Senior Manager, Credit and Analytics

[https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/5ac97b31-49cd-4012-8bb0-5caf15e33c69/B25.png] SENIOR MANAGER, CREDIT AND ANALYTICS (NAIROBI, KENYA) [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/64f23d50-5ecb-44a5-a8b1-c43862db9690/image.png] WHEN DID A CREDIT DECISION LAST CHANGE SOMEONE'S INCOME? You're accomplished. You're respected. You're probably even happy. You can read a portfolio, spot the first wobble in a vintage, and explain it to a room that would rather hear good news. So here is a different question. What if the book you owned was the engine of financial inclusion for millions of people no formal lender had ever served? What if a pricing call or a collections insight showed up, within weeks, in whether a family kept its phone, its solar light or its livelihood? [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/83ed8d31-18fa-4ef2-b881-321bfdb69e00/image.png] TEN MILLION CUSTOMERS, AND THE CREDIT BOOK BEHIND THEM M-KOPA has unlocked more than $2 billion in credit for 10 million customers across Sub-Saharan Africa, up from 5 million a year earlier. 86% report an improved quality of life, 70% use what they finance to earn an income, and 55% are accessing formal financial products and services for the first time. Behind that sit 2,300+ employees and 35,000 agents, plus $45 million contributed in taxes. In Kenya we have assembled 2 million smartphones locally. None of it holds together unless credit performs. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/6d16ac0e-5d6e-4471-b3ec-a170493d3a32/image.png] WHY THIS TIMING MATTERS If you've noticed us hiring across several functions, that is deliberate. We are moving from 5 million customers to 7 million, and building toward 10 million. A book that size cannot be run on the instincts and spreadsheets that got us here. We are putting the analytical and BI foundations in place before the next phase of growth demands them, and this role is where growth and portfolio quality are kept pulling in the same direction. WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT In most credit roles you own a slice: a model, a report, a policy. Here you own the outcome. Kenyan credit performance is the measure of your success, and you hold the levers that move it: the analytics that diagnose deterioration, the pricing that decides who we can serve and at what margin, and the BI that tells the business the truth. Your current role: you advise, and others decide. This role: you recommend directly to the Managing Director, the General Manager and the Kenya Leadership Team, and what you recommend changes what we do next. You'll also see the customer behind the number, with regular field visits to the places where these loans are actually repaid. WHAT YOU'LL BRING - A seasoned, demonstrable record in credit risk and portfolio performance within financial services, ideally in consumer lending or PAYGO in emerging markets, with a clear grasp of how credit outcomes connect to pricing, unit economics and margin. - Top-tier analytical capability: building models and insights from multi-source data with code-based tools and BI platforms, designing experiments, and turning the results into recommendations senior leaders act on. - Proven experience leading BI or analytics delivery and directing analysts and managers, with the standing to influence decisions at General Manager and executive level. A quantitative degree is preferred, and a postgraduate qualification or a designation such as CFA, ACCA, CPA or FRM is a welcome extra rather than a gate. Beyond the technical, you are someone who can bring Credit, Sales and Finance around a single outcome, who writes analysis an executive reads in full, and who coaches people to focus on results rather than output. Above all, you believe credit performance is the number that matters, and you're comfortable being measured on it. WHAT YOUR WEEKS LOOK LIKE - Diagnosing and steering the portfolio. You run weekly, monthly and quarterly credit reporting, lead the portfolio review with fraud and collections inputs, and go deep when performance slips to find the cause and lead the response. You also represent credit on regulatory matters and lead credit bureau decisions. - Pricing for growth and margin. You price payment plans so sales can grow while credit stays healthy, test the credit assumptions behind new plans, and forecast how each initiative moves unit economics. - Building trusted data and a strong team. You own BI delivery for Kenya, set the standards for data quality and metric definitions, partner with data and engineering teams, and coach the team so the business gets numbers it can trust, on time. THE REALITY CHECK This role is demanding. Credit performance is your headline measure, so when a trend turns, you are the first person asked why and what happens next. You'll move from query-level detail to a leadership table in the same day, and you'll spend real time in the field. It rewards people who like owning a number. And you're probably ready for exactly this. LET'S TALK If you read this and thought "I wasn't looking, but this is different," that's probably the signal to have the conversation. No pressure, no pitch. Just a conversation about what owning credit for a business serving millions could look like WHY M-KOPA? At M-KOPA, we empower our people to own their careers through diverse development programs, coaching partnerships, and on-the-job training. We support individual journeys with family-friendly policies, prioritize well-being, and embrace flexibility. Join us in shaping the future of M-KOPA as we grow together. Explore more at m-kopa.com http://m-kopa.com. [https://app.ashbyhq.com/api/images/user-content/1d985516-2a99-43c0-b591-957f5adaceb9/369018b8-cf9c-49c7-95f1-1d414482ba57/B13.png] Recognized four times by the Financial Times as one Afric...