Collection Officer

Role Overview

You will own the end-to-end recovery process for a portfolio of defaulted micro and small enterprise loans, balancing aggressive collection goals with fair treatment of borrowers. Your daily focus is on reducing credit risk, protecting the institution’s assets, and maintaining a professional image in every client interaction. This role sits within the credit department and directly supports the lending cycle by ensuring that non-performing accounts are converted into recoveries as quickly and cleanly as possible.

Key Responsibilities

• Proactively contact delinquent borrowers through phone calls and scheduled field visits to negotiate repayment plans, settlements, or collateral realisation arrangements.
• Monitor overdue accounts across assigned MSME portfolios and provide timely, clear feedback to management on payment behaviour patterns and emerging risk signals.
• Work side by side with Business Development Officers to triage bad-debt portfolios and agree on the most effective collection strategies for each account.
• Prepare, analyse, and submit weekly or monthly reports detailing overdue accounts, recovery progress, risk exposure, and recommended adjustments to existing credit policies.
• Identify weaknesses in the recovery workflow, flag systemic causes of default, and recommend practical changes to improve collection outcomes.
• Ensure borrower credit records are accurate and current by initiating data clean-up activities and updating system entries whenever customer circumstances change.
• Manage the legal and procedural side of recovery, including realising securities and coordinating litigation only when necessary, while safeguarding the borrower’s rights and protecting the institution from reputational or legal risk.
• Approve loans within your delegated authority and prepare higher-value loan applications for review by the Branch Manager when limits are exceeded.
• Assess personnel capability within the credit function, identify skill gaps, and recommend training that strengthens the team’s debt recovery and customer handling ability.

Requirements & Qualifications

• A diploma or bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as business, finance, sales, or marketing.
• At least one year of hands-on experience in debt recovery, preferably within a financial institution or microfinance environment.
• Familiarity with serving low-income or bottom-of-the-pyramid clients is an added advantage.
• Solid computer literacy, including the ability to work with spreadsheets, loan tracking systems, and standard office software.
• Strong negotiation and communication skills to handle difficult conversations with borrowers professionally and stay calm under pressure.
• A good understanding of credit risk, debt collection regulations, and practical approaches to recovering small business loans.
• Ability to work independently in the field, manage a caseload of defaulted accounts, and meet recovery targets without compromising customer trust.