Head of Credit Originations

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced credit risk professional to own our credit origination strategy and decisioning capability. This hands-on role is responsible for the ownership and continuous optimisation of acquisition scorecards, credit decision strategies and credit policy to support profitable portfolio growth within the organisation's risk appetite.
Working closely with business, analytics, technology and operations teams, the successful candidate will apply data and analytics to improve credit decisions, enhance customer outcomes and drive continuous improvement across the origination process.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and continuously refine credit origination strategies, acquisition scorecards, decision rules and credit policy.
• Monitor, validate and optimise acquisition scorecard performance, identifying opportunities to improve portfolio outcomes.
• Develop, implement and maintain credit decision strategies and policy changes across the origination process.
• Analyse portfolio performance and customer behaviour to improve approval rates, take-up, portfolio quality and profitability.
• Review and optimise credit cut-offs, decision rules and risk appetite settings using data-driven insights.
• Develop and optimise bureau, pre-screening and customer selection strategies.
• Monitor acquisition performance metrics and translate analytical insights into practical business actions.
• Work closely with fraud, technology and operational teams to enhance credit controls and acquisition processes.
• Perform hands-on analytical work using SQL, Python (or SAS) and other analytical tools to support decision-making and continuous improvement. 
• Design and execute champion-challenger testing to continuously improve acquisition strategies and portfolio performance

Qualifications and Experience

• Honours degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, Actuarial Science, Quantitative Risk Management or a related quantitative discipline.
• A Master's degree in a quantitative field will be advantageous.
• A minimum of five years' experience in credit strategy, acquisition strategy, credit policy optimisation and scorecard management or scorecard development
• Strong understanding of the end-to-end credit risk lifecycle and acquisition decisioning.
• Advanced SQL programming skills.
• Python experience is preferred. Candidates with strong SAS experience and the ability to transition to Python are encouraged to apply.
• Strong analytical, statistical modelling and problem-solving capability.
• Experience working with large datasets and translating complex analysis into practical business recommendations.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence both technical and non-technical audiences.

Build a successful career with us

We’re all about building strong, lasting relationships with our employees. We know that you have hopes for your future – your career, your personal development and of achieving great things. We pride ourselves in helping  our employees to realise their worth. Through its business clusters – Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Allianz, Santam, as well as MiWay and the Group Office – the group provides many opportunities for growth and development.

Turnaround time

The shortlisting process will only start once the application due date has been reached. The time taken to complete this process will depend on how far you progress and the availability of managers. 

Our commitment to transformation