SME Relationship Manager

Job Title: SME Relationship Manager

Reports to: Branch Manager, Functional Reporting to Head of SME

Direct Reports: Senior Relationship Officers and Relationship Officers

Functional relationships: Credit, Trade Finance, Operations, Compliance, Risk, Retail Banking, Treasury, Branch Network, Group SME Teams

Location: Kitengela, Kenya

COMPANY INFORMATION

Our client is a subsidiary of a leading pan African banking group with a presence across multiple African countries. The bank operates within a regional group structure and maintains alignment with group reporting standards, governance frameworks, and commercial performance expectations across its SME business units.

The organization is currently strengthening its footprint within the Kenyan market through segmentation of its Retail and SME portfolios to provide deeper engagement for business clients and improve portfolio quality, growth, and customer experience. The bank operates within a lean structure where Relationship Managers are expected to take ownership of the full client lifecycle, including business acquisition, customer engagement, portfolio management, and preliminary credit assessment.

ROLE PURPOSE

The SME Relationship Manager will be responsible for originating, building, and managing SME relationships to support customer acquisition, retention, portfolio growth, and income generation across Assets, Liabilities, Trade Finance, and Cash Management products.

The role requires a highly hands-on Relationship Manager capable of independently managing the full customer lifecycle, including business development, gathering and analyzing customer financial information, identifying financing needs, conducting preliminary financial analysis, structuring appropriate credit solutions, packaging customer credit proposals, portfolio monitoring, and relationship management. The position is advisory and solution-oriented, requiring an individual with strong SME relationship management capabilities, practical financial analysis skills, and the ability to understand customer businesses and recommend appropriate credit solutions.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Portfolio Growth and Business Development

• Drive SME balance sheet growth across Assets, Liabilities, and Off Balance Sheet exposures.
  
• Identify, develop, and pursue new business opportunities within the SME segment to grow profitable customer portfolios.
  
• Build and manage strong customer pipelines through proactive market engagement, networking, referrals, and relationship management activities.
  
• Increase the level of products and services consumed by SME clients and deepen relationships across customer supply chains through collaboration with other business units.
  
• Promote uptake of Trade Finance, Cash Management, Digital Banking, and other banking solutions across the assigned portfolio.
  
• Understand customer businesses, financial positions and financing requirements to identify appropriate credit solutions.
  
• Assess customer needs and determine suitable financing facilities based on their financial position and business requirements.
  
• Build and manage customer relationships through advisory engagement, referrals, networking and market knowledge rather than cold calling.
  

Relationship Management and Customer Engagement

• Manage key customer relationships through regular client engagement, visits, and portfolio reviews.
  
• Cultivate strong rapport with SME customers and position the bank as the preferred financial partner for business growth and investment.
  
• Maintain high professional standards and provide quality service delivery and competitive banking solutions to customers.
  
• Develop a strong understanding of customer businesses, industries, operational challenges, and financing requirements to support relationship growth and retention.
  

Credit Management and Portfolio Quality

• Conduct preliminary financial analysis and assess business viability before submission of credit applications.
  
• Support deal structuring and preparation of customer credit proposals in collaboration with Credit and Risk teams.
  
• Manage SME credit portfolio quality and maintain portfolio performance within approved risk thresholds.
  
• Monitor portfolio performance, customer activity, dormant accounts, and early warning indicators to manage portfolio risk proactively.
  
• Maintain sustainability and quality of the assigned portfolio through prudent relationship and credit management practices.
  
• Gather and review customer financial information, including Balance Sheets, P&L statements, Cash Flow Statements and Cash Flow Projections.
  
• Assess business profitability and understand the key drivers of profitability or under performance.
  
• Conduct preliminary credit appraisal to determine customer eligibility and appropriate financing requirements.
  
• Identify, structure and package appropriate credit facilities based on the customer's business and financial position.
  
• Assess customer financing needs before preparing and presenting credit proposals.
  

Operational Excellence and Compliance

• Maintain high operational standards and adherence to Risk Management, Compliance, KYC, and AML guidelines in all customer engagements and transactions.
  
• Support timely completion of documentation, customer onboarding, and portfolio administration processes.
  
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders including Operations, Trade Finance, Treasury, Compliance, and Credit teams to support efficient turnaround and customer service delivery.
  
• Provide guidance and support to Relationship Officers to support portfolio performance and customer service delivery.
  

MEASURABLE OUTCOME

• Achieve SME portfolio growth targets across Assets, Liabilities, and Non Funded Income.
  
• Grow Trade Finance and regional business volumes within the assigned portfolio.
  
• Maintain portfolio quality within approved risk thresholds and acceptable delinquency levels.
  
• Achieve profitability and productivity targets for the assigned portfolio.
  
• Increase customer acquisition, wallet share, and product penetration across SME relationships.
  
• Maintain compliance with KYC, AML, and internal operational risk standards.
  
• The target SME segment will primarily cover businesses with approximately Ksh. 30M–Ksh. 1B in monthly turnover.
  
• The portfolio may also include smaller businesses within the broader SME segment.
  
• Typical financing requirements may include Letters of Credit, Bank Guarantees, Working Capital facilities and other credit facilities.
  
  

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE & ATTRIBUTES

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Accounting, or a related field with basic grounding in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or CPA qualification.
  
• MBA or postgraduate qualification will be an added advantage.
  
• Certification in Credit Analysis or strong exposure to financial statement analysis will be an added advantage.
  
• Minimum of five years of general banking experience with at least three years in SME Relationship Management within the Kenyan market.
  
• Strong practical exposure in analysing business financial statements and assessing SME credit viability.
  
• Experience in Credit Analysis, Relationship Management, Business Development, and Portfolio Management is required.
  
• Exposure to Trade Finance and SME business structuring will be an added advantage.
  
• Strong understanding of SME banking products, portfolio growth, customer relationship management, and credit risk management.
  
• Must have practical ability to understand and interpret SME financial statements, including balance sheets, P&L statements and cash flow statements.
  
  

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Commercial Acumen
  
• Financial Acumen
  
• Stakeholder Engagement
  
• Negotiation and Influencing Skills
  
• Adaptability and Resilience
  
• Communication and Presentation Skills