The Branch Manager for the Rift Valley Region at Sidian Bank is a crucial role responsible for coordinating branch operations, implementing bank policy, and driving substantial business development within the branch market. This position requires strong leadership, strategic planning, and meticulous adherence to regulatory compliance to ensure profitability and high standards of customer experience.
Job Purpose
The jobholder will coordinate with the Head – Branches in implementing and carrying out bank policy and procedures with respect to overall operations of the branch. The role is responsible for business development within the branch market to meet or exceed business development goals; development, coaching and discipline of staff to assure appropriate proper branch sales and customer service given the Bank’s branch staffing model; and adherence to policies and procedures.
Key Responsibilities
1. Branch Strategic Input and Planning:
- Contributes 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.
- Understand and provide clear direction to the branch based on market analysis of local area consumer trends and competitor offerings.
- Prepares the branch budget for approval and contributes to the overall control of expenditure by monitoring costs and reporting on performance against budget variations.
- Formulate and implement business strategic initiatives for the branch aimed at increasing new business and share of wallet from existing clients.
- Ensure Growth in NII (Net Interest Income) for branch by increasing fees and commissions, ensuring OPEX optimization to reduce operational costs and managing cost of cash holding at the branch level.
2. Business Growth & Development:
- Full responsibility for all product lines and all sales and business development for the entire branch business.
- Responsible for the growth of the Branch’s Business portfolio (Both Assets and Liabilities) ensuring income, quality and portfolio growth targets are achieved.
- Responsible for the Growth in client recruitment, increased transactional income, cross selling of products, Customer relationship management as per set bank targets.
- Develop business opportunities and monitor business’s activities in line with the Bank’s long-term strategic and annual business plans and ensure that the Bank remains competitive and promptly reacts to changing market conditions and customer needs.
- Develop and implement a branch turnaround strategy to ensure that at least the branch is profitable.
- Develop a focused relationship management system, which increases the branch ability to increase the flow of business and generate deposits, lending and revenues from existing and new customers in line with the enterprise strategy.
- Enhance the appropriate controls and monitoring mechanisms for the development of a high-quality lending.
- Ensure full compliance with the Bank’s Credit Policy, Central Bank of Kenya guidelines and appropriate provisions of the Banking Act with respect to lending.
- Enhance relationship marketing and management – to establish, maintain, and enhance relationships with customers and other partners, at a profit, so that the both the customer and bank objectives are met achieved by a mutual exchange and fulfillment of the brand promise.
- Ensuring compliance to the Environmental Social Management (ESM) policy and procedure in day to day branch business.
3. Marketing & Brand Management:
- Embed strategic marketing by focusing on how to develop competitive advantage into the changing marketplace and leveraging on the banks distinctive capabilities to drive value.
- In conjunction with Head of Branch Business and Products Managers, conduct product review and product development through constant feedback from the market.
- Enhance creation by creating, communicating, delivering, and offering solutions that have value for customers, shareholders and partners.
- Build the Sidian Bank Brand to ensure that the bank is top of mind as an enterprise bank.
- Understand and provide clear direction to the branch based on market analysis of local area consumer trends and competitor offerings.
- Ensure that merchandising materials are displayed in accordance with guidelines.
- Brief staff on promotional and product launches; provide regular feedback on sales performance.
- Establish relationships with key clients or business influencers in the local area, including client entertainment within budget limits set by the business.
- Support product specialists and the sales team in marketing of initiatives and other products to local businesses.
4. Relationship Management & Customer Experience:
- Key driver for not only customer satisfaction, but building a base of promoters by enhancing positive customer experience and advocacy to drive competitive advantage, leading to faster organic growth and lower cost.
- Create a differentiated customer experience design, tailored to target customer needs and optimize customer interactions with the brand, offerings, and touch points to consistently deliver and make continuous improvements to the design.
- Link sales and service and embed customer service culture as the bedrock to grow the balance sheet.
- Manage key branch relationships.
- Ensure wait time within permissible limits as per segmental service approach and Sidian brand standards.
- Achieve the set customer satisfaction score (CSAT), Customer Effort Score (CES), Customer Engagement Score and Net Promoter score (NPS).
- Ensuring no escalations at branch and complaint handling.
- Co-ordinate branch initiatives aimed at gathering feedback from customers on service standards and advise business heads on improvements.
- Engagement with customers and supporting them in times of personal need aimed at developing a strong bond and loyalty.
5. Branch Operations:
- Ensure the branch is opened and closed on time as per CBK requirement and any escalation where the same is not met.
- Ensures operations meet legislative and Sidian Bank policy requirements, including health and safety requirements, by monitoring systems, procedures and workflows, and implementing corrective action.
- Responsible for all security procedures within the branch including opening procedures, camera surveillance and maintenance, video monitoring, robbery and fire drill procedures.
- Ensures adequate cash levels to support operations.
- Ensures branch staff are adequately trained in KYC and AML and are adhering to the prudential guidelines.
- Adhere to standardized branch guidelines.
- Ensure availability of necessary infrastructure in branch.
- Closely monitor branch business performance and ensure accurate records of the same are maintained and forwarded to the Head of Branch Business and respective Business Heads.
- Ensure all branch staff follow the laid down branch opening procedure and other branch operations policies and procedures.
- Ensure adequate staffing at start of day and report any absence as it may have an impact on service delivery.
6. Leadership & Management:
- With the support of the HR Business Partner, the Branch Manager has the ultimate responsibility for the Human Resource Management of the branch staff and consults with HR on clarity and interpretation of the HR policy.
- Set performance objectives and measures of success for direct reports, providing regular feedback from staff appraisal processes.
- Contributes to the ability of staff to meet performance objectives by providing day to day supervision, training and support and leading performance processes in accordance with Sidian policies and procedures.
- Responsible for identifying and developing career path opportunities for staff.
- Contributes to the development of staff by assisting with the interpretation and implementation of operational policies and procedures.
- Responsible for assigning tasks to staff, scheduling and monitoring work and reviewing results for timeliness, accuracy and quality.
- Contributes to the flow of staff communications, by conducting regular staff meetings – morning huddles and weekly progress meetings.
- Encourages staff to participate in internal and external training and development opportunities as these arise and in accordance with individualized development plans.
- Responsible for the presentation and service standards of retail staff to ensure a professional image is maintained with all clients.
- Ensures adherence to dress code, code of conduct and HR policies and procedures and follows laid down grievance and disciplinary procedure to ensure a conducive work environment.
- Responsible for mentoring and coaching the retail team to enhance staff motivation, engagement and improve performance.
- Responsible for the overall Risk and Compliance activities in the branch set up and therefore must ensure compliance in all areas by Branch Staff and will be held accountable for lapses in the branch.
- Closure of identified deficiencies from concluded audits, correction within stipulated timelines, and ensure no repeat findings.
- Manage performance /disciplinary issues/grievances for staff.
- Ensure there is proper succession planning by maintaining an effective leave program and an in-house training schedule for ease of relief due to leave or sickness.
- Ensure the set number of learning/training hours are achieved for self and direct reports, through E-learning and Internal training activities.
7. Risk & Compliance:
- To ensure implementation and compliance with operational policies and procedures at the branch and maintain a culture within the branch that emphasizes and demonstrates the importance of internal control to all staff.
- Ensure compliance with agreed limits of authority and levels of access to systems and information.
- Ensure that all customers onboarded to the bank meet the minimum criteria and are screened adequately considering the Banks AML/CFT/CPF guidelines and escalation of any suspicious accounts.
- Continuously monitor customer transactions in the context of the profile of the customer and properly document the background and purpose of all complex, unusual, large transactions, and all unusual patterns of transactions, which have no apparent economic or visible lawful purpose. Any such inconsistent activities or transactions must be investigated and reported to the compliance function immediately with a clear basis of suspicion.
- Responsible for immediately alerting the MLRO on suspicious transactions or activities noted in customers’ accounts escalated by the branch staff.
- Ensure that customer accounts are suitable for purpose e.g. avoid opening children’s accounts for normal day to day transactions as opposed to opening a current account.
- Prior to Customer on boarding, ensure that a potential client has been screened, account opening form is duly completed and all required documentation as per the account opening policy obtained.
- Ensure that verification is done as to the identity of the customer, documentation used to open account, and conducted transactions during the customer journey.
- Ensure that all staff within the branch are trained and have an Up to Date understanding of Anti Money Laundering/Countering Financing of Terrorism/Countering Proliferation Financing environment.
- Identify major risks affecting the branch and ensure necessary steps are taken to measure, monitor, and control structure with control activities defined at each level and duties properly segregated.
- Recommend revision of controls, where appropriate, to address new or previously uncontrolled risks.
- Identify any high – risk accounts such as Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) at point of account opening and at execution of transaction continuously.
- Ensure that the transactions contain the full details and the relevant supporting documentation and authorizations are in place where required.
- Ensure that UBO information is obtained and captured in AODs and core banking at point of account onboarding and throughout the customer journey.
- Examine and ensure that relevant bank documents, records, procedures and systems are followed and comply with the established policies, procedures, and authority limits, including AML/CFT/CPF.
- Track previously identified deficiencies and ensure management corrects them within established timelines.
Decision Making Authority
- Empowered to make managerial decisions.
- 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 etc.).
- Discretion on resource allocation within the branches under approved headcount for optimum productivity.
- Approval of staff leave.
Qualifications and Experience
Academic Background
- University degree or above in a relevant business discipline (e.g. business administration or finance).
- Master 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 retail market, key competitors and offerings as well as our competitive edges to win quality customers.
- 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.
