Credit Manager - Trade Finance

About This Role

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.

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