Branch Operations & Service Manager

Role overview

This position is responsible for running the branch’s daily operations and administration for home loan disbursements. The role focuses on completing transactions within the required timelines, staying aligned with regulatory norms, and handling customer issues proactively so that escalations and overdue cases remain low. It also supports strong customer satisfaction by resolving queries quickly and accurately.

Core work context

The branch operations function supports home loan processing and disbursement, working in close coordination with Sales, Credit, Risk, and Collections teams. At the branch level, the work includes customer service, document handling, system updates, transaction processing, collections support, and post-closure activities. The role also includes managing bounce cheque data and related submissions.

This position sits within Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited, part of Aditya Birla Capital Limited. The company is a registered housing finance company under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987, and offers home loans, home improvement loans, home construction loans, balance transfer and top-up loans, loans against property, and construction finance. The business has ambitious expansion plans and aims to scale significantly over the next few years.

What the role is expected to do

The Branch Operations & Service Manager is expected to oversee file movement, transaction quality, disbursement readiness, post-disbursement follow-ups, audit preparedness, and service delivery. The role must ensure that branch performance metrics remain strong, with no major escalations and very low delinquency levels, while also keeping senior leadership informed through regular reporting.

Major challenges

• Verifying transaction details accurately before giving approval.
• Ensuring loan disbursements reach customers on time and without transaction errors.
• Making sure disbursal kits are prepared and dispatched within the required timelines.
• Coordinating banking tasks promptly so that avoidable escalations do not arise.
• Safeguarding loan and customer property records and maintaining updated trackers for reference.
• Handling processes that involve a high degree of manual intervention, around 60%.
• Managing a larger span of control in bigger locations where multiple branches may fall under the same purview.

Responsibilities

• Run branch operations so that home loans are processed and disbursed within the defined turnaround time.
• Ensure branches receive fully completed files from Credit, along with all required customer collateral and documentation such as agreements, KYC, and credit verification records within SLA.
• Check files for gaps or discrepancies and drive closure of pending items.
• Use branch resources efficiently and monitor the full transaction pipeline end to end.
• Handle fund management and post-closure documentation needed for NOC processing.
• Track timely dispatch of loan disbursal kits.
• Coordinate internal and external audits for the branch and act on findings and recommendations.
• Review processes regularly, identify risks, and implement mitigation measures.
• Learn from other branches’ practices and adopt approaches that improve outcomes.
• Suggest process improvements based on team feedback, support function inputs, and market trends.
• Manage post-disbursement documentation through follow-ups, discrepancy reporting, and periodic system updates.
• Improve process efficiency by meeting transaction SLAs and reducing errors and critical escalations.
• Maintain FTR% and performance levels within target.
• Resolve process issues quickly while keeping quality standards intact.
• Ensure accurate, audit-ready data is available to answer regulatory and internal audit queries.
• Track post-disbursement actions and ensure they are completed within agreed timelines.
• Periodically review workflows and user guidelines and recommend changes where needed.
• Handle customer interactions based on the complexity or importance of the case.
• Support the collections team in cases involving delayed payments or delinquency.
• Find ways to improve customer satisfaction through more efficient service handling.
• Monitor key metrics regularly and initiate corrective action when needed.
• Prepare periodic MIS reports and share them with the Zonal Head along with useful insights for decision-making.
• Review process adherence, strengthen audit compliance, and reduce audit queries through remedial actions.
• Align the team with branch goals by building awareness of target metrics.
• Develop team capability through ongoing performance review and training opportunities.
• Encourage the team to design and implement practical improvements to transaction-related challenges.
• Manage walk-in customers for service requests at the branch.
• Resolve customer queries within the committed timeline.
• Handle CRM creation, assignment, and resolution.
• Support One ABC portal registration activities.

Requirements

• Postgraduate qualification is required.
• Minimum 7 to 10 years of experience in banking or lending operations.
• Strong ability to stay goal-focused and drive outcomes.
• Comfortable working closely with cross-functional teams.
• Good interpersonal skills and the ability to influence others effectively.
• Ability to manage customers in a professional and solution-oriented way.

Additional notes

The role requires close coordination with Credit, Collections, Sales, Risk, and branch teams to keep disbursement and post-disbursement activities running smoothly. It also involves ongoing evaluation of branch processes, reporting on effectiveness, and recommending improvements where needed. Internal and external audits are part of the job, and the manager is expected to respond to findings and implement corrective actions.

About the business environment

ABHFL operates in a housing finance market where affordable housing and self-employed borrower segments offer strong growth potential. Despite competitive pressure from large market participants, the company has maintained growth and asset quality and is targeting substantial expansion over the coming years.