Background

The Micro Enterprise Support Programme Trust (MESPT) is a development finance institution established in 2002 by the Governments of Denmark and Kenya. MESPT aims to foster inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction through the provision of financial and business development services to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Smallholder Farmers in Kenya. MESPT manages the Financial Inclusion for Micro Enterprises (FIYMA) Fund, which provides credit and technical assistance to partner Financial Service Providers (FSPs) and directly to MSMEs and Agri-enterprises.

Key Responsibilities

Credit Risk Assessment & Independent Credit Review:

• Conduct comprehensive credit risk assessments for partner Financial SACCOs and MSME/agri-enterprise borrowers, covering financial, operational, governance, and sector/value chain risks.
• Review credit appraisal proposals and provide independent risk opinions, including key risks, mitigants, and recommendations for approval/decline or restructuring.
• Analyze borrower financials (financial statements, cashflows, ratios) to determine repayment capacity and stress-test affordability where applicable.
• Assess proposed credit structures including pricing, tenor, covenants, and security/collateral arrangements, ensuring risk is appropriately mitigated.
• Confirm alignment of all credit recommendations with MESPT credit policies, risk appetite, and FIYMA Fund lending guidelines.

Portfolio Risk Monitoring, Early Warning & Portfolio Quality Management:

• Monitor and analyse portfolio performance indicators including PAR (1/30/60/90), NPL ratio, arrears trends, delinquency roll rates, restructures, recoveries, and write-offs.
• Develop, maintain, and continuously refine portfolio risk dashboards, monitoring tools, and periodic risk reports to support decision-making.
• Track and assess concentration and exposure risks across the portfolio.
• Monitor credit lifecycle risks end-to-end (origination → disbursement → repayment → collections) and flag emerging risk drivers.
• Identify and escalate early warning signals across SACCO and SME portfolios, including deteriorating repayment behavior and high-risk segment trends.
• Conduct stress testing and scenario analysis on priority segments/products to assess vulnerability and downside risk.
• Evaluate performance of FIYMA loan products and partner lending models (check-off, SME, agri-enterprise, youth/women lending) and recommend portfolio optimization actions.
• Recommend and support implementation of proactive risk mitigation measures, including tightening eligibility criteria, enhanced controls, restructuring strategies, and targeted recovery actions to prevent portfolio deterioration.

Credit Risk Policy, Frameworks, Controls & Compliance:

• Support the development, review, implementation, and continuous improvement of FIYMA credit risk policies, procedures, tools, and frameworks across partner FIs.
• Contribute to the design and refinement of risk rating models, borrower grading methodologies, scorecards, and portfolio classification parameters to strengthen credit decision-making.
• Review the adequacy of proposed security/collateral, guarantees, and other risk mitigants, and provide recommendations to enhance risk coverage and enforceability.
• Ensure lending practices remain aligned with: FIYMA credit guidelines and applicable regulatory sector requirements.
• Monitor end-to-end compliance with credit policy controls, including: approval limits and delegated authorities, maker-checker workflows and authorization controls, documentation completeness and KYC compliance and adherence to top-ups, refinancing, rescheduling/restructuring rules.
• Track, analyze, and report approval exceptions, overrides, and policy breaches, and maintain exceptions register to support governance and accountability.
• Identify systemic control gaps, recurring policy breaches, and emerging compliance risks, and recommend: corrective actions, credit process enhancements and targeted capacity-building/training interventions.
• Support internal control strengthening by contributing to: audit preparations and responses, compliance reviews and periodic risk control testing and closure of audit findings related to credit processes.

Reporting and Credit Committee Decision Support:

• Prepare high-quality credit risk reports, dashboards, and decision briefs for FIYMA PMU management and Management Credit Committee.
• Produce reports with clear interpretation of risks, trends, and recommended actions.
• Develop and maintain automated, reporting templates including: portfolio performance scorecards; PAR/arrears bucket movement reports, collections effectiveness and recovery performance reports and high-risk accounts watchlists and exception reports
• Provide portfolio risk insights to support strategic planning, product enhancement, and partner lending model improvement.
• Support credit risk control processes including risk classification, provisioning, impairment analysis, and monitoring of write-offs/recoveries.
• Prepare risk presentations and updates for: Management Credit Committee and FIYMA internal management meetings; partner portfolio review meetings and donor reporting requirements (as applicable)
• Provide accurate risk data and analytical documentation to support donor, audit, and regulatory reporting requirements.
• Maintain a structured risk reporting calendar, ensuring timely dissemination of reports and actionable insights.

Stakeholder Engagement, Partner Collaboration & Capacity Building:

• Work closely with the Credit & Business Development Manager, Credit/BD Officers, Credit Administrators, and Collections Officers to manage and control risk across the full credit lifecycle.
• Engage SACCOs and SME clients to clarify risk-related information, address emerging performance concerns, and support timely corrective actions.
• Collaborate with internal teams (Finance, MEAL, and Programme/Technical teams) to ensure credit risk considerations are integrated into programme implementation and reporting.
• Participate in partner/client visits, joint portfolio reviews, and high-risk account engagements to validate portfolio issues and agree on mitigation measures.
• Support partner institutions to strengthen credit risk management practices, including: credit risk reporting and portfolio analytics; data quality improvement and loan book hygiene, collections MIS and arrears tracking tools and arrears management frameworks and recovery approaches
• Contribute to partner capacity building through: training sessions and structured coaching for credit teams; mentoring on interpretation and use of risk dashboards/reports and development of practical SOPs, templates, and monitoring tools for credit and portfolio risk management

Programme and Development Finance Support:

• Integrate ESG and inclusion risk considerations into credit risk analysis, including environmental, social, gender, youth, and vulnerability/inclusion risks, in line with development finance principles.
• Support the design and refinement of tailored FIYMA financial products for SACCOs and SMEs, ensuring products are commercially viable while aligned to programme objectives.
• Document emerging risks, lessons learned, and portfolio insights, and contribute to continuous improvement of FIYMA credit risk practices, tools, and guidelines.
• Work closely with Credit Systems/MIS teams to ensure strong system and data controls.
• Conduct routine data integrity checks and reconciliations across credit systems.
• Recommend and support implementation of enhancements to automated dashboards, early warning indicators, and portfolio monitoring tools to strengthen proactive risk management.
• Perform any other duties assigned by the FIYMA Credit and Business Development Manager.

Qualifications and Experience

• A Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Professional qualifications in Credit Management, Risk Management, or related fields will be an added advantage.
• Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience in credit risk analysis, portfolio management, or a related role within a financial institution, preferably with exposure to MSMEs and SACCOs.
• Strong understanding of credit risk principles, financial statement analysis, and risk assessment methodologies.
• Proficiency in data analysis and reporting tools (e.g., Excel, statistical software).
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Willingness to travel significantly within Kenya.

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave
• Medical Insurance
• 20% Gratuity
• 7.5% leave allowance

Contract Details

• 3-year fixed term contract and 1-month notice period (renewable subject to performance and funding)

• Conduct comprehensive credit risk assessments for partner Financial SACCOs and MSME/agri-enterprise borrowers, covering financial, operational, governance, and sector/value chain risks.
• Review credit appraisal proposals and provide independent risk opinions, including key risks, mitigants, and recommendations for approval/decline or restructuring.
• Analyze borrower financials (financial statements, cashflows, ratios) to determine repayment capacity and stress-test affordability where applicable.
• Assess proposed credit structures including pricing, tenor, covenants, and security/collateral arrangements, ensuring risk is appropriately mitigated.
• Confirm alignment of all credit recommendations with MESPT credit policies, risk appetite, and FIYMA Fund lending guidelines.
• Monitor and analyse portfolio performance indicators including PAR (1/30/60/90), NPL ratio, arrears trends, delinquency roll rates, restructures, recoveries, and write-offs.
• Develop, maintain, and continuously refine portfolio risk dashboards, monitoring tools, and periodic risk reports to support decision-making.
• Track and assess concentration and exposure risks across the portfolio.
• Monitor credit lifecycle risks end-to-end (origination → disbursement → repayment → collections) and flag emerging risk drivers.
• Identify and escalate early warning signals across SACCO and SME portfolios, including deteriorating repayment behavior and high-risk segment trends.
• Conduct stress testing and scenario analysis on priority segments/products to assess vulnerability and downside risk.
• Evaluate performance of FIYMA loan products and partner lending models (check-off, SME, agri-enterprise, youth/women lending) and recommend portfolio optimization actions.
• Recommend and support implementation of proactive risk mitigation measures, including tightening eligibility criteria, enhanced controls, restructuring strategies, and targeted recovery actions to prevent portfolio deterioration.
• Support the development, review, implementation, and continuous improvement of FIYMA credit risk policies, procedures, tools, and frameworks across partner FIs.
• Contribute to the design and refinement of risk rating models, borrower grading methodologies, scorecards, and portfolio classification parameters to strengthen credit decision-making.
• Review the adequacy of proposed security/collateral, guarantees, and other risk mitigants, and provide recommendations to enhance risk coverage and enforceability.
• Ensure lending practices remain aligned with: FIYMA credit guidelines and applicable regulatory sector requirements.
• Monitor end-to-end compliance with credit policy controls, including: approval limits and delegated authorities, maker-checker workflows and authorization controls, documentation completeness and KYC compliance and adherence to top-ups, refinancing, rescheduling/restructuring rules.
• Track, analyze, and report approval exceptions, overrides, and policy breaches, and maintain exceptions register to support governance and accountability.
• Identify systemic control gaps, recurring policy breaches, and emerging compliance risks, and recommend: corrective actions, credit process enhancements and targeted capacity-building/training interventions.
• Support internal control strengthening by contributing to: audit preparations and responses, compliance reviews and periodic risk control testing and closure of audit findings related to credit processes.
• Prepare high-quality credit risk reports, dashboards, and decision briefs for FIYMA PMU management and Management Credit Committee.
• Produce reports with clear interpretation of risks, trends, and recommended actions.
• Develop and maintain automated, reporting templates including: portfolio performance scorecards; PAR/arrears bucket movement reports, collections effectiveness and recovery performance reports and high-risk accounts watchlists and exception reports
• Provide portfolio risk insights to support strategic planning, product enhancement, and partner lending model improvement.
• Support credit risk control processes including risk classification, provisioning, impairment analysis, and monitoring of write-offs/recoveries.
• Prepare risk presentations and updates for: Management Credit Committee and FIYMA internal management meetings; partner portfolio review meetings and donor reporting requirements (as applicable)
• Provide accurate risk data and analytical documentation to support donor, audit, and regulatory reporting requirements.
• Maintain a structured risk reporting calendar, ensuring timely dissemination of reports and actionable insights.
• Work closely with the Credit & Business Development Manager, Credit/BD Officers, Credit Administrators, and Collections Officers to manage and control risk across the full credit lifecycle.
• Engage SACCOs and SME clients to clarify risk-related information, address emerging performance concerns, and support timely corrective actions.
• Collaborate with internal teams (Finance, MEAL, and Programme/Technical teams) to ensure credit risk considerations are integrated into programme implementation and reporting.
• Participate in partner/client visits, joint portfolio reviews, and high-risk account engagements to validate portfolio issues and agree on mitigation measures.
• Support partner institutions to strengthen credit risk management practices, including: credit risk reporting and portfolio analytics; data quality improvement and loan book hygiene, collections MIS and arrears tracking tools and arrears management frameworks and recovery approaches
• Contribute to partner capacity building through: training sessions and structured coaching for credit teams; mentoring on interpretation and use of risk dashboards/reports and development of practical SOPs, templates, and monitoring tools for credit and portfolio risk management
• Integrate ESG and inclusion risk considerations into credit risk analysis, including environmental, social, gender, youth, and vulnerability/inclusion risks, in line with development finance principles.
• Support the design and refinement of tailored FIYMA financial products for SACCOs and SMEs, ensuring products are commercially viable while aligned to programme objectives.
• Document emerging risks, lessons learned, and portfolio insights, and contribute to continuous improvement of FIYMA credit risk practices, tools, and guidelines.
• Work closely with Credit Systems/MIS teams to ensure strong system and data controls.
• Conduct routine data integrity checks and reconciliations across credit systems.
• Recommend and support implementation of enhancements to automated dashboards, early warning indicators, and portfolio monitoring tools to strengthen proactive risk management.
• Perform any other duties assigned by the FIYMA Credit and Business Development Manager.

• Strong understanding of credit risk principles, financial statement analysis, and risk assessment methodologies.
• Proficiency in data analysis and reporting tools (e.g., Excel, statistical software).
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

• A Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Professional qualifications in Credit Management, Risk Management, or related fields will be an added advantage.