Head of Credit – Aviva Insurance, Wealth and Retirement

AXA UK; London; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

AXA UK is seeking a strategic Head of Credit for Aviva’s Insurance, Wealth and Retirement business. This leadership role involves driving credit risk strategy, managing a high-performing team, and aligning investments with Aviva’s objectives. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in credit investment and proven leadership abilities, ready to influence outcomes across stakeholders.

Benefits

Competitive salary based on experience

Bonus opportunity of 25% annual salary

Generous pension scheme with up to 14% contribution

29 days holiday plus bank holidays

Up to £1,200 of free Aviva shares per year

Flexible benefits including sustainability options

3 paid volunteering days

Wellbeing support and tools

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience in Financial Services with strong credit investment skills.
• Proven leadership and people development skills.
• Ability to engage with stakeholders at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Lead the credit risk strategy for new investments and existing portfolio.
• Shape credit policy and manage risk across investments.
• Represent Aviva with regulators and external partners.

Skills

Credit investment skills

Leadership skills

Communication

Stakeholder engagement

Risk assessment appreciation

Job description

Head of Credit – Aviva Insurance, Wealth and Retirement

London, York or Norwich – Competitive salary dependent on location and experience

Are you a strategic thinker with extensive credit investment experience? Do you thrive in leadership roles where you can shape outcomes, and influence across a business? If you're ready to lead a high-performing team and drive credit strategy for one of the UK’s largest insurers, this could be a fantastic role for you!

A bit about the job:

As Head of Credit for Aviva’s Insurance, Wealth and Retirement (IWR) business, you’ll lead our credit risk strategy across both new investments and our existing portfolio. Reporting to Aviva’s Chief Investment Officer, you’ll be a key member of the Investment Leadership Team and lead a team of 12 credit professionals.

You’ll work closely with asset managers and senior stakeholders to ensure our investments align with Aviva’s risk appetite and deliver strong, sustainable returns. This is a high-impact role where you’ll shape credit policy, manage risk, and represent Aviva with regulators and external partners.

Skills and experience we’re looking for:

• Demonstrable Financial Services industry experience matched with a CV that showcases strong credit investment skills anchored in deep fundamental, bottom-up credit assessment
• Appreciation for pricing of risk, risk concentrations and portfolio construction alongside a solid understanding of external macroeconomic, technology, policy, and geo-political risks
• Proven leadership and people development skills
• Knowledge of restructurings and credit work-outs
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to work successfully across all levels and influence across multiple business areas & functions

What you’ll get for this role:

Our purpose –with you today, for a better tomorrow– is a promise we make to our colleagues too. And one of the ways we live up to that promise is by investing in you. We offer:

• Competitive salary (depending on location, skills, experience, and qualifications)
• Bonus opportunity – 25% of annual salary, depending on grade and performance
• Generous pension scheme – Aviva will contribute up to 14%
• 29 days holiday plus bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell up to 5 days
• Up to 40% discount on Aviva products, plus other retailer discounts
• Up to £1,200 of free Aviva shares per year through our Matching Share Plan
• Brilliantly supportive policies including parental and carer’s leave
• Flexible benefits to suit you, including sustainability options like cycle to work
• 3 paid volunteering days to give back to your community
• Wellbeing support and tools to help you thrive

Aviva is for everyone:

We’re inclusive and welcome everyone – we want applications from all backgrounds and experiences. Excited but not sure you tick every box? Even if you don’t, we’d still love to hear from you. We also consider all forms of flexible working, including part-time and job shares.

We flex locations, hours and working patterns to suit our customers, business, and you. Most of our people are smart working – spending around 50% of their time in our offices every week.

To find out more about working at Aviva take a look here

We interview every disabled applicant who meets the minimum criteria for the job. Once you’ve applied, please email us to let us know you have a disclosed disability, and we’ll make sure you’re offered an interview.

We’d love it if you could submit your application online. If you need an alternative method, please get in touch with Daisy Holmes on [phone] or [e-mail].