Senior Manager: Platforms & Credit Intelligence

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

Own and optimise decisioning platforms and credit intelligence capabilities, ensuring accurate rule implementation, robust testing (unit, batch, end-to-end), and stable production performance of credit strategies. Deliver system enhancements and scalable data solutions that align with business needs, integrating internal and external data to enable automation, richer insights, and improved customer value outcomes. Leverage data, platforms, and AI-driven tools to enhance credit decisioning, improving consistency, productivity, early risk detection, and overall efficiency across the lending lifecycle.

Accountability: Decisioning Engine Platform Ownership

• Own the end-to-end decisioning engine platform to ensure accurate, controlled deployment of credit strategies, with robust governance over change management and strict adherence to testing standards (unit, batch, and end-to-end)

• Ensure operational stability and reliability of decisioning strategies by providing ongoing post-production support, proactively identifying issues, and maintaining high levels of system performance and decision accuracy

• Drive continuous improvement in process efficiency and platform resilience by optimising workflows, reducing defects, and enhancing scalability to support evolving business and risk requirements.

Accountability: System Solution Delivery & Value Enablement

• Translate business needs into scalable system solutions by delivering targeted enhancements that strengthen credit risk and pricing capabilities, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and operational requirements

• Drive value enablement through data-driven integrations (e.g., Customer Lifetime Value models) that enhance decision-making, improve customer segmentation, and support more informed and profitable lending strategies

• Ensure effective delivery and adoption of system improvements by collaborating across business, technology, and risk teams, embedding solutions that improve efficiency, usability, and measurable business outcomes.

Accountability: Credit Data Foundation

• Build and maintain a scalable, governed credit data ecosystem that integrates internal data across the full lifecycle (intake through to performance) alongside external data sources to support robust, end-to-end credit decisioning

• Enable advanced analytics, automation, and insight generation by structuring high-quality, accessible data foundations that improve risk assessment, pricing precision, and strategic decision-making

• Drive data consistency, quality, and governance standards across the credit landscape, ensuring reliable inputs into models, reporting, and decisioning frameworks while supporting sustainable portfolio performance and growth.

Accountability: AI in Credit Lending

• Enhance credit decision quality and consistency by embedding AI-driven tools into underwriting processes, enabling more standardised, objective, and data-driven credit assessments across complex lending scenarios

• Equip underwriters with intelligent decision support capabilities that improve productivity through automation (e.g., document intelligence) and streamline workflows, reducing manual effort and accelerating deal turnaround times

• Strengthen early risk identification and portfolio resilience by leveraging AI models to detect anomalies and emerging risks, supporting proactive risk management and more informed lending decisions .

Accountability: Stakeholder Engagement

• Liaising with relevant stakeholders, including Sales, IT, Front end & Collections Operations, Strategy & Product, Strategic Alliances, Fraud prevention, Finance and other Risk teams

• Presentation of analytical results and proposals to both technical and non-technical audiences, providing commentary as required

• Assist New Product Development with assessments related to product refinements.

Accountability: Governance

• Serve as joint liaison to address operational risk matters and internal, and external point of contact with auditor/assurance teams.

Accountability: People Management

• Ensure delivery of business goals by aligning Performance Development (PD) Plans of direct reports to the business goals

• Develop a high performing team by embedding formal performance development and informal coaching. Encourage frequent knowledge sharing between team members

• Instill a performance development culture through directing the PD process and adhering to the PD calendar

• Conduct quarterly PD discussions with team members according to PD guidelines.

• Pro-actively identify development areas of direct reports and compile development plans to address them

• Attract and retain talent, with the assistance from the People Partner.

• Interview and recruit new members of the team, including determining appropriate compensation levels with input from HR

• Compile a headcount plan to ensure that current and future business requirements can be met and obtain approval for any additional headcount that might be needed for the team

• Identify team capabilities and develop a succession plan, with assistance from the People Partner

• Motivate team members and ensure that their efforts are recognised

• Approve leave requests for team members and create leave plan to ensure adequate coverage

• Initiate disciplinary action process as and when required, with the assistance of the Employee Relations Consultant

• Act as the first line of escalation for all grievances

• Conduct monthly meetings with the team to address performance gaps

• Effectively lead team members and ensure their efforts are recognised

• Ensure execution of plans seeking to address employee related issues.

Education and Experience Required

• B Degree in Business or Mathematics or Statistics or Informatics or Operational Research or Engineering or Risk Management or Finance or similar

• 5 years’ experience in credit risk analysis.

• 5 years’ experience in developing data driven analytical strategies in the financial service industry.

• 5 years SAS exposure/experience and appreciation (or other programming language).

• 3 years in-depth knowledge of the credit tools and systems used.

• 5 years’ experience in financial service industry.

• 3 years’ experience with Acquisitions.

Education

Bachelor Honours Degree: Actuarial Science, Bachelor Honours Degree: BMI - Business Management and Informatics (Required), Bachelor Honours Degree: Statistics

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised