The Digital Lending Specialist will be responsible for providing end-to-end credit risk oversight and portfolio management for the Bank's digital lending products across Retail, Commercial, and Enterprise segments. The role ensures prudent growth, strong asset quality, regulatory compliance, and data-driven credit decisioning through robust credit policies, scorecards, monitoring frameworks, and risk analytics for unsecured and micro digital lending products.

Responsibilities

Digital Lending Portfolio Management

• Monitor and manage the performance of digital lending portfolios (personal micro loans, overdrafts, and unsecured digital SME products).
• Track key portfolio metrics including PAR, NPL, roll rates, vintage curves, early warning signals, and write-offs.
• Recommend and implement portfolio optimization strategies to maintain asset quality within risk appetite.
• Conduct periodic portfolio reviews and deep dives by segment, channel, and product.
• Drive risk-based limit management and exposure controls.

Credit Policy & Underwriting Framework

• Develop, review, and continuously enhance digital lending credit policies and risk acceptance criteria.
• Design and maintain decision rules and scorecard cut-offs.
• Ensure alignment between risk appetite, pricing, and underwriting standards.
• Approve exceptions within delegated authority and recommend higher-level approvals where required.
• Support new product approvals through robust credit risk assessments.

Credit Analytics & Scorecard Management

• Oversee the validation and recalibration of credit scoring models for digital products.
• Use data analytics to improve approval rates while maintaining portfolio quality.
• Drive use of alternative data (telco, mobile money, behavioral data) where permissible.

Risk Monitoring & Early Warning

• Establish and maintain early warning indicators for digital portfolios.
• Monitor first payment default (FPD), early delinquency, and forward-roll trends.
• Trigger and coordinate remedial actions for deteriorating segments.
• Work closely with Collections to optimize cure rates and recovery strategies.
• Prepare monthly portfolio risk reports for senior management and risk committees.

Regulatory & Compliance Oversight

• Ensure full compliance with Bank of Uganda (BoU) credit guidelines, IFRS 9 impairment requirements, consumer protection standards, and data privacy and digital lending regulations.
• Support internal and external audits relating to digital credit.
• Ensure proper documentation and audit trails for automated decisions.
• Monitor adherence to responsible digital lending practices.

Stakeholder Management

• Partner with Personal, Enterprise & Commercial Banking, Business Solutions, Innovation Teams, BT & Data Analytics Teams, and Collections & Recoveries.
• Provide risk input during product design and digital journey development.
• Act as the primary credit risk advisor for digital lending initiatives.

Systems & Process Governance

• Ensure proper configuration and ongoing optimization of the Loan Origination System (LOS), decision engines, credit bureau integrations, and fraud controls.
• Drive automation of credit processes while maintaining strong controls.
• Identify and close process gaps and control weaknesses.

Reporting & Management Information

• Produce high-quality dashboards and risk reports covering portfolio quality, approval trends, scorecard performance, and vintage analysis.
• Present insights and recommendations to the Credit Review Committee.
• Maintain data integrity for digital lending reporting.

Financial

Responsibility:

• Recommend policy changes to Credit Risk Committees.
• Escalate material risk issues promptly.

Person Specification

Education & Training

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Statistics, Economics, Actuarial Science, Data Science, Business, or a related field. Relevant certifications are an added advantage.
• Deep 360-degree knowledge of Financial Technology and Banking Products.

Skills & Experience:

• At least 5 years' experience in digital lending, financial services, or a related field involving the development of credit/lending services.
• Proven experience in retail micro lending, digital/instant credit, SME unsecured lending, and portfolio analytics.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess credit risk, interpret complex data, and make data-driven decisions.
• Proficiency in digital lending platforms, financial software, and data analysis tools such as SQL, Excel (advanced), Power BI/Tableau, and Python (advantage).
• Good understanding of financial regulations and compliance requirements related to credit in general and digital lending in particular.

Business Behaviors:

• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to convey complex information to different stakeholders clearly and concisely.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Commercial and risk balance mindset.

• Monitor and manage the performance of digital lending portfolios (personal micro loans, overdrafts, and unsecured digital SME products).
• Track key portfolio metrics including PAR, NPL, roll rates, vintage curves, early warning signals, and write-offs.
• Recommend and implement portfolio optimization strategies to maintain asset quality within risk appetite.
• Conduct periodic portfolio reviews and deep dives by segment, channel, and product.
• Drive risk-based limit management and exposure controls.
• Develop, review, and continuously enhance digital lending credit policies and risk acceptance criteria.
• Design and maintain decision rules and scorecard cut-offs.
• Ensure alignment between risk appetite, pricing, and underwriting standards.
• Approve exceptions within delegated authority and recommend higher-level approvals where required.
• Support new product approvals through robust credit risk assessments.
• Oversee the validation and recalibration of credit scoring models for digital products.
• Use data analytics to improve approval rates while maintaining portfolio quality.
• Drive use of alternative data (telco, mobile money, behavioral data) where permissible.
• Establish and maintain early warning indicators for digital portfolios.
• Monitor first payment default (FPD), early delinquency, and forward-roll trends.
• Trigger and coordinate remedial actions for deteriorating segments.
• Work closely with Collections to optimize cure rates and recovery strategies.
• Prepare monthly portfolio risk reports for senior management and risk committees.
• Ensure full compliance with Bank of Uganda (BoU) credit guidelines, IFRS 9 impairment requirements, consumer protection standards, and data privacy and digital lending regulations.
• Support internal and external audits relating to digital credit.
• Ensure proper documentation and audit trails for automated decisions.
• Monitor adherence to responsible digital lending practices.
• Partner with Personal, Enterprise & Commercial Banking, Business Solutions, Innovation Teams, BT & Data Analytics Teams, and Collections & Recoveries.
• Provide risk input during product design and digital journey development.
• Act as the primary credit risk advisor for digital lending initiatives.
• Ensure proper configuration and ongoing optimization of the Loan Origination System (LOS), decision engines, credit bureau integrations, and fraud controls.
• Drive automation of credit processes while maintaining strong controls.
• Identify and close process gaps and control weaknesses.
• Produce high-quality dashboards and risk reports covering portfolio quality, approval trends, scorecard performance, and vintage analysis.
• Present insights and recommendations to the Credit Review Committee.
• Maintain data integrity for digital lending reporting.
• Recommend policy changes to Credit Risk Committees.
• Escalate material risk issues promptly.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to assess credit risk
• Ability to interpret complex data
• Ability to make data-driven decisions
• Proficiency in digital lending platforms
• Proficiency in financial software
• Proficiency in data analysis tools such as SQL, Excel (advanced), Power BI/Tableau, and Python (advantage)
• Good understanding of financial regulations and compliance requirements related to credit in general and digital lending in particular
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Ability to convey complex information to different stakeholders clearly and concisely
• Strong attention to detail
• Commercial and risk balance mindset

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Statistics, Economics, Actuarial Science, Data Science, Business, or a related field.
• Relevant certifications are an added advantage.
• Deep 360-degree knowledge of Financial Technology and Banking Products.