Senior Credit Underwriter

Senior Credit Underwriter (progression to be head of credit)

For a Specialist Agricultural & Rural Finance Lender

Location:
Kent | Hybrid Working – 3 Days in the Office, 2 Days Remote (Closest station is Sevenoaks)

Job Type: Permanent, Full-Time

Salary:
Competitive, Dependent on Experience

An established and growing specialist agricultural finance lender is seeking an experienced Senior Credit Underwriter to join its expanding credit team.

The business provides secured lending solutions to individuals and businesses operating within the agricultural and rural sectors, supporting borrowers with funding secured primarily against land and rural assets. Its lending portfolio includes secured term loans and bridging finance.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a relationship-led specialist lender where you will play a key role in underwriting decisions, team leadership and the continued development of the credit function.

Reporting directly to the Head of Credit, you will combine hands‑on underwriting with responsibility for supervising a team of underwriters, contributing to Credit Committee decisions and helping shape the business's lending policies and risk appetite.

Agricultural lending experience is desirable but not essential. We are keen to hear from experienced underwriters with backgrounds in agricultural finance, bridging finance, specialist property finance, commercial secured lending or SME lending who can bring strong credit judgement and a commercially minded approach.

• Assess, structure and underwrite secured term and bridging loan applications for agricultural and rural borrowers.
• Analyse borrower financial statements, cash flow, affordability and sensitivity scenarios to assess creditworthiness.
• Review property and land valuations, legal security structures, loan-to-value ratios, covenants and enforce ability.
• Prepare detailed credit papers and provide clear, balanced lending recommendations.
• Identify potential risks and recommend appropriate mitigants or alternative lending structures.

• Supervise, mentor and support a small team of underwriters, ensuring consistently high standards of credit assessment.
• Operate within delegated credit authority and
  ** escalate
  * * complex, higher-value or non-standard transactions to the Credit Committee.
• Work closely with the Head of Credit, deputising when required.
• Contribute to Credit Committee discussions and support senior management in making informed lending decisions.
• Help refine lending criteria, credit policies and risk management processes.
• Monitor underwriting pipelines and identify opportunities to improve turnaround times and operational efficiency.

• Build strong relationships with Business Development Managers, external brokers, valuers, legal partners and internal operations teams.
• Ensure lending decisions comply with internal policies, funder requirements and delegated authority.
• Maintain accurate, auditable records and contribute to reviews, audits and control testing.
• Communicate credit decisions and lending rationale clearly to internal and external stakeholders.
• Promote responsible lending practices, with a focus on risk management, fraud prevention and quality of documentation.

• Proven experience underwriting UK commercial secured lending, such as bridging finance, specialist property lending, commercial term lending or SME lending.
• Strong understanding of financial statements, cash flow, affordability and credit risk.
• Experience assessing property valuations, legal security, LTV, covenants and lending structures.
• Ability to produce clear, well-reasoned credit…