Sèvis Finansye Fonkoze, S.A. (SFF) is a Haitian microfinance institution that was established to provide capital and financial services to disadvantaged and low-income segments of society expanding the financial services work introduced by Fondasyon Kole Zepòl (the Foundation) in 1994. Today, SFF offers a full range of financial services including micro and small business loans, savings products, international and domestic money transfer services, currency exchange services, mobile money services, payroll services, among others. As of December 2020, SFF serves nearly 200,000 clients including 54,000 mainly female borrowers through a network of 44 offices and 1,900 credit centers located throughout Haiti’s ten departments and employs more than 800 employees.

The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) is a senior executive responsible for the effective independent oversight of SFF risks, under the direction of the Board’s Risk Oversight Committee (ROC). The CRO’s primary responsibility is to develop and implement a risk management framework with appropriate tools for the measurement, reporting and control of SFF’s financial and non-financial risks. The CRO, with input from the CEO and management, will develop a risk appetite framework (as per the Board’s stated risk tolerance) expressed in a limit structure for all business lines. The CRO will also monitor risk-taking activities and report adherence to limits to the ROC. The CRO will collaborate with the CEO while having formal reporting lines to the ROC. The CRO is a member of the Executive Management Team and the Asset and Liability Committee (ALCO).

Key Objectives
The CRO leads the risk management function at the Bank. The CRO will:
? Provide the overall leadership, vision, and direction for risk management
? Establish an integrated risk management framework for all aspects of risks across the bank;
? Develop risk management policies, including the quantification of the Bank’s risk appetite through specific risk limits
? Implement a set of risk metrics and reports, including losses and incidents, key risk exposures, and early warning indicators
? Allocate capital to exposures based on risk, and optimize the bank’s risk portfolio through business activities and risk transfer strategies
? Improve the bank’s risk management readiness through communication and training programs, performance measurement and incentives, and other change management programs
? Develop the analytical, systems and data management capabilities to support the risk management program.
Position in the Organization Structure
The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) holds the primary senior management position for identifying, assessing, measuring, monitoring, mitigating and managing all types of risk arising from the internal and external business environment at a bank-wide level. As per the Basel Corporate Governance guidelines, banks, depending on their risk profile and local governance requirements, should have an independent senior executive with distinct responsibility for the risk management function and the institution’s comprehensive risk management framework across the entire organization.
The CRO’s key responsibilities will be:
a. As Head of bank-wide risk management, the CRO will be responsible for the overall risk management framework and practices at the bank. All risk Managers/Officers at FFS will have a reporting line to the CRO.
b. To maintain independence of the risk management function, the role of the CRO shall not have any business or revenue generation responsibilities. This is a standard regulatory expectation and requirement.
c. The CRO shall also have a direct reporting responsibility to the Board Risk Management Committee. Interaction between the CRO and the Board should occur regularly and be documented adequately.
d. The CRO shall be the Secretary to the Board Risk Management Committee and in this capacity shall be responsible for preparing and circulating the agenda and the Minutes of the discussions.
e. The CRO shall be a member of all important senior management committees including the Board Level Credit Committee (permanent invitee), Executive Credit Committee (EXCO), ALCO, Loan Recovery/Delinquency Monitoring Committee, Audit Committee, New Product approval committee and any other management level committees that may be formed from time to time and that have relevance from the perspective of risk management.
f. The CRO shall also have access to call for all such information from associated companies/distinct legal entities belonging to the Fonkoze group which may impact the Bank’s risk profile.
g. The CRO will also function as the head of the integrated risk management function. As part of this role, he/she will discharge the following functions. For the sake of clarity and convenience the role is linked to each risk area and the overall aggregation of the Bank’s risk. The CRO will:

1. Monitor and ensure proper working of teams involved in credit risk management including credit risk policy formulation and development, documentation of credit risk management procedures (pre- and post- sanction), model development and validation for retail, corporate and SME lending, credit risk capital computation, data management, risk mitigation, portfolio and individual credit review, monitoring and reporting including determination and monitoring of limits.
2. Monitor and ensure proper working of teams involved in operational risk including risk policy development, review and upgrade, risk identification, loss event management, risk library development, business line mapping, Control Risk Self-Assessment (CRSA), the development and monitoring of KRIs (Key Risk Indicators), risk capital computation, and mitigation strategies.
3. Monitor and ensure proper working of teams involved in market risk including market risk policy development, risk assessment and measurement tools and models for market, liquidity and interest rate risk, determining and monitoring of limits, risk monitoring and reporting dashboards, systems, capital computation and mitigation strategies.
4. Monitor and ensure proper development, execution and monitoring of the Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP), and its deliberation in the management and board level risk management committees.
5. Receive reports and ensure the development, integration and maintenance of all IT systems and applications related to risk management.
6. Monitor and review all tools, methodologies, policies, procedures developed by the risk management teams and facilitator of approval by the Board/Executive Risk Management Committees.
7. Monitor the integrity of risk measurement techniques and MIS that are used to monitor the financial institution’s risk profile relative to its risk appetite.
8. Act in a timely manner to ensure effective management, and where necessary mitigation.

Required Education and Experience
For effective execution of the functions of a CRO, the candidate must ideally have strong functional experience, exposure to regulatory interactions, strong technology orientation, and a keen eye for detail. He/ she must be a team player with Vision who can share and shape the destiny of the Bank’s vision. Must be able to develop and articulate insights and mentor the team in alignment with the Bank’s Vision.
? Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Business or related field
? Master’s Degree, FRM or other advanced certification preferred.
? Minimum 15+ years combined experience in banking and finance, of which at least 5 years in risk management related roles. Experience in microfinance operations and specialisation in some areas such as credit, operations, foreign exchange/investment is also required.
? In-depth understanding of regulatory compliance requirements. Should be well versed with the regulatory environment. Knowledge in global regulatory environment/practices is preferred.
Language
? French, Haitian Creole and English required

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