Head of Operations (Auto/Secured lending)

About Lendable

Lendable is on a mission to build the world's best technology to help people get credit and save money. We're building one of the world’s leading fintech companies and are off to a strong start:

• One of the UK’s newest unicorns with a team of just over 600 people
• Among the fastest-growing tech companies in the UK
• Profitable since 2017
• Backed by top investors including Balderton Capital and Goldman Sachs
• Loved by customers with the best reviews in the market (4.9 across 10,000s of reviews on Trustpilot)

So far, we’ve rebuilt the Big Three consumer finance products from scratch: loans, credit cards and car finance. We get money into our customers’ hands in minutes instead of days.

We’re growing fast, and there’s a lot more to do: we’re going after the two biggest Western markets (UK and US) where trillions worth of financial products are held by big banks with dated systems and painful processes.

Role Purpose

The Head of Operations (Auto/Secured lending) is responsible for the daily performance, development, and continuous improvement of the frontline teams dedicated to one or more of our existing products, spanning both Customer Service and Financial Support functions. Reporting to the Operations Director, you will lead and coach a team of Team Leads, ensuring their teams deliver exceptional service, maintain high operational efficiency, and are accountable for consistently achieving defined service levels alongside consistently meeting regulatory and customer outcomes, including customers in financial difficulty or vulnerable situations. You will play a pivotal role in translating strategic operational initiatives, including those involving AI and automation, into effective frontline execution. You will be accountable for identifying and implementing data-driven improvements that enhance efficiency, scalability, and customer outcomes within your product remit, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and digital adoption across your teams.

Key Responsibilities

1. Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Team Leads, enabling them to inspire and manage their frontline agents effectively across both customer service and financial support streams.
• Foster a high-performance culture of continuous learning, accountability, and problem-solving within the operations teams, ensuring a strong focus on empathetic customer support and compliance.
• Oversee the performance management for the teams, ensuring consistent achievement of KPIs (e.g., customer satisfaction, quality, compliance, productivity, SLAs).
• Lead the identification of skill gaps and drive upskilling initiatives within your teams to ensure they are proficient and adaptable to new technologies, particularly automation, AI tools, and enhanced digital workflows, fostering a digitally-savvy workforce.

2. Operational Oversight & Performance

• Manage the day-to-day operations of the customer service and financial support teams, ensuring smooth delivery, effective resource allocation, and adherence to service level agreements.
• Leverage comprehensive data analysis (KPIs, dashboards, quality scores, customer feedback), including insights derived from AI tools, to identify operational trends, performance gaps, and opportunities for automation or process re-engineering. Formulate and propose data-backed recommendations for continuous improvement and strategic adjustments specific to the product within your remit, aiming for enhanced efficiency and customer experience.
• Proactively address operational challenges and escalations and implement timely solutions to maintain service quality and efficiency.

3. Process Improvement & Product Focus

• Proactively identify and analyse process pain points within the customer journeys and operational workflows, translating these insights into concrete recommendations for automation, digital enhancements, and intelligent process re-engineering, specifically within your product scope.
• Oversee and drive the implementation of approved automation, digital enhancements, and re-engineered processes, ensuring they significantly improve customer experience, operational efficiency, and accessibility for your product.
• Champion and embed these innovative process changes and new technological tools within the frontline teams, ensuring smooth adoption, adherence, and alignment with the overarching operational strategy.

4. Risk, Quality & Compliance

• Ensure that all customer interactions and processes related to your product remit meet regulatory and compliance standards, with particular attention to vulnerable or high-risk cardholders.
• Promote strong risk awareness and adherence to policies within the teams, supporting the embedding of governance and quality frameworks.
• Accountable for the development, maintenance, and adherence to robust operational procedures, internal risk controls, and relevant compliance documentation.
• Act as a key point of contact for compliance issues specific to your product remit, supporting corrective actions as needed.

5. Stakeholder Collaboration

• Collaborate effectively with Product, Technology, Risk, and Compliance teams on initiatives impacting customer journeys and operational processes.
• Communicate performance updates, risks, and improvement recommendations to the Operations Director and relevant internal stakeholders.
• Represent the operations teams, advocating for frontline feedback and customer insights to drive positive change.

6. Reporting & Insight

• Contribute to operational reporting by providing comprehensive data and insights specific to your product remit, including performance of new automated processes and AI-driven initiatives, covering KPIs, efficiency, and customer outcomes.
• Proactively leverage analytical insights to diagnose operational issues, identify emerging operational trends and issues within your product domain, driving the implementation of appropriate tooling and tactical actions, and providing data-driven input for strategic improvements.
• Understanding of compliance, risk management, and regulatory requirements, particularly relevant to financial products and vulnerable customers.

Person Specification

Experience & Skills

• Proven experience managing or supervising multiple teams in a customer-facing or operations environment, ideally within a regulated or tech-enabled financial services context.
• Demonstrable experience in driving team performance and development, including coaching and mentoring Team Leads or supervisors.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret operational data (KPIs, dashboards, quality scores, customer feedback) to identify trends, diagnose root causes, and propose actionable solutions.
• Demonstrable experience in identifying, evaluating, and successfully implementing process improvements, with a strong focus on leveraging automation, digital enhancements, and AI tools to drive efficiency and enhance customer outcomes at an operational management level.
• Proven ability to develop, implement, and maintain operational procedures and risk/control documentation.
• Demonstrable experience in identifying, evaluating, and successfully implementing process improvements, with a strong focus on leveraging automation, digital enhancements, and AI tools to drive efficiency and enhance customer outcomes at an operational management level.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively engage and influence internal stakeholders.
• Understanding of compliance, risk management, and regulatory requirements, particularly relevant to financial products like cards and vulnerable customers.
• Experience managing operations related to a specific product (e.g., cards, Loans, Car Finance) is highly desirable.

Behaviours & Approach

• Customer-Focused: Committed to delivering compassionate, fair, and efficient support to all customers, with a particular awareness for vulnerable cardholders.
• Action-Oriented Problem Solver: Proactive in identifying operational challenges, analysing root causes, and recommending and implementing effective solutions within their remit.
• Data-Informed: Uses evidence and insights to guide decision-making and team management, proactively seeking opportunities for data-driven recommendations.
• Enabling Leader: Motivating and supportive of Team Leads and their teams, fostering a collaborative, accountable, and development-oriented environment.
• Detail-Oriented & Diligent: Ensures accuracy and completeness in operational procedures and compliance documentation.
• Adaptable & Resilient: Able to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, balancing competing priorities and adapting to change.
• Process & Technology Improvement Mindset: A proactive drive to identify and implement innovative solutions, including automation and AI, to streamline workflows, enhance efficiency, and improve customer journeys.
• Team Player: Collaborates effectively across departments to achieve shared goals and deliver positive outcomes.
• Digital Adoption Champion: Enthusiastic about leveraging new technologies, particularly AI and automation, to achieve operational excellence and superior customer outcomes, inspiring teams to embrace digital transformation.

The Interview Process

• 30 minute call with a member of the Talent team
• A technical task
• Interview with Director of Operations
• Interview with COO
• Final Stage interview with Product MD(s)