Chief Risk Officer

Fair Finance; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday/vacation

Birthday day off

WFH allowance

Health Insurance

Perkbox

EAP

Staff loan

Pension

Job summary

Fair Finance, based in Dalston with flexible WFH options, seeks an experienced Chief Risk Officer to join the Executive Leadership Team and lead enterprise-wide risk management.

You will provide strategic oversight of credit, operational, financial, regulatory and reputational risk, embedding a strong risk culture and ensuring regulatory compliance as Fair Finance scales.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in risk management, specifically in consumer credit, financial services or regulated environment.
• Score card development, affordability analysis, automation strategy/delivery.
• Data driven – AI, machine learning. Use of data to make credit decisions and aid automated decision.
• Knowledge of risk register development and implementation.
• Strong knowledge of FCA regulations, governance and compliance frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, implementation and ongoing improvement of the organisation-wide risk management framework.
• Identify, assess and manage risks across all areas of the business, ensuring they are mitigated and monitored.
• Define, review and recommend the organisation’s risk appetite and tolerance levels to the board.
• Work closely with the Head of Credit Risk to ensure alignment and robust oversight of credit risk frameworks, models and portfolio performance.
• Embed risk-management in strategic and operational decision making.

Skills

Risk management

Consumer credit

Financial services

Regulated environment

Data driven

AI / machine learning

Credit decisions

Risk reporting

Agile teams

Team leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Job description

Location: Based in our Dalston office with flexibility to WFH

Reporting to: CEO

Contract: Permanent, full-time

About Fair Finance

Fair Finance's mission is to revolutionise financial services to make it more inclusive and fair for everyone. We design and deliver financial services to improve the financial wellbeing and have a positive impact on our clients.

For nearly 20 years we have worked with hundreds of thousands of accesses affordable credit, manage their finances and avoid high-cost lenders. Our work has influenced Government policy, credit legislation and shown how Purpose and Profit can work together to change the financial system for the better.

We are an established organisation with a proven track record, now undergoing an ambitious digital and scale up transformation that will allow us to achieve scale and impact across the country.

We're at a defining moment:

- Moving from a retail-based model to a digitally-enabled national lender, we're building the operational infrastructure to double our loan book annually - from £6M today to £30M+ within 30 months - while maintaining our commitment to financial inclusion and exceptional customer service.

- Working with national banks and key institutional stakeholders we will significantly increase our reach into communities and address parts of the UK Government’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion

This isn't just operational efficiency. It's about building the engine that will serve hundreds of thousands more people who are locked out of mainstream finance without losing the human touch.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced Chief Risk Officer (CRO) to join the Executive Leadership Team and oversee the development and implementation of Fair Finance’s enterprise-wide risk management framework.

The CRO will provide a strategic oversight of all risk types. Including credit, operational, financial, regulatory and reputational. Ensuring risks are effectively identified, monitored and managed across the organisation.

You will play a critical role in embedding strong risk culture, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and supporting sound decision making across all business areas as Fair Finance continues its growth and transformation journey.

This is a leadership role reporting directly to the CEO and Chair of the Risk and Compliance Board Committee, with the opportunity to influence organisational strategy, protect the business from emerging risks, and help ensure Fair Finance continues to deliver its mission responsibly and sustainably.

About You

We are looking for a strategic, analytical and value-driven risk leader with significant experience in consumer credit, enterprise and regulatory risk management, ideally within a financial services organisation

You’ll have strong understanding of the FCA’s regulatory framework, enterprise risk governance, and risk appetite setting. You’ll enjoy working collaboratively with colleagues including the CEO, and Heads of function to strengthen oversight, enable informed decision-making, and ensure Fair Finance continues to deliver fair and responsible lending.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Risk Management

• Lead the design, implementation and ongoing improvement of Fair Finance’s organisation-wide risk management framework.
• Identify, assess and manage risks across all areas of the business, ensuring they are effectively mitigated and monitored.
• Define, review and recommend the organisation’s risk appetite and tolerance levels to the board.

Collaboration and Oversight

• Work closely with the Head of Credit Risk to ensure alignment and robust oversight of credit risk frameworks, models and portfolio performance.
• Partner with the executive team to embed risk-management in strategic and operational decision making.
• Provide challenge, guidance and assurance to ensure risk management practices remain strong as the organisation scales.

Governance and Compliance

• Ensuring effective risk governance structures, policies and controls are in place across the business.
• Oversee compliance with regulatory requirements including FCA Consumer Duty, Treating Customers Fairly and other relevant standards.
• Prepare and present clear, data-driven risk reports to the CEO, Risk Committee and Board.

Monitoring, Reporting and Insight

• Produce regular reports highlighting key risks, trends and emerging issues.
• Develop and maintain clear metrics and dashboards for ongoing risk monitoring and decision support.
• Oversee the business continuity and crisis management frameworks to ensure operational resilience.

Skills and Experience

• Extensive experience in risk management, specifically in consumer credit, financial services or regulated environment.
• Score card development, affordability analysis, automation strategy/delivery.
• Data driven – Ai, machine learning. Use of data to make credit decisions and aid automated decision.
• Knowledge of risk register development and implementation.
• Strong knowledge of FCA regulations, governance and compliance frameworks.
• MLRO experience preferred.
• SMF4 preferred.
• Experience working at senior or executive level with board reporting responsibility.
• Excellent analytical and communication skills, able to translate complex data into meaningful insight.
• Experience working with agile teams.
• Experience leading, managing and developing teams.
• Strong influencing and negotiating skills.

This job description may be amended from time to time to reflect the changing needs of the business.

Why work for Fair Finance?

Mission That Matters. We have created an environment where you can genuinely put clients before profits and make a difference to our clients’ lives. You'll go home each day knowing your operational excellence helped someone access credit when they needed it most, at a fair rate, with dignity. The operational KPIs matter because they enable social impact at scale.

Our Commitment to You

We're a non‑profit social enterprise, which means we can't match commercial market rates for this level of responsibility. What we can offer is the opportunity to build something exceptional that serves people who need it most, with a committed team, clear strategy, and genuine support for your success.

If you're at a career stage where operational impact matters as much as compensation, and you want to prove that inclusive finance can achieve both scale and excellence, we'd love to hear from you.

Employee Benefits

• Annual holiday entitlement of 25 days in addition to UK public holidays.
• An additional paid day off for your birthday.
• Staff receive an additional 'WFH allowance' to allow even greater location flexibility.
• Private Health Insurance.
• Perkbox access for a wide range of discounts.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
• Staff Loan Scheme (currently interest free).
• 3% matching contribution towards a stakeholder pension