Business Origination Manager (Food and Agriculture)

Role Overview

This role sits at the intersection of frontline relationship management and independent credit risk control. Day to day, you will take raw credit requests from SME and Corporate clients in the Food & Agriculture sector and turn them into fully documented, policy-compliant proposals. Your work ensures that every submission is rigorously analysed for financial soundness and risk alignment before it reaches the Credit Risk team, directly influencing the quality and speed of lending decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• Compile and assess Food & Agriculture credit applications, performing detailed financial analysis and risk evaluation so that executive committees receive clear, decision-ready business cases.
• Present complex agri-sector proposals to the Credit Risk Department and relevant Credit Committees, defending the rationale and addressing any concerns to facilitate informed approvals.
• Shape and refresh the bank’s F&A risk policies, keeping pace with shifting industry regulation and agricultural market cycles.
• Design and maintain standardised credit appraisal templates for the F&A portfolio, reducing inconsistency and speeding up the review process across branches.
• Define client segmentation criteria for the agriculture book, enabling better risk differentiation and proactive portfolio monitoring.
• Build and periodically update risk-assessment matrices that cover major agri-value chains—from crops to processed foods—so that each deal is benchmarked consistently.
• Conduct portfolio stress tests based on macroeconomic trends and sector-specific shocks, flagging vulnerabilities before they materialise.
• Advise internal teams on emerging F&A dynamics—such as commodity price volatility, climate risk, or regulatory shifts—and integrate those insights into credit strategy.
• Develop and enforce Environmental and Social compliance policies for agricultural lending, ensuring the bank meets both regulatory standards and sustainability commitments.
• Train branch staff on credit risk fundamentals and troubleshooting, building the institution’s capacity to originate quality F&A loans.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness, Food Science, Agricultural Finance, or a closely related field. A post-graduate qualification such as AKIB, ACIB, CPA, ACCA, CFA, or Credit Management certification is strongly preferred.
• At least eight years of progressive experience in the Food & Agriculture sector, with a minimum of five years spent specifically on technical credit analysis inside a bank or financial institution.
• Proven ability to diagnose client financial needs and structure credit proposals that balance commercial opportunity with risk appetite.
• Advanced skill in reading and interpreting financial statements, then translating that data into standardised credit rating templates and bank systems.
• Demonstrated understanding of how macroeconomic forces and industry cycles affect agricultural lending, with the judgment to adjust credit decisions accordingly.
• Experience identifying capability gaps in banking teams and delivering training or coaching that measurably improves performance.
• Up-to-date knowledge of the Food & Agriculture landscape, with a track record of refining analytical tools, templates, and risk-assessment approaches.
• Deep expertise in debt structuring and syndication, strong credit judgment, and the ability to lead and develop people.
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management skills, combined with a strategic, commercially astute, and client-centric outlook.
• High integrity, governance focus, resilience, and a results-oriented approach to decision-making.