Job Description
Job Title:
Manager, Product Development and Planning
Location:
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Addis Abeba
Department:
Shariah Financial Solutions
Reports To:
Chief, Shariah Financial Solutions Officer
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 Shariah Financial Solutions Department designs, governs, and scales Shariah-compliant financial infrastructure across Kifiya’s verticals. The unit institutionalizes asset-backed, risk-sharing, and ethically structured financing models aligned with AAOIFI and global Islamic finance standards.
Position Summary
The Manager, Product Development and Planning is responsible for the end-to-end design, structuring, commercialization, and lifecycle governance of all Shariah-compliant financial products across the department’s pillars.
Unlike vertical-specific product roles, this position operates horizontally across MSME finance, AgriFin, asset finance, Takaful integration, Islamic capital structuring, and ecosystem platforms. The role ensures product coherence, Shariah integrity, capital efficiency, technological integration, and portfolio sustainability.
The Manager translates Islamic financial jurisprudence into scalable, AI-enabled financial infrastructure that is commercially viable, risk-aligned, digitally embedded, and compliant with global Shariah governance standards.
Key Responsibilities
Shariah Product Architecture and Structuring
Design and standardize Shariah-compliant product frameworks across all financing pillars including Murabaha, Ijara, Salam, Musharaka, Wakalah, and hybrid structures.
Ensure all product structures reflect genuine asset ownership, risk sharing principles, transparent cost disclosure, and clear profit methodologies.
Translate Shariah board rulings and fatwas into operational product templates and documentation standards.
Develop modular product architecture enabling cross-vertical scalability.
Ensure harmonization of contract documentation, pricing logic, and compliance tracking mechanisms.
Multi-Vertical Product Planning
Lead integrated product planning across:
Islamic MSME working capital and inventory finance
Agricultural Salam and value chain financing
Asset and lease-to-own financing
Takaful-embedded protection solutions
Islamic embedded finance and marketplace integration
Wakalah-based liquidity pool structures
Ensure alignment across verticals to avoid product fragmentation or structural inconsistency.
Capital Efficiency and Financial Structuring
Design profit rate methodologies aligned with Shariah principles and competitive market positioning.
Align product growth with Islamic liquidity structures, Wakalah pools, and capital allocation frameworks.
Support Sukuk enablement, Islamic securitization modeling, and receivables structuring initiatives.
Collaborate with Capital Solutions to ensure Shariah-compliant capital formation.
Drive portfolio yield sustainability while preserving Shariah integrity.
Credit and Risk Integration
Integrate Shariah product logic into Intelligent Data Decisioning infrastructure.
Embed profit rate logic, asset validation workflows, ownership transfer tracking, and compliance monitoring within the Intelligent Financial Infrastructure stack.
Ensure asset-backed transaction validation before disbursement.
Collaborate with Risk and Analytics teams to align predictive modeling with Islamic financial structures.
Monitor portfolio quality including profit realization patterns, delinquency, asset recovery, and displaced commercial risk.
Rollout Governance and Operational Integration
Develop phased rollout strategies across partner banks and ecosystem institutions.
Establish Shariah-compliant SOPs for origination, documentation, asset purchase validation, profit realization, and collections.
Coordinate with Technology, Risk, Growth, and Operations teams to ensure end-to-end execution discipline.
Ensure all Shariah financial products are digitally embedded and not manually workaround dependent.
Compliance, Audit, and Governance Alignment
Work closely with the Shariah Governance function to ensure product approval before commercialization.
Support Shariah audit preparation and remediation of non-compliance findings.
Maintain comprehensive product documentation and compliance logs.
Ensure regulatory alignment in all operating jurisdictions.
Embed audit traceability within digital systems.
Ecosystem and Institutional Enablement
Design Shariah financing frameworks adaptable for:
Islamic banking windows
Microfinance institutions
SACCOs and cooperatives
Agribusiness value chains
E-commerce and embedded finance platforms
Support institutional partner onboarding and capacity building.
Enable scalable product replication across markets.
Performance Monitoring and Optimization
Track portfolio performance across all Shariah verticals including:
Revenue and profit realization
Portfolio at risk
Capital utilization efficiency
Asset verification compliance
Product adoption and renewal
Risk tier performance
Continuously refine pricing, segmentation, and structuring models based on data insights.
Key Outputs
Fully standardized Shariah product architecture across all verticals
Successful rollout of multi-pillar Islamic financing portfolio
Portfolio at risk and NPL within defined thresholds
Capital utilization aligned with Wakalah and Islamic liquidity frameworks
Shariah audit clearance with minimal compliance exceptions
Integrated digital Shariah compliance monitoring system
Sustainable profit rate performance and revenue growth
Cross-market product scalability
Job Requirements
Qualifications and Experience
Education
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Islamic Finance, Business, or related field.
Master’s degree preferred.
Formal training or certification in Islamic Finance strongly preferred.
Experience
Minimum 8 to 12 years of experience in Islamic banking, Islamic fintech, or Shariah-compliant financial structuring.
Demonstrated experience designing and launching Murabaha, Ijara, Salam, or Wakalah structures.
Exposure to Islamic capital markets, Sukuk structuring, or liquidity management preferred.
Experience operating in multi-institutional or ecosystem-driven financial environments.
Strong familiarity with AAOIFI standards and Shariah governance frameworks.
Experience integrating financial products into digital platforms preferred.
Core Competencies
Islamic Financial Structuring Expertise
Shariah Governance Fluency
Multi-Vertical Product Architecture Design
Capital and Liquidity Structuring Capability
Credit and Portfolio Risk Integration
AI-Enabled Financial Infrastructure Integration
Cross-Functional Execution Leadership
Regulatory and Compliance Discipline
Strategic Ecosystem Thinking
Data-Driven Optimization
How To Apply
Qualified Candidates Apply Through :- hr@kifiya.com
