Head: SME Credit & Recovery - Farmerline Limited

Role Overview

Connecting farmers to quality farm inputs and relevant information are key Farmerline’s interventions in creating lasting profit for the farmers we serve while creating jobs for micro-entrepreneurs in the value chains we work in. For this, we are recruiting experienced agricultural/business professionals to scale our reach to thousands of farmers through agribusinesses, well-established farmer cooperatives and agro input dealers.

The Head - SME Credit & Recovery will lead in assessing the credit worthiness of all Farmerline clients, monitoring and timely recoveries of all credit facilities. Ultimately,  the SME Credit Manager ensures that Farmerline has sustained business with SMEs, working for smallholder farmers to make a lasting profit. 

Responsibilities 

SME Appraisal & Credit Scoring

• Develop credit assessment indicators appropriately highlighting relevant risks (e.g. market risk, business risk, and financial risk)
• Review and recommend applications for lending including extraction and interpretation of financial data from existing and potential clients.
• Conduct credit appraisal and make data/evidence based recommendations to approving authorities.
• Prepare a contingency plan to prevent and cope with credit risk and other related operational risks to ensure good quality credit portfolios

Credit Recovery

• Develops and implements an effective strategy for the timely and full recovery of credits from SMEs.
• Reviews sales and credit policy annually to improve recovery rates.
• Constantly monitor clients repayment schedules to capture overdue payments and put in measures to mitigate bad debt situations to the barest minimum.
• Foresees and forestalls loan defaults after disbursements to SMEs.
• Lead the  recovery of all customer debts

Account Management for SME

• Highlights and updates the approving authorities of any changes in the risk profile based on important risk indicators (financial, market, transactional, etc.)
• Establishes and maintains a close working relationship with the sales team in order to properly assess, understand & satisfy customer needs.
• Revises existing and develops new training materials for SMEs and tailored to specific value chains, especially in cash flow based lending, loan underwriting, product development and risk management.
• Work closely with unit managers to ensure effective communication on credit policies, processes and procedures. 
• Collaborate with proposal writing teams and acts as lead technical writer on SME lending related documents.

Others

• Stays informed of technical and strategic advances in the MSME, banking and finance industries that may have an impact on current and new business opportunities.
• Cooperates with and facilitate work of internal audit within SME credit/risk management to address gaps, and respond to audit reports within agreed deadlines.
• Develops new business opportunities, leads inter-departmental teams for conducting market research, negotiating loans, designing loan guaranty facilities, and drafting technical assistance agreements with funders.
• Review and update the company’s credit policy when necessary 
• Train team on recovery processes/procedures/policies.
• Upholds the values of Farmerline as an agriculture focused social enterprise.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Business, Banking, International Development or Finance.

Other Qualities and Requirements

• Minimum of 5 years professional experience in SME credit management function  in Ghana ideally with agriculture and farmer based businesses; lending , recovery section of a bank or MFI
• Significant experience in a  senior management role preferred.
• Good knowledge of or working experience with agro input dealers and outgrower businesses in Ghana
• Deep understanding of farmer engagement and farmers’ interaction with regards to credits.
• Strong leadership experience and ability to lead a team in executing projects and exceeding targets.
• Excellent oral communication, writing and presentation skills.
•  Demonstrate a high level of ethical commitment and trustworthiness.