Lending Expert

Lending Expert – 12 month Fixed Term Contract Salary: £65,000 - £68,000 + excellent benefits Location: London with expectation of regular in person meetings in London; with WFH other times Working pattern: Ideally full-time, although we welcome applicants seeking part-time arrangements of 3 days per week or more Please note, this is now a 12 month fixed term contract not a 6 month as previously advertised. Did you know that there are at least 20m people in the UK in vulnerable financial circumstances, who are poorly served or unfairly excluded from mainstream financial services? That’s nearly a third of all adults in the UK. We are Fair4All Finance. We are a not-for-profit organisation working with Financial Services providers to improve the financial wellbeing of people in vulnerable circumstances by increasing access to fair, affordable and appropriate financial products and services. We are continuing our work following our latest round of funding, and as a result we are now seeking an experienced Lending Expert to join us on secondment or a fixed-term contract to help shape the future of affordable credit in the UK. This is an opportunity to combine deep, hands-on lending expertise with social impact, applying your experience beyond a single organisation to help improve how affordable credit is delivered to millions of people in vulnerable financial circumstances. Working across our affordable credit portfolio, you’ll bring practical expertise in areas such as underwriting, affordability assessment, credit risk and decisioning, collections and customer acquisition. You’ll work with colleagues and organisations across community finance, retail banking, fintech and responsible lending to assess lending practice, improve standards and support innovation. You’ll provide expert insight and constructive challenge as we assess lending models and organisations seeking investment or partnership support. Working alongside senior leaders, investors, policymakers and lenders, you’ll have the opportunity to influence how millions of pounds of investment and support are deployed across the affordable credit sector – and ultimately help more people access fair, affordable and sustainable credit. Key Responsibilities Provide expert practitioner insight across lending operations, including underwriting, affordability assessment, credit risk, decisioning, collections and customer acquisition. Support the assessment of prospective lenders, considering whether their lending models and practices are responsible, robust, sustainable and capable of scaling. Review and provide constructive challenge on lending policies, underwriting approaches, management information, arrears and collections practices and customer outcomes. Assess lending practices through the lens of responsible lending, Consumer Duty, customer vulnerability, conduct risk and fair customer outcomes. Provide insight into portfolio management, arrears, forbearance and collections, helping identify opportunities to strengthen practice and customer outcomes. Advise on how marketing and customer acquisition channels can responsibly reach underserved customers while balancing growth, conversion and responsible lending obligations. Support the practical implementation and ongoing development of the Affordable Credit Code of Good Practice. Share practical lending, credit risk and market expertise with Fair4All Finance colleagues through coaching, structured teach-ins and written guidance. Provide expert input into recommendations and papers for senior stakeholders and Fair4All Finance Board subcommittees, where required. Build effective relationships with lenders, community finance organisations, banks, fintechs and other partners, bringing constructive challenge alongside a collaborative approach. Essential experience & qualifications We’re looking for an established lending professional with significant hands-on experience and the credibility to operate independently with senior stakeholders. You’ll need: Significant experience working within a regulated lender, with strong knowledge of consumer credit and lending operations. Strong hands-on lending experience, particularly across underwriting, affordability assessment, credit risk and credit decisioning. Experience analysing lending practices and customer outcomes, with a strong understanding of responsible lending, Consumer Duty, customer vulnerability and conduct risk. The ability to critically assess lending models, policies, processes and management information and identify both risks and opportunities for improvement. Experience working with senior stakeholders and the credibility to provide independent insight, challenge and recommendations. The ability to communicate complex lending, credit and risk issues clearly to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, verbally and in writing. A strong track record of building effective relationships and working collaboratively across different teams, organisations and stakeholder groups. Desirable experience Consumer lending to underserved or financially vulnerable customer groups. Lending portfolio management and portfolio performance. Collections and arrears management, including customer engagement, vulnerability, forbearance and delivering fair customer outcomes. Marketing and customer acquisition within consumer lending, including reaching underserved customers and balancing commercial growth with responsible lending. Community finance, credit unions, responsible lending, non-bank lending, retail banking or fintech. Relevant backgrounds could include roles such as Head of Underwriting, Credit Risk Manager, Lending Director, Head of Collections, Credit Strategy Manager, Consumer Lending Product Lead, Credit Union Lending Manager or Responsible Lending Specialist. Person Profile You’ll be an experienced lending practitioner who combines technical expertise with strong judgement, curiosity and a genuine commitment to improving financial inclusion. You’ll be comfortable moving between detailed lending practice and the bigger strategic picture – understanding both the commercial realities facing lenders and the importance of delivering fair and sustainable outcomes for customers. Passionate about Fair4All Finance’s mission to improve the financial resilience of people in vulnerable circumstances. Commercially aware, with a practical understanding of how lending businesses operate. Analytical and comfortable using evidence, data and management information to form judgements. Confident providing constructive challenge and making clear, evidence-based recommendations. An excellent communicator who can translate complex lending and credit issues for different audiences. Collaborative and relationship-focused, with the ability to influence without relying on formal authority. Self-organised, flexible and comfortable working independently in a role with a broad range of stakeholders. Creative, pragmatic and resourceful when tackling unfamiliar or complex problems. Comfortable operating in an organisation where social impact, responsible lending and commercial sustainability need to work together. Above all, you’ll bring practical lending expertise and a desire to use it differently – helping us strengthen the affordable credit sector and improve access to fair and appropriate credit for people who are too often poorly served by mainstream financial services. Who are Fair4All Finance? We are a not-for-profit organisation working with Financial Services providers to improve the financial wellbeing of people in vulnerable circumstances by increasing access to fair, affordable and appropriate financial products and services. Founded in 2019, we are funded from the Dormant Assets Scheme. The scheme is led by the financial industry and backed by the UK government. This makes it possible for money in dormant bank and building society accounts to be used to help good causes. Our vision is of a society where the long-term financial wellbeing of all people is supported by a fair and accessible financial sector. You can find more information on us and our work at www.fair4allfinance.org.uk. Fair4All Finance is dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. We value different perspectives, experiences, and expertise, encouraging everyone to grow and contribute fully. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, including age, gender identity, disability, marital status, race, sexual orientation, pregnancy, and socioeconomic status. We ensure fair and equitable treatment for all team members and applicants and actively recruit from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to making reasonable adjustments to support candidates and promote flexible working for a healthy work-life balance. For informal enquiries, or if you have any technical issue with your application, please contact us at [email removed - click apply for more details]. Please note that your application will be reviewed through a blind, unbiased process, so be sure to provide clear, specific examples in your responses to our ‘sift’ questions. To apply, submit your application via Applied by 5pm on Wednesday 23rd September. Please note, we reserve the right to close the role ahead of the closing date so please be sure to apply early. Due to the nature of our work successful applicants may be required to undergo pre-employment checks, which include employment reference, financial and criminal record checks. All checks will be role appropriate and your recruiter will confirm which checks are required. We manage our checks via TrustID. All applicants must have an existing Right to Work in the UK and not require sponsorship at any point now, or in the future.