Branch Sharia Liaison and Risk Officer

About FMFB:

As a background, FMFB started its operation in 2004 and is part of the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM), which has financial institutions operating in different countries throughout the world. It is affiliated with the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of development agencies working in health, education, culture and rural economic development.

Job Summary: 

This branch level position is responsible for providing assurance that the risk in his/her branch is managed following the bank’s policies and procedures, and falls within the acceptable level of risk appetite. The jobholder focuses on credit, operational, and Shariah risk, as well as mitigation of internal and external fraud.

Job Detail:

Position’s Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Credit Risk Assessment  
2. Engages with the bank’s customers, guarantors, and other relevant parties as part of assigned responsibilities.
3. Independent pre-disbursement financing verification in the field following the guidelines:
   1. All MF financing regardless of the sizes as required by the procedures.
   1. All SME and Corporate financing regardless of their ticket size.
4. Evaluation of the borrower’s industry risk and economic factors.
5. Evaluation of individual borrowers as per the bank’s policies and procedures, including credit risk assessment of;
   1. The purpose of credit, source of repayment, and repayment capacity of the borrower,
   1. The track record / repayment history of the borrower,
   1. The proposed terms and conditions and covenants,
   1. Adequacy and enforceability of collaterals, including confirmation from appropriate authorities (wakil guzar etc.),
   1. Evaluation of real estate collateral provided by the borrower as security for the requested financing.
   1. Evaluation of the financial guarantor, the business and its repayment capacity for the requested financing.
   1. The credit risk assessment shall be performed based on 5 Cs of the credit and the verification form shall be filled and dully signed by the Risk Officers.
6. Credit risk assessments must be conducted in accordance with the AML/CFT policy and procedures.
7. Serves as a non-voting member of branch-level Credit Committees, providing independent credit risk opinions by recommending or not recommending approval of credit facilities.
8. Reviews and provides recommendations on restructuring and rescheduling cases.
9. Operates independently from branch management, reporting directly to the Credit Risk Manager at Head Office.
10. He/she works independently with branch management, including Managers, Deputy Managers, and staff, to ensure smooth processing of financing applications and effective follow-up on delinquent clients.
11. ESG Risk Assessment
12. Evaluate the environmental and social factors of individual borrowers as part of a comprehensive credit risk assessment, in strict adherence to bank guidelines, including E&S assessment of
    1. Exclusion List Screening
    1. E&S Categorizations
    1. E&S Site Assessment (labor, health & safety, pollution, resource availability)
    1.  E&S Mitigation & Monitoring Requirements Identification
13. PD Monitoring & Follow up
14. Independent Past Due follow-up monitoring of all Past Due Borrowers > 30 days, the PD monitoring form shall be filled and dully signed by the Branch Risk Officers. In the abnormal situations, the sample PD clients list shall be shared by the credit risk function for the monitoring.
15. Weekly reporting on the credit risk management activities to the Credit Risk Unit, including incidents, issues, rejected cases and Past Due follow up monitoring.
16. Operational Risk
17. Ad hoc reporting on any major risks or incidents to which the branch is exposed.
18. Input to any periodic or ad hoc analyses as requested by the superior.
19. He/she acts as an investigator in cases of suspected fraud, if such needs arise.
20. Ad hoc reporting on any major risks or incidents to which the branch is exposed.
21. Monthly reporting on operational risk controls – as per the approved procedures.
22. Immediate report on fraud, misconducting and other urgent cases
23. Works closely with his superiors at the Risk Management Department on other areas of risk applicable to his/her branch and in investigating the incidents of operational risk and fraud that may arise in his/her branch and report it on timely manner.
24. Complain Management 
25. Complaint Box checking: Help Customers Rights Protection unit (CRPU) with checking the complaint boxes in the branch and reporting to the CRPU on timely manner.
26. Shariah Compliance Risk Assessment
27. Independent verification of Murabaha Financing Applications for Shariah Non-Compliance Risks/Issues
    1. Conduct independent verification of Murabaha financing applications during both the first and second Majlis/meetings.
28. Ensure that all elements of the Murabaha structure—its pillars, conditions, and procedural stages—are fully validated, including:
29. Offer and Acceptance
30. Contracting Parties
31. Goods and Pricing
32. Delivery/Receipt of Goods or Commodity
33. Identify and report any potential Shariah non-compliance risks or issues observed during the Murabaha application process, and communicate them promptly to the Shariah Compliance Department and Risk Management Department.

• Central Coordination and Reporting Liaison Role: Act as the direct operational bridge between the branch and the central Shariah Review Unit.
• Send daily, weekly, and monthly shariah compliance logs and Murabaha execution reports to the central team without delay.

• Assist central Shariah reviewers during on-site branch audits by providing requested files and documentation immediately.
• Report any attempted or actual breach of Shariah rules—especially unauthorized Murabaha bypasses—to the central Shariah compliance head within 24 hours.
• Risk Identification and Mitigation Non-Compliance Detection: Identify early warning signs of operational failures that could lead to non-compliant income.

• Stop any transaction immediately if a Shariah violation or bypass risk is detected and consult the central office for guidance.
• Advise branch operations and financing officers on correct Shariah-compliant procedures before processing files.

Job Requirements:

The position requires bachelor degree or if associated degree then the related experience should be 2 – 5 years.

The job holder should have:

• At least two years’ experience in banking, MFI, lending, internal audit, finance or risk assessment; preference will be given to candidates with experience in credit risk assessment,
• Good knowledge (or willingness to learn) of the financial analysis’s principles and indexes,
• Good knowledge (or willingness to learn) of the Basle Committee and DAB rules and regulations pertaining to prudential risk management.
• Good understanding of Islamic Financing, Islamic Contracts and Islamic rules and principles.
• Deep understanding of Islamic contract mechanics, particularly Murabaha operational rules and AAOIFI standards.

Inter Personal Skills:

• Excellent analytical thinking and attention to details.
• Can-do attitude.
• Independent mindset, able to draw conclusions and communicate his/her concerns in a clear and concise manner directly to the management.
• Quick learner who can rapidly master all aspects of the job with limited supervision and training.
• Good organizer with self-planning and problem-solving skills.
• Good communication and reporting skills. Should be able to communicate in English.

Submission Guideline:

If you meet the above requirements, we are encouraging you to apply for this position. Please send us your CV along with a cover letter via email at (vacancies@fmfb.com.af).

Please make sure that your email includes the vacancy ID as the subject line.