Commercial Credit Risk Manager

Jobtailor; Basildon; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor in the United Kingdom seeks a Senior Commercial Credit Risk professional to design underwriting policies for sole traders, SMEs and fleet financing and to lead decisioning frameworks.

You will oversee credit proposals, monitor portfolio performance, and collaborate with risk, compliance, and finance to ensure IFRS 9 alignment and robust governance.

Strong analytical, data-driven mindset and leadership are essential as you scale digital underwriting and drive risk-aware growth.

Qualifications

• Experience across sole traders, SMEs, and multi-vehicle fleet customers.
• Track record developing underwriting guidelines and credit proposals.
• Strong financial/credit analysis skills (financials, cash flow, guarantors).
• Knowledge of EBA/PRA credit risk classification, including default and NPE.
• Analytical, data-driven mindset and strong communication with senior leaders.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain underwriting policies and risk appetite for commercial segments.
• Assess creditworthiness of commercial counterparties and oversee complex proposals.
• Monitor portfolio performance and KRIs/KPIs; identify emerging risks and adjust strategy.
• Lead, coach, and develop the commercial credit risk team.

Skills

Commercial credit risk experience

Underwriting guidelines development

Financial/credit analysis

EBA/PRA compliance knowledge

Analytical mindset

SME/Sole trader credit scoring

Fleet/automotive financing knowledge

Job description

• Design and maintain underwriting policies, decisioning frameworks, and credit risk appetite for sole trader, SME, and fleet/multi-vehicle segments, including commercial line of credit limit-setting and utilisation management.
• Assess creditworthiness of commercial counterparties (business financials, cash flow, guarantors, external data); oversee complex credit proposals and Credit Committee participation.
• Monitor portfolio performance and KRIs/KPIs by commercial segment; identify emerging risks (sector concentration, fleet residual value/utilisation, small business defaults) and adjust strategy accordingly.
• Design loss mitigation, collections, and recovery approaches suited to commercial relationships.
• Deliver forecasting/scenario analysis and portfolio insights to senior management and governance committees.
• Oversee credit risk on Ford dealer wholesale/floorplan financing, including dealer credit line setting, renewal, and ongoing exposure monitoring.
• Monitor dealer financial health (stocking levels, inventory turn, curtailment triggers, out-of-trust risk) and elevate early warning indicators through established governance channels.
• Maintain oversight of dealer concentration risk and floorplan portfolio quality, incorporating dealer-level risk into broader commercial portfolio reporting and risk appetite metrics.
• Maintain second line assurance and oversight of first-line commercial lending activity, including policy exceptions and controls.
• Implement fraud detection/prevention frameworks for commercial applications (e.g. business identity verification).
• Ensure commercial and dealer wholesale exposures are correctly classified per EBA/PRA rules (default, forbearance, NPE), and lead the team's capability development in this area, working with Finance to align with IFRS 9 staging and regulatory reporting.
• Partner with marketing and sales, operations, data, and technology teams to scale digital and automated underwriting for commercial customers.
• Collaborate with Group Risk, Compliance, and control functions; contribute to ICAAP, stress testing, and capital planning for the commercial book.
• Lead, coach, and develop the commercial credit risk team; build a strong risk culture and support the Bank's commercial growth strategy through data- and analytics-led decisioning.

Requirements

• First line commercial credit risk experience across sole traders, SMEs, and multi-vehicle/fleet customers.
• Track record developing underwriting guidelines and credit proposal assessments, including commercial lines of credit.
• Strong financial/credit analysis skills (business financials, cash flow, guarantor assessment, external research).
• Strong working knowledge of EBA and PRA credit risk classification requirements, including definition of default, forbearance, and non-performing exposure rules.
• Analytical, data-driven mindset; excellent communication skills with senior leaders, Board members, and stakeholders.
• SME/sole trader credit scoring or alternative data experience.
• Fleet/automotive financing and vehicle asset risk knowledge.

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in commercial credit risk management, including underwriting policy design, creditworthiness assessment, and compliance with EBA/PRA regulations. Proven ability to lead teams, deliver insights through data analysis, and implement fraud detection frameworks.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Commercial Credit Risk Management
• Underwriting Policy Development
• Financial Analysis Skills
• EBA/PRA Compliance Knowledge
• Fleet/Automotive Financing Expertise

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Credit Risk Assessment
• Underwriting Guidelines Development
• Credit Proposal Assessment
• Data Analysis
• Loss Mitigation Strategies
• Portfolio Performance Monitoring
• Fraud Detection Frameworks
• Scenario Analysis
• Credit Scoring
• Regulatory Reporting

Soft Skills

• Excellent Communication Skills
• Analytical Mindset
• Team Leadership
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Risk Culture Development

Industry Keywords

• SME Financing
• Sole Trader Credit
• Multi-Vehicle Financing
• Credit Committee Participation
• KRI/KPI Monitoring
• Dealer Credit Line Management
• Non-Performing Exposure
• Forbearance Definition
• Capital Planning
• Governance Channels