Credit Manager (Trade Finance) SME Lending
The opportunity
A fast-growing UAE fintech lender is hiring a Credit Manager to strengthen its trade finance approval capability. The business has scaled quickly and needs an experienced credit decision-maker who can approve or decline SME trade finance cases independently, at pace, while keeping risk discipline high.
This is a hands-on role in a scaling team. You won't manage people initially, but you will guide analysts, improve case quality, and remove the credit approval bottleneck.
Key details
Work setup: Hybrid (3 days office, 2 days remote)
Salary: AED 23,000 to 28,000 per month
What you'll be doing
- Take final credit decisions on SME trade finance cases within delegated authority
- Assess and structure facilities including working capital lines, invoice discounting, and reverse factoring
- Review analyst credit memos, challenge assumptions, and raise quality of analysis and documentation
- Spot fraud and operational risk flags early and push for the right mitigants
- Present and defend decisions in a risk committee setting when required
- Help standardise underwriting approaches and improve turnaround time without compromising quality
- Work closely with the Head of Credit and cross-functional stakeholders to keep approvals flowing
What you need
- Minimum 4 years of direct experience in trade finance credit (ideally 5 to 10 years overall credit experience)
- Strong exposure to SME lending in the UAE market (mandatory)
- Practical understanding of trade finance products and risk drivers: invoice discounting, reverse factoring, working capital facilities
- Comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment with high volumes and tight SLAs
- Strong written and verbal communication in English, able to justify approvals and declines clearly
- Confidence owning decisions, not relying on layers of committee approval for every case
Nice to have
- Experience in fintech, alternative lending, or high-growth environments
- Prior involvement in credit policy refinement, delegated authority frameworks, or process improvements
- Experience working with data-led credit processes and rapid credit turnaround expectations
