Director, Strategy & Operations - Lending

OakNorth; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity stake

25 days holiday

Private medical

Maternity/Paternity leave

Wellbeing events

Volunteering time off

Cycle to work

Job summary

OakNorth, London-based, seeks an operating partner to drive scale across UK and US lending. You'll work directly with the Chief Lending Officer and senior leadership to turn strategy into executable plans, owning priority initiatives and aligning OKRs with reviews.

You’ll build a scalable commercial engine, optimize the end-to-end lending journey, manage a small team across marketing, revenue operations and sales enablement, and influence board-level planning in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial

Qualifications

• Track record of leading complex cross-functional initiatives from idea to outcome.
• Strong systems thinking with commercial judgement and analytical ability.
• Experience engaging senior dealmakers and understanding deal origination and underwriting.

Responsibilities

• Drive the lending roadmap translating priorities into an executable UK/US plan.
• Partner with lending leadership to align OKRs with reviews and strategic planning.
• Own and deliver high-priority strategies and growth bets in new sectors/geographies.
• Build and strengthen the commercial engine and sales operations across the funnel.
• Lead recruitment, org design, capability, and capacity planning.
• Improve end-to-end lending journey with scalable processes and selective automation.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional leadership

Commercial judgement

Execution orientation

Ambition with speed

Job description

ABOUT US

At OakNorth, we’re on a mission to empower ambitious businesses and the communities they serve. Since 2015, we’ve lent over $21 billion across the UK and US, helped create more than 58,000 new homes and 36,000 new jobs, and supported hundreds of thousands of personal savers — all while driving economic growth in the markets we serve.

We’re an entrepreneurial, technology-led bank, combining deep lending expertise with data, technology and AI to make better decisions and deliver a different experience for our customers.

THE ROLE

Working directly with OakNorth's Chief Lending Officer and the broader lending team, you will be the driver for how we scale our UK and US lending businesses.

You’ll operate across every lending function and work directly with senior leadership - the connective tissue between the lending team and the rest of the business - with a seat at the table on strategy and board-level planning.

You will identify the biggest opportunities and constraints, turn strategy into clear plans and both lead and support delivery across key initiatives.

This is a broad, hands-on mandate for someone who owns problems, builds solutions and gets things done.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Drive the lending roadmap

• 
  

  Translate our lending priorities and strategy into an executable roadmap across the UK and US in support of our scaling mandate

  
  
  
  

  • Partner with lending leadership to set and align OKRs, dovetailing into the Monthly Business Reviews, Quarterly Business Reviews, and strategic planning operating rhythm

  
  

  • Own the roadmap for our highest priority strategy and operational initiatives - including growth bets into new sectors and geographies

  
  
  
  

Build the commercial engine

• 
  

  Own and strengthen the commercial engine and our sales operation processes across the funnel, with the overall goal of widening top of funnel and improving conversion rates

  
  
  
  

  • Own the commercial operating model, including the agenda on recruitment, org design, capability, and our capacity model

  
  

  • Improve the end-to-end lending journey and build scalable, efficient processes, with an emphasis on where we need human touchpoints versus technology, automation and AI

  
  

  • Manage a small team across marketing, revenue operations and sales enablement

  
  
  
  

THE PROFILE

We are open on background. You may have worked as an Operating Partner, Chief of Staff, Strategy & Operations leader, business builder or general manager. How you think and operate matters most.

You will bring:

• A track record of leading complex, cross-functional initiatives from idea to outcome.




• A strong systems thinker with sound commercial judgement and analytical ability.




• Enough commercial and credit fluency to earn credibility with senior dealmakers and engage seriously with how deals are originated, structured and underwritten.




• The ability to move comfortably between strategy and operational detail.




• An entrepreneurial approach and confidence building without a playbook.




• High energy, low ego and a bias for action.




• Comfort with ambiguity, pace and accountability.




• Strong preference for experience in financial services - banking, private equity, a credit fund or similar

BENEFITS & PERKS

• Equity — we want everyone to have a stake in the business so our interests are aligned




• 25 days holiday plus personalised benefits — opt in to what matters to you




• Subsidised private medical insurance with Bupa




• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave




• Wellbeing and social events, plus in-house Barista Bar in the London office




• Volunteering time off to support causes that matter to you




• Salary sacrifice schemes — cycle to work, nursery, gym, and electric car scheme