Credit Specialist

Innovate UK; Swindon, London; Hybrid; GBP 48,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Credit Specialist to manage loan applications for innovative SMEs. This role involves analyzing financial data, assessing credit worthiness, and providing recommendations to a credit committee. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong analytical skills and a proactive approach to client management. This position offers the opportunity to work in a dynamic environment with a focus on supporting innovative businesses. The company values work-life balance and offers flexible working arrangements, making it an attractive place for dedicated professionals.

Benefits

30 days annual leave

10.5 public and privilege days

Flexible working hours

Defined benefit pension scheme

Access to support networks and discount schemes

Qualifications

• Experience in SME credit operations in finance or banking.
• Proven financial analysis skills and experience in financial models.

Responsibilities

• Manage applications for loan finance and assess credit worthiness.
• Conduct risk analysis and make recommendations to credit committee.

Skills

Financial Analysis

Credit Operations

Risk Analysis

Communication Skills

Project Management

Education

Relevant Degree or Professional Qualification

Job description

time left to apply End Date: May 23, 2025 (12 days left to apply)

job requisition id JR3998

Applications must be submitted by;

23-05-2025

Applications must be submitted by;

23-05-2025

Credit Specialist

Innovate UK’s product offer extends across business support, grant funding and innovation finance. The last of these is targeted at businesses undertaking innovation activity with a clear route to commercial success.

*Please note this advert will close on the 22nd of May 2025 at 23.59pm.

Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here .

Title: Credit Specialist

Band: Innovate UK Band 3 (UKRI Ts & Cs)*

Salary: From £48,000 gross per annum**+

Reports to: Head of Credit

Location: Field based*

Contract: Permanent

* Due to the nature of the role, it is expected that the role-holder will spend a proportion of the week in the Swindon office. The role will also involve regular UK travel, particularly to London.

*This position includes Performance Related Pay of up to 10% per annum

** Subject to Pay & Reward policy

+ Potential for a Specialist Allowance per annum is also available for this role (dependent on skills and experience).

Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements.

Context:

Reporting to the Head of Credit, you will have responsibility for the end-to-end management of applications for loan finance, including:

• Analysing the financial and non-financial credit case for investments in a wide range of innovative businesses, including assessing written applications and seeking additional information, as necessary, to build a robust assessment of credit worthiness;
• Recommending, with the input of independent expert assessments of innovation quality and deliverability, lending decisions to a credit committee made up from the Innovation Loans leadership team and external Non-Executive Directors; and
• Following the transaction through to completion, working with internal lending operations and portfolio management colleagues.

This position will require time spent in London and Swindon, and regular travel for client meetings as part of the credit process and for review.

Job Purpose:

You will determine the credit worthiness of applications by:

• Gathering information about clients
• Maintaining an overview of the broader market for SME finance, and legal, compliance and regulatory issues
• Assessing, analysing and interpreting complex financial information
• Undertaking risk analysis by interpreting financial data and producing sensitivity analyses
• Working directly with clients
• Contributing to financial reporting on the quality and performance of the loan portfolio
• Making recommendations to credit committee and taking personal accountability for the judgements you present
• Making use of external sources of data, as necessary

While you will be expected to apply a commercial level of rigour to your analysis, a successful candidate will also demonstrate an understanding of how strong underwriting practice interacts with the wider policy objectives of addressing a proven gap in the market for funding innovative SMEs.

This is an outline description of the key responsibilities and accountabilities involved in the job. This is not an exhaustive list and the post-holder might be expected to undertake any other duties across the wider Innovation Lending Directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the necessary experience and/or training.

Shortlisting criteria

(S) – Assessed at shortlisting

(I) – Assessed at interview

(S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview

Person Specification:

Experience & Qualifications:

Essential –

• The candidate will have relevant experience in the field of SME credit operations in a fund, banking or alternative finance environment and/or a good degree or professional qualification in a relevant discipline. (S&I)
• Experience in recommending and/or sanctioning non-credit scored corporate/commercial SME lending either on the frontline or a back office credit role. (S&I)
• Proven financial analysis skills and/or experience in operating financial models to determine portfolio risk. (S&I)
• Experience of making written and oral presentations to internal and external stakeholders (S&I)

Desirable –

• Politically aware and with proven interest in Innovation policy and practice demonstrated through your professional or personal experiences. (S)
• Experience in working directly with clients, managing expectations and providing constructive feedback on credit decisions (S)

Skills:

• Self-motivated and proactive, ability to work within agreed parameters and deliver to tight timescales in a highly pressured environment
• Strong quantitative and qualitative analysis skills
• Proven team working and project management skills
• Self-organisation skills and a demonstrable ability to manage and prioritise a workload in order to meet tight deadlines
• Strong communication (both written and oral) skills and the ability to produce clear, concise and accurate presentations and written documents
• Strong attention to detail

Competencies:

All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as:

Thinking and Problem Solving – Stakeholder management – Communication skills – Influencing – Self-awareness/self-management – Strategic awareness – Working with others– Project management

Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage, in addition to the criteria’s listed in the person specification.

Travel Requirements:

Field-based: There will a requirement to travel, mostly national, and there is some flexibility in this. Innovate UK staff make extensive use of telepresence tools for meetings to minimise unnecessary travel.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. Underpinning this is a belief that it is a fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally, with fairness, respect and dignity. We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set-out in our role profiles.

Equal Opportunities:

We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments, some of which will be online and others may be in-person. If you have a disability, heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you, we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion, providing further information. In confidence, Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required.

UK Research and Innovation:

Innovate UK is a partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation. If successful in securing the position, your employer will be UK Research and Innovation. More information can be found online http://www.ukri.org/ .

Employee Benefits:

We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days’ annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege days, flexible working hours, an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme, and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes.

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Flexible Working:

We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants.

Pre-employment Screening:

To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process.

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider how this aligns with your personal values or beliefs. To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as a crucial part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check.

Applications must be submitted by;

23-05-2025