Senior Credit Risk & Underwriting Manager (Remote, South Africa)

About the role

Our client, a fast‑growing fintech lender in South Africa, is seeking a Senior Credit Risk & Underwriting Manager to lead manual underwriting and risk assessment while laying the groundwork for future automated credit decisioning. This remote position will shape the credit scoring framework and ensure responsible growth of the loan portfolio.

Key responsibilities

• Assess and approve loan applications in line with credit policies and risk appetite.
• Conduct detailed affordability, cash‑flow, financial and credit‑worthiness analyses using bank statements, financial records and credit bureau reports.
• Design, implement and continuously improve a manual credit scoring framework.
• Develop underwriting guidelines, risk policies and decision‑making processes.
• Monitor portfolio performance, identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to refine lending criteria and optimise portfolio quality.
• Ensure compliance with South African regulatory requirements.
• Document underwriting methodologies to support future automation initiatives.

Required profile

• Minimum 5 years of experience in credit risk, loan underwriting, credit approval or lending operations.
• Proven track record making lending decisions within fintech, banking or alternative lending environments.
• Strong understanding of credit risk assessment, affordability analysis and loan portfolio management.
• Ability to exercise sound credit judgement where historical data is limited.
• Excellent analytical, commercial and decision‑making capabilities.
• Strong communication and stakeholder‑management skills.

Required skills

What we offer

• Competitive CTC of R55,000 – R70,000 per month (negotiable for exceptional candidates).
• Remote work flexibility.
• Opportunity to build scalable credit processes from the ground up in a high‑growth fintech.