Lead Risk Manager

FairMoney is a pioneering mobile banking institution specializing in extending credit to emerging markets. Established in 2017, the company currently operates primarily within Nigeria, and it has secured nearly €50 million in funding from renowned global investors, including Tiger Global, DST, and Flourish Ventures. 

In alignment with its vision, FairMoney is actively constructing the foremost mobile banking platform and point-of-sale (POS) solution tailored for emerging markets. The journey began with the introduction of a digital microcredit application exclusively available on Android and iOS devices. Today, FairMoney has significantly expanded its range of services, encompassing a comprehensive suite of financial products, such as current accounts, savings accounts, debit cards, and state-of-the-art POS solutions designed to meet the needs of both merchants and agents. FairMoney thrives on its diverse workforce, bringing together talent from over 27 nationalities. This multicultural team drives the company’s mission of reshaping financial services for underserved communities.To gain deeper insights into FairMoney’s pivotal role in reshaping Africa’s financial landscape, we invite you to watch informative video.

Role Overview
We are hiring a Lead Risk Manager to own and scale our iOS (Apple) lending portfolio in Nigeria.

This is not a monitoring role.

This is not a reporting role.

This is a P&L-impacting, GP/ECL ownership role.

You will:

• Own Gross Profit (GP)
• Own Expected Credit Loss (ECL)
• Own risk-adjusted unit economics
• Own portfolio scaling decisions
• Own credit policy direction

You will lead policy, experimentation, analytics, and performance — and be accountable for portfolio outcomes end-to-end.

This is a high-impact role.

Key Responsibilities
GP & ECL Ownership

• Own portfolio-level GP and ECL performance
• Maintain ECL/Revenue within risk appetite
• Optimise:
• PD
• LGD
• Exposure limits
• Pricing
• Tenure strategy
• Build and manage loan-level and user-level NPV frameworks
• Ensure scaling decisions improve long-term portfolio PV

You must think in:

• Risk-adjusted margin
• Behavioural lifetime value
• Capital efficiency
• Sustainable growth

Credit Policy Leadership

• Design and implement credit policy changes
• Define clear hypotheses before rollout
• Quantify impact across:
• FPD
• Roll rates
• NPL
• ECL
• NPV
• GP uplift
• Present before/after impact analysis
• Ensure policy governance and documentation standards

Every policy change must be:

• Hypothesis-driven
• Controlled
• Measurable
• Financially justified

Portfolio Scaling & Experimentation

• Design and execute A/B and multivariate tests
• Ensure statistical validity and bias control
• Measure impact beyond FPD — full unit economics view
• Scale winning strategies quickly
• Terminate underperforming experiments fast

You must be comfortable making decisions under uncertainty — but never without data.

Unit Economics & PV Mastery

You must deeply understand:

• Loan-level NPV
• User-level NPV
• Behavioural EIR
• Discounting logic
• Lifetime value modelling
• Risk-adjusted CAC impact

You should be comfortable explaining why tenure, pricing, or exposure shifts change portfolio PV.

End-to-End Credit Product Ownership

• Acquisition risk filters
• Limit assignment logic
• Pricing bands
• Tenure optimisation
• Top-up strategy
• Collections alignment
• Fraud overlays
• Model strategy alignment

You must understand how underwriting decisions today affect collections 90+ days later.

Team Leadership & Analytical Excellence

• Lead and build a high-performance risk/analytics team
• Set weekly performance rhythms
• Ensure dashboards are decision-grade
• Review analysis rigorously
• Maintain strong data governance

We expect someone who:

• Gets into SQL when needed
• Reviews modelling logic
• Challenges assumptions
• Doesn’t hide behind slides

This is a builder role.

What Success Looks Like (12 Months)

• Portfolio scaled profitably
• ECL/Revenue within risk appetite
• Positive portfolio NPV under stress assumptions
• Strong experimentation culture embedded
• Clear policy governance framework
• iOS portfolio positioned for multi-market scaling

Requirements

• 6–10+ years in consumer credit risk
• Strong exposure to African lending markets (Nigeria preferred)
• Proven ownership of GP and ECL
• Experience scaling digital portfolios
• Advanced knowledge of:
• PD / LGD / EAD frameworks
• Roll-rate modelling
• IFRS9 concepts
• NPV modelling
• Pricing optimisation
• Strong SQL and analytical tooling comfort
• Deep A/B experimentation experience

Benefits

• 25 days paid vacation, Sick & Public Holidays to B2B contractors.
• Remote (timezone must have significant overlap with CET).
• Training & Development budget.
• Paid company business trips.

Recruitment Process

• Screening call with Recruiter: 45 minutes.
• Technical Interview with Chief Credit Officer