Specialist Operational Improvement Manager

Benefits

• 26 days holiday, and a day off for your birthday (increasing with service to 30 days), plus bank holidays
• Free access to company holiday homes
• Buy & sell holidays
• Discretionary annual bonus plus an additional Shared Reward Bonus
• Life assurance and Critical illness cover
• Travel season ticket loans and Ride to work scheme
• Free local gym access
• Local bar / restaurant discounts

Company description content has been retained and consolidated to avoid duplication in this refined format.

We’re Together. For over 50 years, we’ve helped thousands of people, businesses and professionals unlock their property ambitions with our common-sense approach to mortgages and secured loans. We take the time to understand our customers and our door is always open, so we can often help when other lenders can’t or won’t. Based in Cheadle, Cheshire, our 750 colleagues help our customers throughout the UK, backed by the power of a £7 billion loan book.

As a Specialist Operational Improvement Manager, you will drive operational excellence and proactive, value-adding risk management across Corporate Credit & Risk functions—including Corporate Lending, Development, Portfolio, and Recoveries. This role serves as a catalyst for continuous improvement, combining operational enhancement with specialist assurance responsibilities. It ensures robust processes, effective controls, and ongoing efficiency gains throughout all Corporate Credit & Risk activities.

As a Specialist Operational Improvement Manager, we are looking for someone to:

• Lead initiatives to streamline processes, eliminate inefficiencies, and enhance productivity across Corporate Credit & Risk functions. Develop and implement frameworks for continuous improvement, leveraging data-driven insights
• Establish and maintain robust control environments to mitigate operational and credit risk. Conduct assurance reviews and control testing to validate compliance with internal processes, standards and requirements. Proactively identify emerging risks and implement preventive measures to safeguard business integrity. Act as delegated support for Incident Ownership, ensuring timely resolution of incidents and root cause analysis
• Ensure adherence to governance standards and regulatory obligations across all Corporate Credit & Risk activities. Collaborate with Compliance and Audit teams to address findings and implement corrective actions promptly. Assist in the ongoing management and maintenance of departmental Business Continuity procedures, Business Impact Assessments
• Partner with Corporate Heads of Department to align operational strategies with business objectives. Act as a trusted advisor, providing insights and recommendations for strategic advancement, planning and decision-making. Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous learning within the team
• Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure operational efficiency and risk management effectiveness. Prepare and present

Essential

• Knowledgeable in first-line risk management and operational support
• Skilled in risk management practices, including effective documentation and incident review
• Applies a pragmatic, proportional approach to risk management focused on value delivery
• Confidently engages senior stakeholders, building strong, respectful relationships and clearly translating complex risk issues into practical, understandable terms
• Skilled in regulatory perimeter assessment, able to distinguish between regulated and unregulated applications and communicate this effectively to stakeholders
• Detail-oriented with a strong ability to identify anomalies and discrepancies in information
• Experienced in regulated mortgage lending and commercial lending

Together embraces diversity and inclusion, and are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Not only do we welcome difference – we celebrate it, support it and really value our colleagues for who they are. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills.

If you feel you would benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try to put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.

Please note that all successful applicants will undergo relevant employment reference, financial and criminal record checks.