Head of Operations at Ideon Limited in Nairobi, Kenya

    Ideon Limited logo

    Head of Operations

    Ideon LimitedNairobi, Kenya

    Posted

    6 days ago

    Apply by

    31 Aug

    Full Time
    On Site
    Senior
    Consulting & Professional Services
    Management & Business Development

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    Job Description

    This role is responsible for driving daily collection performance and ensuring high loan repayment rates across all branches. The Head of Operations will maintain a healthy loan portfolio, drive growth, and ensure compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements. The position involves leading and coaching Regional and Branch Managers to achieve performance targets and fostering collaboration across departments.

    Key Responsibilities

    • Drive daily collection performance and ensure high loan repayment rates across all branches.
    • Maintain a healthy loan portfolio by minimizing overdue loans, defaults, and portfolio-at-risk.
    • Improve loan repayment performance through proactive supervision and effective recovery strategies.
    • Drive growth in loan portfolio, active customers, and branch profitability while optimizing resource utilization.
    • Ensure all branches comply with company policies, lending procedures, operational standards, and regulatory requirements.
    • Lead, coach, and hold Regional Managers and Branch Managers accountable for performance and execution.
    • Establish performance scorecards, conduct reviews, and ensure timely follow-up and interventions.
    • Ensure seamless collaboration across Operations, Credit, Finance, HR, Compliance, IT, and Customer Service to achieve company objectives.

    Required Qualifications

    • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Management, or a related field.
    • A Master's degree MBA is an added advantage.
    • Minimum of 8 years' progressive leadership experience, with at least 5 years managing multi-branch operations in financial services, microfinance, or a related industry.
    • Proven track record of improving operational performance, collections, portfolio quality, and branch profitability.
    • Strong analytical skills with experience managing performance using data, KPIs, and scorecards.
    • Exceptional leadership, coaching, and people management skills.
    • Strong execution, follow-up, and problem-solving abilities.
    • Decisive, disciplined, and able to make tough operational decisions.
    • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

    Job Details

    Job Function

    Management & Business Development

    Minimum Experience

    8 years

    Education Level

    Bachelor’s Degree

    Area of Study

    Business

    Field of Study

    Business Administration

    Additional Information

    How to Apply: Send your CV to recruitment@ideon.co.ke.

    Show You Can Turn Around Collections and Portfolio Quality

    This role is about results: higher repayment rates, lower defaults, and profitable branches. Your application must prove you've done it before, not just that you understand the theory.

    1. Quantify your wins: On your CV, use numbers to show how you improved collections, reduced overdue loans, or grew portfolio quality. For example, "Reduced PAR by 15% in 12 months" or "Increased collection rate from 85% to 95%."

    2. Show your leadership style: Hiring managers want to see how you coach and hold teams accountable. Describe a time you turned around a low-performing branch or manager, and the specific steps you took.

    3. Prepare a data-driven story: Expect questions about how you use KPIs and scorecards. Have a concrete example of a dashboard you built or used to drive decisions.

    4. Understand microfinance specifics: If you have experience in microfinance, highlight it. If not, show you understand the unique challenges of small loans, group lending, and field collections.

    5. Show you can handle tough decisions: This role requires discipline. Be ready to discuss a time you made a difficult call, like cutting a branch or terminating an underperformer.

    6. Emphasize cross-functional collaboration: You'll work with Credit, Finance, HR, and more. Give an example of how you aligned these teams to achieve a goal.

    7. Prepare for scenario questions: You might be asked, "How would you improve collections in a branch with high defaults?" Outline a clear, step-by-step plan.

    8. Ask smart questions: Show your strategic thinking by asking about current portfolio health, branch performance, and what success looks like in the first 6 months.

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    Tags

    collections
    loan portfolio
    branch operations
    leadership
    microfinance