The Branch Manager for the Eastern Region coordinates with the Head – Branches in implementing and carrying out bank policy and procedures with respect to overall operations of the branch. The role is crucial for business development within the branch market to meet or exceed targets, staff development (coaching and discipline), ensuring proper branch sales and customer service delivery aligned with the Bank’s model, and maintaining strict adherence to internal policies and procedures. This role holds full responsibility for all product lines, sales, and business development for the entire branch business.
Key Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities are categorized across strategic planning, growth, operations, relationship management, and compliance:
- Branch Strategic Input and Planning: Contributing to the completion of the Sidian Bank Retail Operational plan by preparing and implementing a branch business plan that encompasses strategies for performance on branch growth objectives. This involves understanding and providing clear direction based on market analysis of local consumer trends and competitor offerings, preparing the branch budget, and formulating strategic initiatives to increase new business and share of wallet from existing clients. Crucially, the role ensures Growth in Net Interest Income (NII) for the branch by increasing fees and commissions, optimizing OPEX, and managing cost of cash holding at the branch level.
- Business Growth & Development: Responsible for the growth of the Branch’s Business portfolio (Both Assets and Liabilities) ensuring income, quality, and portfolio growth targets are achieved. This includes client recruitment, increased transactional income, cross-selling of products, and Customer relationship management. The manager must develop and implement a branch turnaround strategy to ensure profitability and develop a focused relationship management system. Enhancing appropriate controls for high-quality lending and ensuring full compliance with the Bank’s Credit Policy, Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) guidelines, and the Environmental Social Management (ESM) policy are also key.
- Marketing & Brand Management: Embedding strategic marketing to develop competitive advantage. This includes conducting product review and development based on constant feedback from the market, building the Sidian Bank Brand, ensuring merchandising materials are displayed in accordance with guidelines, briefing staff on promotions, and establishing relationships with key clients or business influencers in the local area.
- Relationship Management & Customer Experience: Serving as a key driver for customer satisfaction and advocacy by enhancing positive customer experience. Responsibilities include creating a differentiated customer experience design, embedding a customer service culture, managing key branch relationships, ensuring low wait times, and achieving set customer satisfaction scores (CSAT, CES, NPS). The role is responsible for complaint handling and coordinating initiatives to gather customer feedback.
- Branch Operations: Ensuring the branch opens and closes on time as per CBK requirement. Ensures operations meet legislative and Sidian Bank policy requirements, including health and safety. Responsible for all security procedures, ensuring adequate cash levels, and ensuring branch staff are adequately trained in KYC and AML and adhering to prudential guidelines. Also involves closely monitoring branch business performance and maintaining accurate records.
- Leadership & Management: Holding ultimate responsibility for the Human Resource Management of the branch staff (with HR Business Partner support). This includes setting performance objectives and measures of success, providing day-to-day supervision, training and support, identifying career path opportunities, and leading performance processes. The manager assigns tasks, schedules and monitors work, conducts regular staff meetings, ensures adherence to the dress code/code of conduct, mentors and coaches the retail team, manages disciplinary issues/grievances, and ensures proper succession planning.
- Risk & Compliance: Responsible for overall Risk and Compliance activities. This involves ensuring implementation and compliance with operational policies and procedures, maintaining a culture emphasizing internal control, and ensuring compliance with limits of authority. The role requires ensuring customers meet minimum criteria and are screened adequately (AML/CFT/CPF guidelines), monitoring customer transactions for suspicious activity (alerting MLRO immediately), verifying identity and documentation, and identifying and reporting high-risk accounts such as Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs).
Decision Making Authority
The Branch Manager is empowered to make managerial decisions including:
- Approval on lending discretion as per lending policy.
- Approval of new accounts opened in the branch.
- Approval on costs within set budgets (e.g., taxi expenses, facilities maintenance, petty cash spend).
- Discretion on resource allocation within the branches under approved headcount for optimum productivity.
- Approval of staff leave.
Qualifications and Requirements
Academic Background
- University degree or above in a relevant business discipline (e.g., business administration or finance).
- Master's degree will be an added advantage.
Work Experience
- Minimum 8 years’ working experience in a Banking environment, with sound exposure to Branch Operations, Credit Management, and Business development.
- 4 years should be at a management role.
Professional Certification
- Diploma in Banking – AKIB (added advantage).
Skills & Competencies
- Sound knowledge of Retail Banking/SME products, services and processes together with exposure in retail banking branch operations or customer service delivery.
- Profound understanding of the retail market, key competitors, and offerings.
- Thorough understanding of CBK regulatory framework and pertinent regulations impacting corporate customers.
- Strong leadership, marketing, sales, and management skills.
- Highly effective communicator with excellent interpersonal and motivational skills.
- Solid performance management and motivational skills.
- Excellent relationship building and stakeholder management skills.
- Strong managerial, planning, analytical, decision-making, lateral thinking, and project management skills.
