Head of Recovery

Job description

• Design and implement a segmented debt collection framework — differentiated by product type, ticket size, and delinquency stage — spanning early-stage soft collections through hardcore legal recovery, restructuring, and write-off pathways.
• Define the org structure, recruit high-caliber talent, and stand up the operational and systems infrastructure (collections management systems, tracking dashboards, agent/dialer tooling) needed to run recovery at scale.
• Direct legal recovery strategy for the department — whether executed directly or through instruction of external counsel — ensuring all actions comply with applicable financial regulations and debt collection laws.
• Manage high-level engagements with external stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies, and external counsel, to expedite resolution of non-performing loans (NPLs).
• Design incentive structures and performance frameworks (KPIs, commission or fee structures) for the collections and recovery network to drive both recovery rate and cost-to-collect efficiency.
• Continuously train and upskill the collections and recovery network in alignment with collections  strategy and industry best practice.
• Own collections and recovery performance reporting to senior management, including recovery rate, cost of recovery, and portfolio-level LGD trends, and feed recommendations into credit committee decisions on write-offs and restructuring.
• Collaborate with credit, legal, risk, and finance to align collections and recovery efforts with underwriting standards and portfolio strategy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; a degree in Law (LLB) is an advantage but not required.
• Minimum 7 years of experience in credit/debt recovery, including senior leadership of a recovery function handling high-value non-performing loans.
• Demonstrated experience across both high-ticket/corporate recovery (litigation-led, relationship-driven) and high-volume digital/retail collections (analytics-led, behavioral, tech-enabled) 
• Strong working knowledge of debt recovery laws, banking regulations, and court procedures in Nigeria.
• Familiarity with digital collections infrastructure and tactics — dialer/CRM systems, SMS/USSD/app-based nudges, propensity-to-pay scoring, and behavioral segmentation for low-ticket, high-volume portfolios.
• Demonstrated experience designing, building, or scaling a recovery/collections function — including org design, systems and process build-out, and team hiring.
• Proven experience overseeing recovery operations with national coverage, including a strong network of legal counsel and law enforcement contacts spanning all six geo-political zones in Nigeria — as opposed to experience confined to a single state or region.
• Excellent negotiation, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret financial and portfolio data to guide recovery strategy.

Requirements

Education: Bachelor's degree Experience: 7 years Languages: English