Senior Credit Analyst

Role Overview

This position sits at the centre of retail credit decision-making, where proposals for new facilities, renewals, amendments and one-off requests arrive from retail business units and must be assessed, judged and either approved within delegated authority or escalated with a clear, defensible recommendation.

The holder balances speed against soundness — protecting the quality of the loan book while honouring the turnaround commitments the branch network has made to customers. Every decision taken here influences asset quality, regulatory standing and the bank's capacity to grow retail lending in a controlled way.

Key Responsibilities

• Evaluate and decide credit proposals — new applications, renewals, one-off requests and amendments — submitted by retail business units, applying the bank's credit policy, product manuals and CBK Prudential Guidelines alongside a grounded reading of market, industry and economic conditions and the customer's financial statements.
• Approve cases that fall within delegated lending authority, and recommend those above it for higher consideration, all within agreed turnaround times, service levels and quality benchmarks.
• Verify and analyse credit information and documentation provided by business managers and customers — bank statements, financial statements and supporting records — seeking clarification from internal or external sources where gaps or inconsistencies emerge, and liaising with branches on queries, missing documents and business justification for deviations.
• Support the creation of new and the updating of existing retail credit processes, policies, manuals and product standards.
• Deliver training, prompt guidance and ongoing support on all aspects of credit to credit teams across the branch network, including regional engagements and branch or customer visits.
• Contribute input to the development of new retail credit products and to the design and review of credit appraisal tools such as scorecards and business rules.
• Attend to audit requirements for the Retail Credit Unit, responding to audit remarks and ensuring findings are rectified.
• Support review of the retail portfolio by monitoring early vintage performance, migration and PAR (NPL ratio), and recommend appropriate remedial actions such as limit reviews or suspension of schemes.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline (for example finance, accounting, economics or business).
• Professional qualification such as ACIB/AKIB or CPA(K)/ACCA.
• A Master's degree in Business Administration is an added advantage.
• Minimum of 8 years' total experience, including 8 years in general banking and 8 years in credit analysis and lending with delegated lending authority (DLA).
• At least 5 years' people management experience.
• At least 3 years' stakeholder management experience.
• Credit administration experience of around 3 years (desirable), plus roughly 3 years in customer or relationship management (desirable).
• Strong financial statement analysis, attention to detail and clear written and verbal communication skills, with the credibility to engage branch and business colleagues on credit decisions.