Head of Operations, Lending

Our client requires an experienced Head of Operations with a financial services lending background to be responsible for the operational strategy and the successful implementation of all operational activities to ensure delivery across all key operational areas of compliance, risk, sales, collections, customer experience and internal communication. The role has significant responsibility across new business underwriting, fulfilment, customer value propositions, sales, collections, customer services, fraud prevention and complaint handling for a suite of lending products and will develop and evaluate key measures and standards to manage and grow the business.

The ideal candidate will have a proven background in a similar role from a lending institution with experience in developing operational strategies and policies to support the full lifecycle of a lending product. In particular the candidate must have experience of leading underwriting and collections teams and fulfilling consumer lending and they must be able to demonstrate delivering continual improvements through operational monitoring and controls.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Recommend operational strategies, processes and disciplines of the business based on experience, ensuring they are effective, cost-efficient, and capable of supporting future growth.
- Provide strong leadership and direction to the team managers and staff. Mentor and coach the team to ensure a high level of individual and team performance. Recruit, hire, and develop talent as required.
- Develop and maintain a high performance culture that inspires employee commitment and engagement.
- Continue to grow customer acquisitions, improve customer retention rates, maximise cash collections and exploit opportunities across the business.
- Manage staffing levels to ensure staffing levels meet business requirements.
- Ensure all operational activities are within the letter and spirit of the regulatory requirements and ensure the appropriate level of risk and reward is obtained for customer and business, working within the agreed risk appetite.
- Oversee the development and delivery of creative communications across the Financial Services team to support a strong performance culture and to implement business change.
- Delivery of internal communication activities across the team, to ensure that all internal and customer facing communications have a positive impact on the customer experience and people engagement.
- Lead and drive performance metrics in order to deliver high service levels and generate operational efficiencies.
- Create an environment where lending compliance is Embedded in the culture and is adhered to across all of the teams.

The ideal person will have a strong operations background, leading operational teams of 100+ within financial services lending, dynamic personality with drive and passion, used to constant change, great stakeholder and board management skills.