Risk Operations Manager - Credit & Customer Operations at iStore

About the role

• We are looking for a Risk Operations Manager to lead the manual credit assessment team and take operational ownership of fraud management and compliance within iStore Finance.
• This role is central to how we make lending decisions. You will need to understand credit risk in practice, be comfortable managing analysts and quality standards, and have enough fraud and regulatory experience to make sure the operation remains well controlled as it scales.

What you'll be responsible for

• Lead, coach and performance-manage the Credit Analyst team, with clear targets for turnaround time, decision quality and portfolio outcomes.
• Own the end-to-end manual credit assessment process and make sure lending decisions are consistent with credit policy and affordability criteria.
• Run regular case reviews and quality checks to improve analyst judgement, consistency and capability.
• Monitor decisioning quality, turnaround times and portfolio risk trends, and take corrective action where performance falls short.
• Work with Data/MI to refine credit policy, scorecards and decisioning rules based on portfolio performance and emerging trends.
• Own the fraud strategy and control framework across application, onboarding and servicing, including detection rules, reporting and investigation processes.
• Monitor fraud losses, trends and control effectiveness, and feed emerging fraud patterns back into policy, onboarding controls and system rules.
• Ensure compliance obligations under FICA, the NCA, POPIA and relevant NCR requirements are understood, monitored and managed.
• Maintain the compliance monitoring plan and make sure audit findings and regulatory reviews are tracked through to closure.
• Keep policies, procedures and training current as regulatory or business requirements change.
• Build strong working relationships with Data/MI, Systems/Product, Legal/Compliance, credit bureaux and other relevant external stakeholders.
• Maintain accurate MI on credit decisioning, portfolio risk, fraud and compliance, and use the data to identify issues and improvement opportunities.

What we're looking for

• 5-8 years' experience in credit risk, credit assessment or compliance within a consumer lending environment, including 2-3 years managing a team of credit analysts.
• Strong working knowledge of the South African credit and financial services regulatory environment, including FICA, the NCA, POPIA and NCR requirements.
• Sound practical experience in fraud risk management in a consumer lending environment, including controls and fraud detection methods.
• Strong working knowledge of credit decisioning tools and MI/reporting platforms; advanced Excel is essential.
• A Bachelor's degree in Finance, Risk Management or a related field is advantageous, but not essential.

It would be an advantage if you have

• Experience managing or working closely with a compliance function within a credit provider or FIC accountable institution.
• Experience designing or overseeing a fraud strategy, fraud control framework or fraud detection systems.
• Exposure to digitally enabled credit assessment or fraud detection platforms.
• Experience in retail or point-of-sale consumer finance.

What you'll bring

• Strong analytical judgement and the ability to balance responsible lending, fraud prevention and compliance requirements.
• A strong people manager who can coach, challenge and develop credit analysts.
• High attention to detail, integrity and accountability.
• Confident stakeholder management across internal teams, credit bureaux and regulators.
• Clear communication and the ability to explain risk decisions in practical business language.

Location and working style

• Based at 1 Sandton Drive, Johannesburg.
• Standard office hours, with flexibility when urgent fraud or compliance matters need attention.
• Regular collaboration with the Senior Operations Manager, Data/MI, Systems/Product and Legal/Compliance teams.