Head Of Unsecured Credit Risk

Business Unit:  Group Risk
Salary range: circa £86,400 - £115,000 per annum DOE + red-hot benefits
Location:  Remote - work from anywhere within the UK with occasional travel to Hub (Leeds/Gosforth/Glasgow)

Be the voice we need. Live a life more Virgin.

Our team
The Unsecured Credit team is responsible for overseeing and monitoring lending decisions and strategies, ensuring we adhere to risk appetite and credit policy. The team also provide quality assurance and overview of Unsecured Credit underwriting decisioning; portfolio & MI monitoring and collections, including collections strategies. No day is the same, and you'll work closely with a variety of stakeholders spanning 1st and 2nd line of defence.

We're seeking an engaging Credit Risk leader, who is insatiably curious and isn't afraid to challenge the status quo. Reporting to our Chief Credit Officer and as a member of the Credit Leadership Team, you'll ensure that our purpose and values are inspiring colleagues to bring their A-game every single day.  You'll lead and develop a team of circa thirty Credit Risk SMEs with responsibility for the Credit Risk management of the unsecured portfolio.

What you'll be doing

• Delivering innovative unsecured lending strategies and policies across all aspects of Unsecured lending including credit cards, personal loans and current accounts, ensuring compliance with risk appetite.
• Ensuring appropriate unsecured new business and portfolio performance utilising analysis and insight, communicating key trends to senior stakeholders and through established governance.
• Manage portfolio performance with value added analysis and insight, including the identification of inherent risks, utilising internal and external factors, and making recommendations on strategies and mitigants.
• Working collaboratively across the Bank, identifying and highlighting issues, breaches or control weaknesses and challenging where appropriate.
• Accountable for the Credit Risk inputs to models including pricing, forecasting, and provisioning.
• Chairing regular monthly end to end portfolio quality review forums; portfolio updates, escalation, opinion and insight will be provided to Credit Risk Committee.
• Ensure quality assurance and overview through designing, managing and maintaining a framework to enable a risk-based approach to decision overview, considering wider VM and external environment factors influencing credit decisioning.
• Supporting the Chief Credit Officer in the assessment of lending applications proposed for consideration within Delegated Credit Authorities, and where escalation to the Chief Risk Officer is required.

 We need you to have

• A significant track record of successfully leading Credit Risk teams, with deep knowledge of Unsecured lending at a senior level.
• In depth understanding and ability to interpret relevant industry/regulatory rules and guidelines (including Basel).
• Detailed insight and knowledge of credit models, particularly probability of default models.
• Strong experience of defining unsecured/credit strategy, providing strategic input and contribution to a risk management team.
• Gravitas and credibility to positively influence and engage with Executives and Senior Managers.

It's a bonus if you have but not essential

• Experience of working within an agile environment.

Red Hot Rewards

• Generous holidays - 38.5 days annual leave (including bank holidays and prorated if Part–Time) plus the option to buy more
• Up to five extra paid well-being days per year 
• 20 weeks paid, gender-neutral family leave (52 weeks in total) for expectant parents and those looking to adopt 
• Market-leading pension
• Free private medical cover, income protection and life assurance
• Flexible benefits include Cycle to Work, wellness and health assessments, and critical illness 
• Ability to work anywhere in the UK (where the role allows) 

And there's no waiting around, you'll enjoy these benefits from day one.

Feeling insatiably curious about this role? Apply as soon as you can. If we're lucky to receive a lot of interest, we may close the advert early and would hate you to miss out.

We're all about helping you Live a Life More Virgin, so happy to talk flexible working with you.

Say hello to Virgin Money
We're making great strides towards achieving our ambition of becoming the UK's best digital bank.  As a full-service digital bank with a heritage stretching back over 180 years, we`re a workforce to be reckoned with.  We're putting the full power of our experience behind disruptive ideas that reinvent the role a bank plays in people's lives. We strive to create positive experiences for our millions of customers and our purpose, ‘Making You Happier About Money', underpins everything we do. We believe in doing banking differently, innovating and working together to make a real difference. Join us and Live a Life More Virgin that empowers you with choice and flexibility in how you work.

Be yourself at Virgin Money
Our purpose is to make people happier about money, this means seeing and feeling the world as our customers do by creating a workforce that reflects the rich diversity of our customers and communities.  We're committed to creating an inclusive culture where colleagues feel safe and inspired to contribute, speak up and be heard.  

As a Disability Confident Leader, we're committed to removing any obstacles to inclusion.  If you need any reasonable adjustments or support making your application, contact our Talent Acquisition team

Now the legal bit
Living A Life More Virgin allows our colleagues to be based anywhere in the UK (if the role allows it), but we'll need you to confirm you have the right to work in the UK.

If you're successful in securing a role with us, there are some checks you need to complete before starting. These include credit and criminal record checks and three years' worth of satisfactory references. As this role role is part of the Senior Manager Regime and Certification Regime, it requires enhanced pre-employment checks - we'll ask for six years of regulatory references, and once in the role, you'll be subject to periodic employment checks.