Manager, Area Channel Manager

Location: Oromia Region, Jimma & Bale

Organization: Kifiya

Deadline: November 9, 2026

Job Description

Job Title: Manager, Area Channel Manager

Location: Oromia Region, Jimma & Bale

Number of Vacant: 2 ( Jimma & Bale)

Department: Financial and Market Linkage Solutions

Reports To: Regional Channel Manager

About Kifiya:

Kifiya is an AI-powered financial and market infrastructure company advancing inclusive economic growth across Africa. We design and deploy risk decisioning systems, intelligent financial infrastructure, and market linkage platforms that unlock credit, insurance, payments, and capital access for MSMEs and smallholder farmers. We build the AI, data, and financial infrastructure that helps financial institutions serve hard-to-finance segments at scale.

Business Unit Description

The Financial and Market Linkage Solutions unit is Kifiya’s commercial engine, translating AI-enabled financial infrastructure into deployed capital and sustainable revenue.

The Agent and Merchant Network drives last-mile customer acquisition, onboarding, product activation, and repayment discipline across regional and area execution layers.

Position Summary

The Area Channel Manager is responsible for leading Customer Acquisition and Relationship Executives to deliver disciplined growth, maintain portfolio quality, and ensure successful product activation within a defined geographic area.

 

The role translates regional strategy into area-level execution plans, drives daily productivity management, and ensures that acquisition growth remains aligned with portfolio risk parameters and operational standards. The Area Channel Manager is also responsible for overseeing field-level channel operations and driving regional growth across Kifiya’s financial and market linkage portfolio. The role provides leadership, coordination, and performance management for Field Office Representatives operating within the assigned geographic area.

The position ensures disciplined execution of customer acquisition, onboarding quality, portfolio growth, and loan collection activities, while maintaining compliance with credit policies, operational standards, and portfolio risk thresholds.

The Area Channel Manager plays a critical role in expanding access to Kifiya’s solutions, including digital lending, device and asset financing, invoice financing, AgriTech services, Sharia-compliant financial services, and digital market linkage platforms by managing field teams, strengthening distribution channels, and building strong relationships with ecosystem partners.

Through effective channel leadership and operational oversight, the role ensures that regional performance targets are achieved while maintaining high standards of portfolio quality, customer experience, and operational discipline.

Key Responsibilities

Area Growth Execution

• Implement area-level customer acquisition strategies aligned with regional and national targets.
• Drive structured lead generation and door-to-door acquisition efforts tailored to local market conditions.
• Ensure disciplined tracking of acquisition funnels from prospecting to disbursement.
• Optimize customer segmentation and targeting in collaboration with Regional Channel Manager.

Last Mile Channel Activation and Service Delivery

• Ensure effective last-mile implementation of Kifiya’s Financial and Market Linkage Solutions across the assigned area.
• Lead the identification, onboarding, and activation of agents and merchants to strengthen the distribution network.
• Ensure newly onboarded agents and merchants from registration to active service delivery within defined timelines.
• Enable agents and merchants to offer and support Kifiya’s full portfolio of products and services, including digital lending, device and asset financing, invoice financing, AgriFin and AgTech services, Sharia-compliant financial services, and digital market linkage platforms.
• Coordinate with field teams and network support functions to ensure operational readiness, training, and productivity of agents and merchants.
• Monitor agent and merchant activation metrics, including onboarding volumes, activation rates, transaction activity, and product utilization.
• Implement corrective actions to address low activation, underperformance, or operational bottlenecks within the channel network.

Team Leadership and Performance Management

• Supervise and lead FORs to achieve daily, weekly, and monthly targets.
• Provide structured coaching, performance feedback, and field mentorship.
• Monitor individual productivity metrics and implement corrective action plans where required.
• Build a culture of accountability, ethical conduct, and customer-centric execution.

Customer Onboarding Governance

• Ensure high-quality onboarding processes with accurate and complete documentation.
• Validate customer information and support compliance with underwriting and KYC standards.
• Reduce onboarding errors and documentation discrepancies.
• Promote responsible lending practices and transparent customer communication.

Loan Collection and Delinquency Management

• Oversee area-level loan collection activities to ensure timely follow-up with delinquent customers.
• Monitor early repayment behavior and escalate risk signals to Regional Manager.
• Implement structured recovery strategies in collaboration with partner banks.
• Maintain delinquency levels within approved thresholds.

Product Activation and Customer Engagement

• Lead activation of new products and campaigns within the area.
• Ensure FORs are trained and equipped to promote new products effectively.
• Drive customer adoption through structured engagement strategies.
• Collect customer feedback and provide structured insights to Regional Manager.

Operational Excellence and Process Discipline

• Ensure consistent implementation of standard operating procedures.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and implement efficiency improvements.
• Coordinate with Regional Manager and field teams to resolve service delivery issues.
• Maintain high standards of customer experience across all touchpoints.

Performance Monitoring and Reporting

• Track and analyze key performance indicators including acquisition volume, retention rates, delinquency levels, and product adoption metrics.
• Prepare structured performance reports for Regional Manager.
• Develop action plans to optimize performance indicators and improve productivity.
• Ensure data accuracy and timely reporting.
• Track regional performance indicators including:
• • Customer acquisition volumes
  • Financing disbursement levels
  • Portfolio growth
  • Repayment performance
  • Channel productivity
• Prepare structured regional performance reports and dashboards.
• Provide performance insights and operational updates to senior management.

Key Outputs

• Achievement of area-level acquisition targets
• Improved customer retention and engagement rates
• Maintenance of delinquency within approved limits
• Successful rollout and adoption of new products
• High productivity and accountability of FOR teams
• Accurate and timely performance reporting.

Qualifications and Experience

• Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Marketing, Economics, Business Administration, or related field.
• Minimum two years of experience in customer acquisition, sales, loan recovery, or financial services distribution.
• Demonstrated experience leading or supervising field teams preferred.
• Experience in fintech or digital lending environments advantageous.

Core Competencies

• Field sales and acquisition leadership
• Portfolio risk and delinquency awareness
• Team performance management
• Operational execution discipline
• Customer relationship management
• Data-driven decision making
• Collaboration and cross-functional coordination
• Product promotion and activation capability.