Associate – Data & Model Governance

About Credit Saison India

Established in 2019, Credit Saison India (CS India) is one of the country's fastest growing Non-Bank Financial Company (NBFC) lenders, with verticals in wholesale, direct lending and tech-enabled partnerships with Non-Bank Financial Companies (NBFCs) and fintechs. Its tech-enabled model coupled with underwriting capability facilitates lending at scale, meeting India's huge gap for credit, especially with underserved and under penetrated segments of the population.

Credit Saison India is committed to growing as a lender and evolving its offerings in India for the long-term for MSMEs, households, individuals and more. Credit Saison India is registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and has an AAA rating from CRISIL (a subsidiary of S&P Global) and CARE Ratings.

Currently, Credit Saison India has a branch network of 80+ physical offices, 2.06 million active loans, an AUM of over US$2B and an employee base of about 1,400 employees.

Credit Saison India is part of Saison International, a global financial company with a mission to bring people, partners and technology together, creating resilient and innovative financial solutions for positive impact. Across its business arms of lending and corporate venture capital, Saison International is committed to being a transformative partner in creating opportunities and enabling the dreams of people.

Saison International is the international headquarters (IHQ) of Credit Saison Company Limited, founded in 1951 and one of Japan's largest lending conglomerates with over 70 years of history and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Company has evolved from a credit-card issuer to a diversified financial services provider across payments, leasing, finance, real estate and entertainment. Based in Singapore, Saison International's global operations span over Singapore, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, with active investments in debt, equity, corporate venture capital, and technology.

Job Description: Associate – Data & Model Governance

Experience Level: 2–4 Years

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka

Employment Type: Full-Time

About the Role

We are seeking a detail-oriented and analytical professional to join our Model Risk Governance team. In this role, you will play a critical part in maintaining the integrity of our model inventory and ensuring compliance with internal policies and regulatory standards.

Key Responsibilities.

As an Associate with 2–4 years of experience, you will bridge the gap between technical model performance and risk oversight. You will work closely with model developers, owners, and senior risk managers to identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with the use of quantitative models across the organization.

• Policy Compliance: Monitor adherence to the Model Risk Management Framework, identifying and escalating policy breaches or emerging risks to senior management.
• Inventory & Lifecycle Management: Manage the Enterprise Model Inventory, ensuring full traceability from initial development through validation to retirement.
• Model Monitoring & Review Oversight: Execute robust oversight of monthly performance monitoring and annual reviews; challenge model owners on KPI deviations and ensure immediate escalation of anomalous model behavior.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Liaise between technical teams and business stakeholders to translate complex risk metrics into actionable insights, while partnering with model owners to navigate monitoring, annual reviews, and documentation cycles.
• Documentation Review: Perform Initial Quality Checks on model documentation to ensure it meets the minimum standards before proceeding to formal validation.
• Regulatory Reporting: Assist in the preparation of materials for regulatory and internal audits, ensuring that the firm's model risk appetite is clearly documented and defended.
• Governance & Task Tracking: Prepare and maintain minutes for critical risk committees and leadership meetings; own the tracking of action items to ensure timely completion.
• Leadership Materials: Develop high-quality materials, presentations, MIS, and reports for senior leadership, including the CRO, Management Committee, and Board.

Qualification & Experience:

• 2–4 years in a fast-paced environment such as Management Consulting, Financial Services (NBFC/Bank/Fintech), Model Risk Management, or Model Development/Validation.
• Undergraduate degree is required; preference for a quantitative field (e.g., Finance, Economics, Engineering, Statistics). A Post-graduate degree (MBA, Masters in Finance/Stats/Data Science) is a plus.
• High proficiency in MS Excel (for reporting and analysis) and MS PowerPoint (for creating leadership materials) is must and hands-on experience with SQL & Python/R.
• Basic understanding of Data Science frameworks, credit scorecards, or machine learning models, model performance metrics and model development/validation.
• Understanding of regulatory requirements from RBI on Model Risk Management and best practices.
• Prior experience within an Indian NBFC or Fintech environment is a significant advantage.

You will excel in this role if you:

• Possess strong analytical skills and have an exceptional eye for detail.
• Are a natural at time management and prioritization - capable of balancing multiple projects and deadlines with finesse.
• Are proactive, resourceful, and take end-to-end ownership of your tasks.
• Are a sharp and succinct communicator (both written and verbal) and a strong collaborator, able to build relationships across teams.
• Are a structured problem-solver who can think clearly under pressure.
• Can handle sensitive information with a high degree of discretion and confidentiality.
• Have a zero-to-one mindset, willing to take on new challenges and build processes from scratch.