Deputy Director Credit Risk & Portfolio Management

UKRI; Swindon; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading organization in the UK is seeking a Deputy Director for Credit Risk & Portfolio Management. This role involves overseeing credit and portfolio functions while ensuring responsible lending practices. Ideal candidates will have significant experience in SME lending and a proven track record in team leadership. The position offers a competitive salary along with performance-related pay and additional benefits.

Benefits

30 days annual leave

Flexible working hours

Defined benefit pension scheme

Access to support networks and discount schemes

Qualifications

• Substantial experience in SME lending or investment decisioning in a fund or banking environment.
• Experience in managing a portfolio of SME loan assets.
• Ability to build and lead high performing teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of credit and investment specialists.
• Ensure adherence to lending policies and practices.
• Engage with stakeholders and represent the Directorate in funding discussions.

Skills

Strong decision making

Credit risk evaluation

Negotiation

Team building

Education

Experience in SME lending

Leadership experience

Job description

Applications must be submitted by;

14-07-2025 Vacancy for Deputy Director Credit Risk & Portfolio Management

Reporting to the Chief Investment Officer you will have overall responsibility for and leadership of the Credit and Portfolio functions of Innovate UK Loans Ltd. Ensuring adherence to policy and process and implementation of best practice in treating customers fairly and lending responsibly.

*Please note this advert will close on the 13th July 2025 at 23.59pm

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

Title: Deputy Director Credit Risk & Portfolio Management

Band: Innovate UK Band 1 (UKRI Ts & Cs)*

Salary: £110,000 - £115,000 gross per annum**+

Reports to: Chief Investment Officer

Location: Swindon (Hybrid Working)

Contract: Permanent

*This position includes Performance Related Pay of up to 15% 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.

Job Purpose:

Reporting to the Chief Investment Officer you will have overall responsibility for and leadership of the Credit and Portfolio functions of Innovate UK Loans Ltd. Ensuring adherence to policy and process and implementation of best practice in treating customers fairly and lending responsibly.

Since the inception of the innovation loans product in 2017, over £230 million in innovation loans have been awarded to over 250 highly innovative companies. Portfolio companies cover the full spectrum of the future economy and are distributed across the UK.

In this role, you willbe part ofthe Innovation Finance managementteamandwill also be responsible for representing the activities of the Directorate in policyand fundingdiscussionswithin internal and externalstakeholders and the public. The role may also involve being a director and Board member of the Board of Innovate UK Loans Limited and an executive member of its Credit Committee. You will also take membership of wider groups within IUK and represent the wider Products and Services of Innovate UK.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Lead a team of 10 credit and investment specialists and 8 debt portfolio management experts to build and manage a portfolio of high risk, SME loans with mezzanine / structured finance features and controls
• Operate a personal delegation for credit, investment and arrears, default and recovery decisions, operating a devolved delegation on behalf of the Chief Investment Officer as required
• Support the Heads of Function for Credit and Portfolio to systematise and codify precedent in Innovate UK’s approach to responsible lending and debt management, working within the spirit of the FCA’s Treating Customers Fairly framework
• Act as Innovate UK’s technical expert in credit and portfolio management, as part of the wider risk, assurance and governance architecture of the organisation – and provide similar support to UK Research and Innovation, as required
• Work as part of the senior leadership team of Innovate UK’s investment directorate in delivering within a product-oriented, customer-insight driven organisation
• Engage with the wider organisation and across Innovate UK’s Domains and Products and Servicesas part of thesenior management team, contributing to the growth anddevelopment of the organisation.
• Build effective working relationships with the senior leadership teamacross Innovate UK, UKRI and with ourgoverning bodiesand other public stakeholdersincluding the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the British Business Bank
• Provide thought leadership in key public forums and expert representation in key government forums as part of the Innovate UK seniormanagementteam

• Attend Credit Committee as an executive member, offering personal opinions and insight into decisions alongside executive and independent members

This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.

Shortlisting criteria

(S) – Assessed at shortlisting

(I) – Assessed at interview

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

Person Specification:

• Demonstrating substantial equivalent experience in SME lending and/or investment decisioning in a fund, banking or alternative finance environment and experience in working with early stage, immature and innovating businesses would be beneficial (S&I)

• Experience in originating and maintaining a portfolio of SME loan assets as a (stretched-) senior and/or mezzanine/structured finance lender (S)
• Experience in a leadership capacity (I)
• Proven track record in building, maintaining and leading a high performing team across several technical disciplines through consensus-building, empowerment and coaching (I)
• Willingness and ability to flex mindset to deliver a portfolio which delivers on the innovation objectives and economic impact of the programme while achieving an overall balance of risk/reward consistent with the risk appetite established by Innovate UK (I)
• Experience of working with senior government stakeholders, developing and implementing policy initiatives in the context of Subsidy Control regulation and Managing Public Money contexts; and (I)
• Experience in launching new financial products in the public/private sectors at scale, analysing and determining customer requirements and developing appropriate risk and finance strategies (I)
• Evidence of having helped UK SMEs grow through new products and/or markets (S&I)

Desirable:

• Understanding of fair value accounting in the context of IFRS9, including benchmarking of loan assets against industry standard models through the credit cycle
• Knowledge of the end-to-end credit process from origination through to recoveries through administration and other enforcement processes
• Awareness of how innovative businesses grow, evaluation of routes to market and value propositions, comprehensive funding strategies across both debt and equity and commercialisation of new technologies
• Politically aware and with proven interest in Innovation policy and practice demonstrated through your professional or personal experiences
• Experience in working directly with clients, managing expectations and providing constructive feedback on credit decisions
• Knowledge of process management and development, including cash management, forecasting and covenant review
• Experience in managing and reporting on a portfolio of loans or investments
• Board Experience and/or sound understanding of governance

Skills:

• Formulation, delivery and effective management of a loan portfolio in collaboration with a management team
• Strong decision making skills, balancing the desires of multiple stakeholders
• Strong credit risk evaluation skills
• Strong technical and strategic (corporate) finance and risk management capabilities
• Excellent communicator and negotiator with public presentation skills and gravitas
• Proven capability to build a team, develop and implement new initiatives within an organisation on a significant scale
• Ability, flexibility and willingness to thrive in a changing environment, working proactively on new product ideas and processes and providing clarity in areas of expertise
• Highly self-motivated and able to lead on own initiative whilst in close co-ordination with the wider senior team

Additional Requirements:

Independence:

• No external commitments that could be perceived as a conflict of interest or material distraction from the execution of duties.

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. In general, you will need to work in the Swindon office once a week and may have four to six nights away from home per month on average to attend conferences and events.

Swindon/London-based: There may be the occasional requirement for national 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 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;

14-07-2025