Head of Financial Services(Retail) Cape Town

A leading organisation is seeking a Head of Credit and Risk to take ownership of their end-to-end credit strategy, performance, and governance. This pivotal role offers you the opportunity to shape the future of consumer credit across the business, from acquisition through to collections, while ensuring sustainable growth and robust cash flow. You will be at the forefront of aligning credit operations with regulatory requirements and best-practice standards, driving both commercial success and operational excellence. The company values flexibility, encourages knowledge sharing, and supports your professional development within a collaborative environment that prizes integrity, inclusivity, and customer-centricity. If you are passionate about making a tangible impact on business outcomes while nurturing high-performing teams, this is your chance to thrive in a supportive setting that recognises your expertise.

What you'll do:

As Head of Credit and Risk based in Cape Town, you will play an instrumental role in shaping the organisation’s approach to consumer credit throughout its entire lifecycle. Your day-to-day responsibilities will see you collaborating closely with senior leadership to define long-term strategies that drive both growth and compliance. You will oversee divisional profitability through careful management of revenue streams while ensuring every aspect of credit operations meets stringent regulatory standards. By championing product innovation alongside commercial partnerships with insurers and underwriters, you will help expand the company’s reach in the marketplace. Operationally, your focus on continuous improvement will ensure seamless onboarding experiences for customers as well as efficient collections processes. You will also act as a key representative for Financial Services at board level—managing critical stakeholder relationships—and lead a dedicated team committed to delivering exceptional results. Success in this role requires not only technical expertise but also an ability to foster collaboration across functions while nurturing talent within your team.

• Define and implement a comprehensive multi-year strategy for credit and insurance that aligns with broader corporate goals, market trends, and risk tolerance.
• Take full ownership of profit and loss for the division by driving revenue growth initiatives, managing pricing strategies, overseeing claims processes, and maintaining rigorous cost controls.
• Ensure strict adherence to all applicable regulatory requirements including NCR, FAIS, POPIA, TCF by preparing for inspections and responding effectively to any regulatory queries or audits.
• Set the organisation’s credit risk appetite by approving major policies and monitoring portfolio health through regular reviews and remediation plans when necessary.
• Champion product innovation by sponsoring new offerings, developing distribution strategies, and building commercial partnerships with insurers and underwriters to expand market reach.
• Promote operational excellence by optimising onboarding processes, collections activities, claims handling, and customer service delivery using key performance indicators (KPIs) and ongoing process improvements.
• Represent Financial Services at Board meetings as well as with regulators, investors, and strategic partners; manage executive-level reporting and escalations efficiently.
• Build strong cross-functional relationships across departments to ensure alignment between credit operations and wider commercial objectives.
• Lead, mentor, and manage the Credit team by fostering capability development, succession planning, compliance focus, customer centricity, innovation encouragement, and achievement of operational targets.

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, Economics or Statistics is essential; an MBA or professional qualification is highly desirable for this senior position.
• At least 12 years’ experience within financial services including a minimum of 5 years in senior leadership roles where you have demonstrated responsibility for retail credit or insurance portfolios.
• Proven track record in P&L management with strong commercial judgement supported by advanced financial literacy skills.
• Deep understanding of South African regulatory frameworks such as NCR (National Credit Regulator), FAIS (Financial Advisory & Intermediary Services), FICA (Financial Intelligence Centre Act), POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act), along with practical experience preparing for regulatory inspections.
• Expertise in designing and managing credit policies as well as applying corporate governance principles within complex organisations.
• Demonstrated ability to report at Board level—translating complex data into actionable insights for executive stakeholders.
• Comprehensive knowledge of credit scorecards/decision systems plus hands-on experience working with collections strategies/performance metrics; familiarity with major credit bureaus like TransUnion or Experian is advantageous.
• Advanced proficiency in SQL & Microsoft Excel; exposure to SAS/R/Power BI would be beneficial but not mandatory.
• Fluency in English is required; Afrikaans language skills are an advantage but not essential for success in this role.
• Willingness to travel regularly between stores/distribution centres coupled with possession of a valid driver’s licence.

Please send CVs to catherine.blake@robertwalters.com