Loan Officer

We are looking for a motivated, trustworthy, and results-oriented Loan Officer to join our microfinance team in Tanzania.

The Loan Officer will be responsible for identifying and onboarding potential borrowers, promoting loan products, assessing loan applications, conducting customer and business visits, managing an assigned loan portfolio, monitoring repayments, and following up on overdue accounts.

The successful candidate will combine strong customer relationship skills with sound credit judgment to support responsible lending, portfolio quality, customer retention, and sustainable business growth.

This is a field-oriented role and requires regular interaction with customers, businesses, groups, and prospective borrowers.

As a Loan Officer, you will manage customers throughout the lending cycle — from identifying prospective borrowers and explaining available loan products, through application and credit assessment, to disbursement, repayment monitoring, and recovery where necessary.

You will be expected to develop a quality loan portfolio while following the institution's credit policies, procedures, KYC requirements, internal controls, and applicable regulatory requirements.

The role requires someone who is comfortable working with targets, conducting field visits, communicating with customers, analyzing basic financial information, and taking appropriate action when repayments become overdue.

Your performance will contribute to both loan portfolio growth and portfolio quality, including customer acquisition, loan disbursement, repayment performance, collection and recovery.

• Identify and develop new markets and prospective borrowers within the assigned territory.
• Market the institution's loan products and financial services to potential customers.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with existing and prospective customers.
• Conduct field visits, customer meetings, and business development activities.
• Explain loan products, eligibility requirements, repayment schedules, terms, and applicable conditions clearly to customers.
• Maintain an active pipeline of qualified prospective borrowers.
• Receive and review loan applications and supporting documentation.
• Conduct customer interviews and preliminary screening.
• Perform customer due diligence and maintain appropriate KYC information.
• Visit customers and their businesses where required to verify information provided in loan applications.
• Assess customers' income, cash flow, business performance, repayment capacity, and other relevant credit information.
• Conduct loan appraisal in accordance with approved credit procedures.
• Identify potential credit risks, inconsistencies, or warning signs and escalate them appropriately.
• Prepare complete and accurate credit appraisal information for review and approval.
• Coordinate approved loan disbursements in accordance with established procedures.
• Explain repayment obligations and loan terms to customers before and after disbursement.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date customer and loan records.
• Monitor the performance of assigned loan accounts throughout the loan cycle.
• Conduct regular customer and business follow-ups to understand changes that may affect repayment ability.
• Maintain a healthy and quality loan portfolio.
• Monitor scheduled loan repayments and ensure customers are reminded of upcoming obligations.
• Follow up promptly on late or missed repayments.
• Conduct collection activities in accordance with company policies and applicable requirements.
• Work with customers to understand legitimate repayment challenges and escalate cases requiring further action.
• Support recovery of defaulted loans within the approved recovery procedures.
• Maintain accurate records of collection and recovery activities.
• Escalate high-risk or seriously delinquent accounts to the appropriate supervisor.
• Prepare accurate daily, weekly, and monthly reports on assigned loan portfolios.
• Track loan disbursement, repayment, collection, outstanding balances, and portfolio performance.
• Ensure loan files and customer records are complete and properly maintained.
• Follow internal credit, operational, KYC, risk-management, and compliance procedures.
• Protect customer information and maintain confidentiality.
• Report suspected fraud, misrepresentation, or other irregularities through the appropriate channels.
• Perform other related duties assigned by the supervisor.

Key Performance Areas

• Performance in this role may be assessed against:
• New customer acquisition.
• Quality of loan applications submitted.
• Loan disbursement performance.
• Repayment and collection performance.
• Portfolio quality and overdue accounts.
• Loan recovery performance.
• Customer retention and service quality.
• Accuracy and completeness of documentation.
• Compliance with credit and operational procedures.

• Diploma or Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, Banking, Microfinance, Marketing, Social Sciences, or a related field.
• Relevant professional training in credit, banking, microfinance, or financial services is an added advantage.
• Previous experience in microfinance, banking, lending, credit, sales, loan recovery, or financial services is an advantage.
• Experience in loan appraisal, customer acquisition, portfolio management, or collections will be highly valuable.
• Entry-level candidates with relevant qualifications and strong sales/customer-service capabilities may also be considered, depending on the employer's requirements.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Customer acquisition and relationship-management skills.
• Basic credit assessment and financial analysis skills.
• Loan appraisal and repayment-monitoring knowledge.
• Negotiation and collection skills.
• Good numerical and analytical ability.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Good record-keeping and reporting skills.
• Basic computer literacy, including Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Ability to use digital/mobile tools for field-based work.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Strong time-management and organizational skills.
• High level of integrity, confidentiality, and professionalism.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet agreed targets.
• Willingness and ability to conduct regular field visits.