Credit Origination Manager at Kontak Recruitment

• An established financial services organisation specialising in commercial funding solutions is looking for an experienced Credit Origination Manager to lead and optimise its credit origination and operational functions. The role is responsible for overseeing the end-to-end credit application process, ensuring efficient workflows, maintaining service delivery standards, driving operational excellence, and supporting business growth through continuous improvement initiatives. The successful candidate will lead and develop teams within a fast-paced, target-driven environment while ensuring adherence to operational controls, quality standards, credit policies, and performance expectations.
• This position requires a strong people leader with extensive experience within commercial lending, credit assessment, credit operations, or financial services environments. The successful individual will be responsible for managing productivity, workflow, quality assurance, stakeholder relationships, training programmes, graduate development initiatives, credit processes, and operational performance while driving accountability, customer service excellence, and sound credit decision-making across the department.

Minimum Requirements:

• BCom Degree with 3rd Year Accountancy (Non-Negotiable)
• Honours Degree in Finance, Accounting, Commerce, or related qualification advantageous
• Minimum 5 years’ solid people management experience managing a team of at least 8 employees
• 5–7 years’ experience within the financial services, commercial lending, business funding, or credit environment
• Experience with loan administration and credit origination processes
• Strong understanding of accounting principles and banking applications/software
• Strong financial and accounting skills
• Ability to analyse and interpret Annual Financial Statements (AFS), Management Accounts, historical trends, projections, cash flow information, and business performance indicators
• Knowledge of commercial credit products, lending procedures, and market trends
• Understanding of the full credit life cycle, including collections
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills including Pivot Tables and Lookups
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Strong interpersonal and relationship management skills
• Customer service orientated
• Strong time management and multitasking abilities
• Effective problem-solving skills
• Strong business acumen
• Ability to lead, coach, mentor, and develop teams
• Ability to work effectively in a demanding, target-driven environment

Key Competencies

• Deciding and Initiating Action
• Leading and Supervising
• Working with People
• Analysing
• Planning and Organising
• Delivering Results and Meeting Customer Expectations
• Adapting and Responding to Change

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage the credit origination and operational functions, ensuring efficient processing of applications and adherence to service level standards
• Prepare and oversee monthly audit and quality assurance reports
• Establish KPIs for new and existing roles and monitor team performance against agreed targets
• Monitor individual and team quality performance and communicate review outcomes
• Provide structured feedback and drive continuous improvement in work quality and customer service delivery
• Drive continuous process improvement initiatives across the department
• Support change management projects and operational enhancements
• Maintain and enforce compliance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• Implement new SOPs for products, processes, and system changes
• Manage operational templates and documentation
• Escalate and resolve system and process-related issues where required
• Monitor operational communication channels and service levels to ensure business continuity and service excellence
• Oversee Information Boxes, Client Support Boxes, Partnership Application Processes, DBC Error Boxes, Connect Statements Boxes, WhatsApp Channels, and Telephone Lines
• Monitor workflow, work-in-progress, and operational capacity
• Implement corrective actions where performance standards are not achieved
• Resolve operational exceptions and bottlenecks
• Review workload distribution and support resource planning
• Maintain strong relationships with Business Development teams and internal stakeholders
• Provide affiliate and application status updates where required
• Prioritise applications and expedite high-priority transactions while maintaining quality standards
• Manage workflow from application through to disbursement
• Lead, manage, coach, mentor, and develop team members
• Conduct performance reviews, feedback sessions, team meetings, onboarding, and probation management
• Ensure appropriate staffing levels, accountability, service excellence, and alignment with company values
• Design and deliver induction and technical training programmes
• Conduct onboarding reviews and performance assessments
• Provide training on loan application analysis, financial assessment principles, Annual Financial Statements, Management Accounts, SARS requirements, and high-value applications
• Drive continuous employee development initiatives
• Manage graduate induction and onboarding programmes
• Oversee graduate development and the three-month onboarding journey
• Conduct progress reviews and provide ongoing mentoring and development support
• Review competitor interest rate comparisons
• Prepare motivations for reduced interest rate approval requests