Senior Credit Officer: Portfolio Management x3 at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

Job Description    

• The purpose of the role is to support the credit risk management and portfolio oversight of the Bank’s investments across South Africa, the Rest of Africa and High Impact. The role involves conducting detailed credit assessments, financial analysis, credit monitoring of the portfolio; further contributing to early warning identification and risk mitigation strategies across the Bank’s investment activities. Applying technical and commercial expertise and legal knowledge, the role supports strategic decision-making, contributes to credit compliance, portfolio management and ensures that exposures remain aligned with the institutional risk appetite. The role interacts closely with the Credit Origination responsible for new transactions while maintaining dedicated focus on the post-approval performance of the existing portfolio.

Key Responsibilities    
Credit Review and Monitoring

• Undertake credit assessments of clients for annual credit reviews according to internal annual review cycle for sovereigns, public entities, infrastructure and high impact projects.
• Prepare credit memos, with opinions and recommendations for clients in the portfolio.
• Prioritise and manage the portfolio to ensure that annual reviews do not expire beyond the policy prescripts.
• Prepare credit opinions for additional lines of credit for public sector clients, as part of the annual review.
• Regularly engage other teams to obtain latest collateral values from the collateral register, as inputs into the credit assessment and risk rating process.
• Monitor the adherence to credit conditions, loan covenants, and risk triggers; taking appropriate action.
• Track, manage and report on credit amendments, waivers, and restructuring activities.
• Initiate/review rapid risk reviews in response to emerging external or internal risk signals, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders for effective intervention.

Financial and Credit Analysis

• Conduct financial statement analysis, cash flow modelling, and creditworthiness assessments.
• Perform peer benchmarking and sectoral credit comparisons as part of the financial modelling assessment.
• Build and/or challenge financial model assumptions for reasonableness based on financial, technical and market insights applied.
• Conduct stress testing and scenario analysis to test financial viability and draw conclusions / make recommendations to mitigate risks identified.

Portfolio Reporting and Compliance

• Maintain accurate records of credit decisions outcomes, risk ratings, loan classifications, and covenant compliance; store records in compliance with the Bank’s records management and specified electronic drives.
• Contribute to the preparation of regular portfolio reports for management and stakeholders.
• Support the development of enhancing portfolio monitoring reports and dashboards.
• Validate and assess data for accuracy, reliability and completeness on all relevant credit and risk systems.
• Uphold compliance with internal credit policies, investment mandates and regulatory requirements.
• Liaise with teams to ensure seamless handover and continuous oversight of transactions post-disbursement.
• Support the disbursement process, post-handover, to ensure facility conditions are met as required.

Credit Mitigation and Restructuring Support

• Monitor portfolios to identify early warning signals and potential credit deterioration and escalate potential risks in accordance with the policies and delegation of authority prescripts.
• Execute light restructuring and rescheduling processes under supervision and in collaboration with other teams.
• Review ongoing financial compliance of updated financial models and/or recommend and implement new credit risk mitigants (e.g. conditions, collateral, guarantees), as required.

Reporting

• Produce accurate, insightful reports and continuously monitoring key financial and non-financial metrics to assess performance and credit migration risk.
• Establish and adhere to deadlines to ensure management has up-to-date information for decision-making.
• Maintain high standards of accuracy and timeliness to deliver reports that are timely and precise.
• Utilise appropriate technologies and tools to enhance reporting efficiency and clarity, while also safeguarding the confidentiality and sensitivity of the information included.

Stakeholder Management and Problem-Solving

• Collaborate effectively with stakeholders to achieve common goals, facilitating open and clear communication.
• Actively listen, share information, and foster a cooperative environment that encourages diverse perspectives and collective problem-solving.

Key measurement of output:

• Percentage of credit review documentation prepared without errors / deferred.
• Timeliness of credit review documentation submissions reviewed and approved (annual review % not expired).
• Number of covenant breaches or risk triggers identified and escalated; compliance rate across the monitored portfolio.
• Timely monitoring updates in accordance with facility and/or risk requirements; number of loan facility terms and conditions compliance checks completed and actioned (where appropriate).
• Quality of financial analyses or models built / assessed and quality of inputs to credit assessments, stakeholder feedback on model accuracy and usefulness for decision-making.

Expertise & Technical Competencies    
Qualifications

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Economics, Accounting or a related field.

Experience

• Minimum of 8 years’ experience in credit risk analysis, portfolio monitoring, or financial analysis within a wholesale, investment banking, or development finance environment.
• Strong proficiency in credit analysis, financial modelling, credit rating methodologies, and monitoring of comparable credit portfolios.
• Solid expertise in financial statement analysis, credit risk assessment, and the application of risk mitigation strategies.
• Knowledge of development finance instruments and the end-to-end credit lifecycle and loan value chain.
• Awareness of macroeconomic and political risk factors influencing country and credit risk, particularly in emerging markets.
• Demonstrated strength in credit reasoning, with excellent credit writing and report development skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication abilities, including effective presentation skills and the capacity to convey complex concepts in clear business terms.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience working with municipalities, government programmes, or development finance institutions.
• Understanding and experience of sovereign risk, infrastructure finance, and public sector lending.
• Postgraduate degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting or a related field.
• Professional certification in Financial Risk Management, Chartered Financial Analysis or CA (SA) or equivalent.

Deadline:11th November,2025