Job offer: Branch Manager

Company Profile

Advans is a leading microfinance group established in 2005. Advans mission is to respond to the need for financial services of small businesses and other populations who have ill-adapted, limited or no access to formal financial services. The Advans Group currently spans nine countries: Cambodia, Cameroon, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Pakistan, Nigeria, Tunisia and Myanmar. As at end October 2019, the group served more than 1,000,000 clients and employed more than 7,300 staff. Headquartered in Luxembourg with support services in Paris, the group’s shareholders are EIB, KfW, FMO, CDC Group plc, FISEA (AFD Group) and IFC.Advans Ghana, subsidiary of the international microfinance group Advans, started its activities in 2008. The institution offers a full range of adapted financial products and services to micro, small and medium sized enterprises in Ghana. The institution serves more than 64,000 clients through a network of 20 points of sale and over 650 employees.

Are you passionate about financial services and driving growth in the MSME sector?
Do you have what it takes to lead a dynamic team in a fast-paced savings and loans company?
We’re looking for an experienced Branch Manager who is ready to take charge, inspire teams, and deliver exceptional financial solutions to our valued customers.

What will your role be?
Under the supervision of the Area Manager, the Branch Manager will have the following objectives.
Responsibility for all branch activities. In charge of the profitability and the commercial development of the branch, the branch staff management, credit risk management, and liquidity management. Also ensures that the branch is run smoothly in terms of logistics.

Implementation of operational policies, procedures, and guidelines and as such the implementation of prevention, detection, and correction of risks related to the above-mentioned core activities.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
Commercial Activities

Participate in the definition of the branch objectives, to make sure they are known and understood by him/her and the branch staff.

Define the strategy and action plan for client acquisition and retention of clients.

Organize client acquisition actions in the branch based on a proper assessment of the right action for the relevant segments. The BM must set Objectives and the process of the acquisition including providing tools for the processes as well as proper assignation of responsibility for the process.

Implement at the branch level the specific communication activities that may be implemented at the company’s level (e.g., special promotional activities on a given product)

Contribute to development and lead implementation of Institution strategy at the branch level

Identify clients’ needs and propose new products/services to the management of the company (field visits, regular meetings with commercial staff) and maintain ongoing market intelligence activities with special attention to competition.

Monitor the results of commercial development activities, analyze them with staff, supervisor and propose corrective actions or new initiatives that may support the achievement of objectives.

Must act as liaison between HR and other departments in the disbursement of all employee items

Lending Activities

Develop the overall branch portfolio in accordance with targets set by the management, both in terms of quantity and quality

Make sure that loan applications and loan appraisals are processed by Customer Service Officers and Client Relationship Officers according to the company’s standard (policies, procedures and guidelines), with special regard to completeness of documentation (both for paperwork and for data processing in the Management Information System – MIS)

Chair the loan committee meetings for decision making on loans (approval, conditional approval, adjustments in terms of loan features, decline). If loan committee chairperson’s role is assigned to some supervisee, ensure a regular review of decisions made to assess adherence to policies, procedures and guidelines (including environmental and social policy), and take corrective action if needed.

Spearheading the implementation any new method or process for loan disbursement including digital loans as well as Automatic loan

Monitor the loan portfolio and to follow the timely repayments by using the ad-hoc reports, and to organize and follow results of recovery actions in case of late repayments.

Ensure the implementation of all tools used for monitoring and follow up

Monitor the revenue generation of the loan portfolio to ensure the right mix of segment in the portfolio

Savings and Deposits Activities

Ensure that deposits products and services are marketed both by Client Relationship Officers and Customer Service Officers, in the branch and in the field, and that quantitative and qualitative results are met in a timely manner.

Ensure there are right proportions of the various type of deposit and especially the development of CSA

Ensure that the client registration process and account opening process are run in line with policies, procedures and guidelines (both paperwork and data processing in the

MIS), with special attention to be given to Know Your Customer – KYC and Anti Money Laundering Policy

Analyse the development of the ssavings activities of the branch (e.g., number of accounts, of active accounts, analysis of operations, flows and balances)

Propose effective action plans for the development of the deposit portfolio to management

Ensure regular reviews of cash flows on the deposit accounts for AML purposes; to report to the Operations Manager (Compliance Officer) should any suspicious behaviour be noted.

Implement all Institution strategies and action plan for deposit mobilization

Monitor the financial expenses incurred by the branch to advise on pricing and composition of different products

Cash Management Activities

Ensure that the branch always handles sufficient liquidities in order to guarantee a smooth processing of transactions (e.g., withdrawal on deposits, loan amounts withdrawals), while keeping below the maximum authorised amount. To ensure that such liquidity level is anyhow not in excess considering expected in-flows and outflows, and in such a case operate deposit with partner bank(s) to limit exposure to robbery and to maximise return of liquidities.

Ensure that the daily client cash transactions at the teller counter are performed in line with the cash management procedures (e.g., management of in- and out-flows between tellers, between teller’s tills and main vault), and that client's cash deposits and withdrawals are handled by tellers in line with the said procedures

Perform daily checks of the cash in hand at the tellers’ level and at the main vault level

Document any cash in excess or shortage, and refer when applicable to the Audit Department and to the Operation Department.

Ensure that the management of critical keys (strong room, safe) is handled as per procedures and that any change in keys’ custody is documented as per procedure

Manage the petty cash in the limits stated by the management, in order to ensure a smooth supply of the branch in terms of miscellaneous supplies of goods or services; to report regularly to the Operations and Finance Departments of the use of funds.

Manage the relations with the partner bank’s (or banks’) branch(es), i.e., the signature of cheques with special attention to the delegation rules as established by the management. To ensure that any fund transfer from or to the partner bank is ensured with respect to

procedures (e.g., mandatory use of a fund transfer company services beyond a given threshold)

Manage the relationship with the Bullion cash services

Reporting Activities

Ensure that the required and accurate operational reports (prospecting activities, commercial results) are delivered to the Operations Department in a timely manner.

Ensure that the standard set of documents supporting cash management activities are delivered to the Finance Department as per requirements (accuracy, frequency)

Report to the supervisor (and according to the area of concern to any other relevant department) about any issue fixed that appears new, unexpected, or not provided for in policies, procedures, or guidelines.

Ensure a follow-up of the issues brought to the attention of the different departments, and refer to the operations Manager should any significant issue remain un-fixed in a reasonable timeframe.

Human Resources Management Activities

Maintain a staff attitude ensuring respectful, professional, and Advans values-driven behaviour towards customers; to maintain alignment of staff behaviour with the Employee Handbook, Human Resources Policies, and updates of such HR documents

Ensure ongoing coaching and mentoring of the branch staff by maintaining a regular flow of informal or formal discussions with staff members, both in the branch and in the field

Ensure an annual individual setup of objectives and a semi-annual appraisal, as well as a final yearly appraisal of each branch staff, and provide as a consequence recommendation for the professional evolution of staff (can be ongoing according also to branch needs)

Plan recruitments according to branch expansion plans, or immediate needs that may occur; to participate in the recruitment of the said staff

Ensure clear documentation of any misbehavior, in line with the Employee Handbook, and refer in such a case to the Operations Manager and the HR Manager

Refer to Chief Sales and Distribution Officer and HR Manager any unexpected HR issue that may not be provided for in the Employee Handbook or HR policy

Actively monitor the attitude of staff and advise management on any trends to be addressed Logistics Activities

Make sure all fixed assets are kept in good condition and are maintained according to needs, in relation to the Logistics Department (furniture, computers, generator, etc.).

Make sure that the branch has sufficient stocks of stationery and other consumable goods needed for the normal processing of transactions; this includes regular orders to the Logistics Department as well as direct supply through petty cash for low-cost items that can be purchased directly in the neighborhood of the branch

Plan the supply of fixed assets and consumable goods according to consumption and branch expansion plans (e.g., new furniture or equipment in relation to recruitments).

Make sure the branch's overall appearance is conducive to the development of activities (e.g., keeping the branch and branch accesses clean, making sure the client files are correctly stored, making sure any signage remains in good shape, etc.)

Make sure the security guards are on duty in a timely manner and are effectively providing the branch with sufficient security. To refer to the logistics department should any issue occur

Be comfortable with how to deal with any emergency issue (fire, robbery, serious misbehaviour (e.g., violent) of staff or client), as well as use and regular test of the alarm system.

Ensure all logistics used for work are used efficiently to ensure costs are well-managed

Overall Managerial Activities

Plan the overall branch activities (or apply the standard plan as established by management) i.e., scheduling loan committee meetings, weekly meetings with the branch staff, specific meetings with such or such type of staff or individuals according to needs, mandatory cash controls, level of improvised field visit to ensure, data processing for reports, training on innovations or refreshment on existing topics, etc. (and to ensure a strict follow-up of such schedules)

Participate in regular management meetings held at the head office level

Develop a structured knowledge of small business's developmental issues, for improved performance of the branch and of the company Risk Management Activities

Ensure first-degree controls as embedded in the policies, procedures, and guidelines (e.g., cash controls, review of loan file before disbursement); to promote a culture of auto-control among staff

Ensure particularly that sufficient time is devoted to field visits to clients, in order to confirm their existence, and the reality of their businesses, and to assess that the overall documentation on the clients is accurate and comprehensive, with particular attention to any potential or current loan

Overall, to identify and analyze any potential issue that may hamper the development of the branch activity, to refer to and propose to management possible solutions

Implementation of all controls in the branch

Effectively monitoring the PAR levels, write and recovery of write-off to ensure that the cost of Risk of the branch is maintained at the barest minimum

Propose approaches for problem-solving should any risk area be identified by self, by the supervisor, or by internal audit

Education Required: Bachelor’s Degree