Grace Wanjiku

I am a strategy and operations professional with 6+ years of experience leading cross-functional initiatives and translating strategic priorities into structured execution across teams and customer-facing operations. My background spans lending operations, quality assurance, and process design, where I use data and on-the-ground insight to improve performance, manage risk, and strengthen operational consistency at scale.

I have also built and strengthened operational frameworks, including establishing a Quality Assurance function and embedding compliance structures that improved visibility, accountability, and decision-making across teams. I’m comfortable working in fast-paced, high-stakes environments, supporting leadership with clear analysis, structured thinking, and practical, scalable solutions.

Operations Analyst

Jia Finance | August 2023 – Present (Remote)

Responsibilities

Strategic Financing & Market Expansion

Designed and structured financing solutions for corporate clients by aligning disbursement models with their cash flow cycles, unlocking faster capital deployment, and improving client uptake.

Identified and pursued high-value client opportunities through industry networks, directly contributing to pipeline growth and deal conversion.

Operational Strategy & Resource Allocation

Analysed portfolio performance and demand patterns to anticipate funding needs, influencing how capital and operational resources are allocated across active batches.

Translated operational data into actionable decisions on turnaround times, client prioritisation, and service delivery improvements.

Risk Management & Portfolio Control

Built and operationalised repayment tracking systems and DPD dashboards, creating real-time visibility into portfolio health and enabling early risk intervention.

Introduced a semi-annual KYB review cycle, strengthening compliance controls and reducing exposure to outdated client risk profiles.

Flagged systemic risk patterns and worked with Credit to refine approval criteria and reduce downstream defaults.

Process Design & Operational Transformation

Identified disbursement delays as a structural bottleneck and led the redesign of KYB, onboarding, and batch workflows, significantly improving turnaround time.

Developed and implemented SOPs for batch tracking, invoice verification, and fee accruals—standardising execution and reducing operational errors.

Established internal audit frameworks to improve accountability and transparency across loan servicing processes.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Execution

Led coordination across Credit, Tech, Collections, and BD to resolve operational misalignments impacting disbursement and repayment cycles.

Acted as the central point of alignment during batch-level issues, driving real-time decision-making across teams with competing priorities.

Built centralised post-disbursement dashboards, improving visibility for both internal teams and clients and reducing reliance on manual follow-ups.

Data Culture & Performance Visibility

Drove adoption of data-led decision-making across teams by embedding reporting into daily operations and performance tracking.

Shifted teams from reactive issue handling to proactive monitoring through structured dashboards and reporting frameworks.

Executive Communication & Strategic Alignment

Synthesized operational and portfolio data into clear strategic insights, enabling leadership to make informed decisions on disbursement priorities, risk exposure, and resource allocation.

Facilitated alignment between Business Development, Credit, and Operations by translating competing priorities into structured decision points for leadership.

Supported leadership discussions by surfacing key risks, trade-offs, and operational constraints impacting growth and portfolio performance.

Strategic Problem Solving & Organizational Impact

Took ownership of ambiguous operational challenges, defining problem structures, identifying root causes, and driving end-to-end solutions across teams.

Acted as a central decision-making support point during high-pressure operational issues, ensuring alignment and continuity across functions.

Contributed to shaping how lending operations scale by introducing systems, controls, and decision frameworks that improved both speed and risk management.

Key Achievements

Operational Excellence & Efficiency Gains:

Reduced disbursement turnaround time through redesigning KYB, onboarding, and batch workflows, enabling faster client funding cycles.

Centralized post-disbursement dashboards and automated reporting, giving both internal teams and corporate clients real-time visibility, reducing follow-up queries and errors.

Risk Mitigation & Portfolio Management:

Developed repayment trackers and DPD dashboards across multiple active batches, allowing early identification of high-risk accounts and proactive intervention, lowering projected default exposure.

Spearheaded the integration of a semi-annual KYB refresh cycle, improving compliance oversight and minimizing audit gaps.

Data-Driven Impact:

Applied advanced analytics and operational insights to anticipate client demand and optimize resource allocation, reducing idle capital.

Introduced data-first culture practices across operations, enabling team-wide adoption of evidence-based decision-making and improved batch performance metrics.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Influence:

Acted as the operational bridge between Credit, Tech, and Collections teams, resolving batch-level issues in real time and ensuring 100% alignment between backend operations and business development goals.

Facilitated payment recovery coordination with client finance teams, streamlining collections and enhancing client satisfaction.

Strategic Contribution & Business Growth

Structured tailored financing solutions for major corporate clients, aligning disbursements with cash flow cycles to accelerate deployment and expand market reach.

Leveraged industry relationships to source high-potential leads, contributing directly to new client wins and revenue growth.

Change Management & Process Innovation

Initiated process improvements and standard operating procedures for loan batch management, invoice verification, and fee accruals, reducing operational errors and increasing accountability.

Established internal audit guidelines and reporting mechanisms, enhancing transparency and building trust with senior management and clients.

Senior Quality Assurance Analyst and Compliance Lead

Apex Collections Africa | November 2021 – August 2023 (Onsite)

Responsibilities

Quality Strategy & Performance Improvement

Redesigned quality assessment frameworks to align call evaluations with collections performance, regulatory expectations, and customer outcomes.

Identified gaps in agent behavior, compliance adherence, and process execution, translating insights into targeted interventions that improved both recovery rates and audit performance.

Positioned QA as a dual driver of performance and compliance, ensuring quality scores reflected both business outcomes and regulatory standards.

Compliance Oversight & Risk Control

Acted as a compliance focal point within operations, ensuring adherence to internal policies, client requirements, and regulatory expectations across collections activities.

Monitored customer interactions for compliance breaches, including misrepresentation, data privacy risks, and process violations, and enforced corrective actions.

Developed and reinforced compliance guidelines within QA frameworks, ensuring consistency in how policies were interpreted and applied across teams.

Partnered with Operations and Leadership to address recurring compliance risks and strengthen controls within day-to-day workflows.

Data-Driven Insights & Operational Influence

Analyzed call data and QA trends to uncover systemic issues affecting recovery performance, customer handling, and compliance adherence.

Delivered actionable insights to leadership, influencing operational decisions and improving alignment between collections strategy and risk management.

Led weekly performance and compliance review sessions, translating findings into structured action plans tied to business and regulatory goals.

Stakeholder Alignment & Governance

Led calibration sessions across QA, team leaders, and agents to standardize both quality and compliance expectations, reducing scoring inconsistencies and risk exposure.

Collaborated with leadership to design corrective action frameworks addressing both performance gaps and compliance violations.

Strengthened governance by ensuring consistent application of quality and compliance standards across teams.

Training, Coaching & Capability Building

Designed and delivered training programs on collections best practices, regulatory compliance, and customer interaction standards.

Built team capability in identifying and managing compliance risks during customer engagements.

Mentored QA analysts and supported leadership development through structured feedback and performance reviews.

Key Achievements

Leading Through Crisis

Played a pivotal role as senior leader at Apex during the COVID-19 pandemic, navigating the company through significant income decline and client withdrawals. Led workforce transition, work redesign, and adjustment of work hours to adapt to new business realities.

Guided the team through a phased return to normal operations as business conditions stabilized in 2021.

Strengthening Teams

Initiated and facilitated the growth and development of agents through regular training programs, resulting in over 50% of new leaders emerging from the existing team.

Provided direct mentoring to 4 Quality Analyst leaders and indirectly supported over 150 agents, significantly boosting morale and performance through consistent engagement.

Spearheading Innovation and Change

Pioneered and implemented the Quality Assurance program, developing call quality scripts and delivering training on best collection practices.

Designed and implemented QA and agent trainee manuals to optimize onboarding processes and ensure adherence to workplace protocols, fostering a productive environment.

Innovated and implemented a prerecorded dialing tool (IVR) at Apex Limited, enhancing communication efficiency during non-business hours. Recorded voice for IVR system.

Introduced a performance analysis system and bi-weekly learning program for the QA team, focusing on emotional intelligence, crisis management, and leadership, driving substantial improvements in individual performance.

Performance Improvement

Elevated call quality processes, resulting in QA scores increasing from an average of 45% to 90%.

Consistently achieved debt collection targets while upholding high standards for customer experience in alignment with Apex objectives.

Recoveries Lead - Client’s Project (Tala Project)

Apex Collections Africa | October 2019 – October 2021 (Onsite)

Responsibilities

Directed daily recovery operations, from workflow supervision and follow-up management to shift optimization, ensuring peak team efficiency and accountability.

Selected, trained, and mentored agents for the Client’s project, fostering a culture of excellence and adaptability under tight performance timelines.

Partnered with Client’s IT and QA teams to refine system workflows, resolve platform issues, and co-design product improvements that boosted collection accuracy and agent turnaround.

Analyzed key performance metrics (RPC, contact rate, PTP conversions, cure, and liquidation rates) to forecast trends and inform strategic decisions.

Oversaw user access rights and dialer utilization to maintain data security, operational compliance, and balanced productivity.

Drove KPI achievement across all cycles, turning data insights into tactical shifts that consistently elevated results.

Introduced peer-recognition and performance reward systems that reduced agent turnover and fueled a high-morale, competitive culture.

De-escalated complex payment issues with empathy and precision, ensuring clear communication between clients, agents, and partner stakeholders.

Played a critical liaison role, translating operational feedback into business insights that influenced how the client structured subsequent recovery partnerships.

Recoveries Associate

Apex Collections Africa | October 2018 – September 2021 (Onsite)

Responsibilities

Collaborated with the immediate team leader to develop effective relationship strategies that consistently met debt collection targets in Quality Assurance and monetary value.

Educated customers on their loan portfolios, ensuring clarity and understanding of terms and conditions.

Contacted customers to secure payments and negotiated mutually agreeable payment plans.

Provided actionable customer feedback to management, contributing to continuous improvement initiatives.

Certifications

Operations Analysis | Coursera

Business Analysis Fundamentals | Coursera

Business Management | Alison Courses

Web3 Financial Inclusion & Ecosystems |SheFi

Technical Education

Diploma in Information Technology | Zetech University.