Group Consumer Credit Lead at Shoprite Group of Companies

Purpose of the Job    

• The Group Consumer Credit Lead will work with the Head of Credit to design the Consumer Credit Strategy for the Group. They will be responsible for designing, launching and scaling a lending products linked to the company’s bank account offering.
• The role will own the end-to-end development of the product, from defining the customer value proposition and credit strategy through to launch, portfolio management and ongoing optimisation.
• The role ensures sustainable growth of credit products while maintaining compliance with South African regulatory requirements and ensuring responsible lending aligned to Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) outcomes. 

Job Objectives    

Product Strategy & Design

• Define the customer value proposition and product structure, including pricing, credit limits, repayment mechanics and eligibility criteria.
• Design a responsible lending framework that balances customer access to credit with sustainable portfolio performance.
• Ensure the product aligns with the broader banking and customer strategy of the business. 

Commercial & Financial Ownership

• Develop and maintain the commercial business case, including unit economics, expected loss, funding costs and profitability.
• Ensure the product delivers sustainable margins and scalable.
• Monitor financial performance and identify opportunities to improve revenue, conversion and portfolio quality.
• Develop strategies to improve approval rates, reduce risk costs, and enhance profitability.
• Develop and continuously optimise credit decisioning strategies, including affordability assessments, scorecards and limit management.  
• Monitor portfolio performance including loss rates, arrears trends, and cohort performance.
• Adjust credit policies and strategies to maintain sustainable risk levels and portfolio growth.

Credit Operations – Continuous Improvement and Data Insights

• Ensure operational processes are efficient, digitally enabled, and customer centric.
• Work closely with store operations teams to support the rollout of consumer credit products, ensuring all financial processes, controls, and system requirements are in place for an effective launch.
• Assist with operational readiness activities, including store training materials, financial procedures, and point-of-sale processes related to consumer credit services.
• Digital Product Development & Technology Collaboration 
• Identify, evaluate and onboard best-in-class partners and service providers required to deliver the product (e.g. credit scoring, collections, payments, funding partners).
• Lead cross-functional delivery across technology, credit, operations, legal and compliance.  
• Translate product and credit requirements into clear delivery roadmaps.  
• Oversee product launch across digital and in-store channels, ensuring a seamless customer experience.  
• Support the integration of credit processes into digital platforms, ensuring accuracy in transaction handling, reconciliations, and financial data flows.

Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management 

• Lead the consumer credit management framework, including governance, credit policy design, risk appetite, scorecard performance, portfolio monitoring, provisioning methodologies, and early warning indicators.
• Implement appropriate controls, documentation, and audit readiness.
• Lead the end-to-end Consumer Credit regulatory agenda, ensuring full compliance with the National Credit Act (NCA), FICA, POPIA, FAIS, AML/CFT frameworks, and all Prudential Authority / FSCA requirements relevant to credit products.
• Collaborate with Compliance, Legal, and Internal Audit to manage regulatory interactions.

Stakeholder & Cross Functional Engagement

• Partner with Finance, Product, Customer Insights, IT, and Retail Operations to optimise credit offerings and customer lifecycle management.
• Work closely with the CEO of Financial Services, CFO, and Product Heads to drive commercial outcomes.
• Represent the credit function in executive committees and governance forums.

Team Leadership

• Build and lead a high performing team of credit and data specialist to support the products.  
• Drive capability development, succession planning, and a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

Qualifications    

• Degree in Finance, Economics, Risk Management, Actuarial Science, or related field – (essential).
• Post graduate qualification in related field – (preferred). 

Experience    

Essential:

• +6 years’ experience in Credit Management, preferably in Financial Services, Banking, or Retail Credit
• Experience with credit modelling, analytics, and decision engines (e.g., scoring, bureau data)

Knowledge and Skills    

• Strong knowledge of South African regulatory frameworks governing credit – (essential).
• Proven expertise in unsecured lending, portfolio management, and credit operations – (essential).
• Strong business acumen with general knowledge of business outside of the financial sphere – (desirable). 
• Proven experience developing and managing new frameworks, processes and procedures to enable a growing business while ensuring rigorous compliance – (desirable).

Closing Date    

• 2026/05/05