective clients on information to be collected and documents to be submitted as part of the loan application process; ensure the customer record is up-to-date for repeat clients and make amendments as needed
• Input and submit loan application forms (exclusively on the DFA), ensuring completeness, accuracy, and authenticity of all information and any supporting documentation submitted
• As part of the loan application, conduct thorough credit appraisals for clients to propose appropriate loan amounts, balancing both client financial needs and prevention of over-indebtedness
• Participate in the Branch Credit Committee (BCC) meetings as required, proposing loans based on documented appraisal findings and ensuring completeness of documentation before BCC review
• In a timely manner, act on feedback from the BCC to ensure that loan documentation is complete and compliant
• Leveraging available tools of work, orient clients in clear and simple language on the full terms and conditions of the loan (pricing, fees, deductions from the loan amount, client obligations, consequences of default, etc.) to enable them to make an informed decision prior to entering into a formal agreement
• With the Branch Accounts Officer, prepare and align on the disbursement sheets in advance of disbursement days, and prepare the disbursement file and passbooks for each client as necessary
• Support the Branch Manager in delivering in-person Pre-Disbursement Orientations (PDOs) for newly-onboarded clients prior on disbursement days
• Following loan disbursement to clients’ mobile wallets, cross-check that the appropriate amounts have been disbursed to the respective clients minus applicable deductions
• Provide continuous handholding to clients on the processes for making payments to BKCL through approved channels (M-PESA)
• At group meetings, verify loan installment payments made by each individual client against figures recorded on the system to confirm payments and identify mismatches; appropriately record / update client passbooks
• Monitor and follow up on clients with arrears, following the timelines / processes and in liaising with the relevant parties (guarantors, group members, etc.) as set out in BKCL’s lending policies and while also ensuring fair and respectful treatment of clients
• Actively prohibit group liability / contributions, ensuring that each client within the group is solely responsible for making only their own installment payments
• Manage and monitor client complaint handling at the branch level, ensuring that all client feedback and complaints are formally documented, escalated to the right individuals, and resolved within admissible timelines; ensure that clients are formally updated on the status of resolution
• Monitor and review trends in recorded feedback and complaints from clients, and raise them to respective field supervisors and the head office focal, as a means of guiding BKCL management on improvements that can be made to complaint handling processes and to BKCL’s overall business model
• At each touchpoint in the client journey, ensure timely, transparent client communication that is in clear and simple language understood by the clie

• BA/BSc/HND
• Diploma