Head of Credit Risk - SME Lending

MERJE; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

MERJE is seeking a senior Head of Credit Risk to lead the strategy, policies and portfolio management across the customer lifecycle in a fintech environment.

You will own credit risk appetite, develop underwriting frameworks and collaborate with Product, Data and Technology to enhance decisioning speed and accuracy. The role requires SME lending expertise, hands-on leadership and strong communication skills.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in credit risk management within SME lending.
• Strong understanding of credit risk principles, methodologies and regulatory requirements.
• Proven track record of developing and implementing credit risk strategies in fast-paced environments.
• Experience in managing and leading a team of credit risk professionals.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with ability to convey complex concepts to diverse audiences.
• Comfortable working directly with data and dashboarding/BI tools such as Power BI or Looker.
• Knowledge of credit risk modelling techniques and statistical analysis tools.

Responsibilities

• Develop and evolve credit risk strategy, policies and underwriting framework.
• Define credit risk appetite, lending criteria, portfolio limits and key risk indicators.
• Balance credit performance with growth, optimising risk-adjusted returns.
• Assess new products, customer segments and opportunities to responsibly expand credit appetite.
• Monitor performance across cohorts, customer segments, products and acquisition channels.
• Identify emerging risks, trends and opportunities, translating insights into action.
• Maintain effective portfolio monitoring, early-warning indicators and risk reporting.
• Continuously improve underwriting, credit models, scorecards and decisioning methodologies.
• Use internal and external data to improve credit selection and portfolio performance.
• Partner with Product, Data and Technology to improve the speed, accuracy and automation of credit decisions.

Skills

Credit risk management

SME lending

Regulatory compliance

Credit risk strategy development

Team leadership

Data-driven decision making

Communication and presentation

Analytical problem-solving

Tools

Power BI

Looker

Job description

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced professional to join our team as the Head of Credit Risk. This is a senior, hands-on role with responsibility for how we evaluate, price and manage credit risk across the customer lifecycle. You’ll lead our credit risk team, own our credit policies and portfolio monitoring, and work closely with Product, Commercial, Data, Technology and Collections to continuously improve how we lend. Your expertise and strategic vision will drive the success of our credit operations and contribute to the long-term growth of the organisation.

Previous experience managing credit risk for SME lending within a fintech is essential for this role

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and evolve credit risk strategy, policies and underwriting framework.
• Define credit risk appetite, lending criteria, portfolio limits and key risk indicators.
• Balance credit performance with growth, optimising risk-adjusted returns.
• Assess new products, customer segments and opportunities to responsibly expand credit appetite.
• Monitor performance across cohorts, customer segments, products and acquisition channels.
• Identify emerging risks, trends and opportunities, translating insights into action.
• Maintain effective portfolio monitoring, early-warning indicators and risk reporting.
• Continuously improve underwriting, credit models, scorecards and decisioning methodologies.
• Use internal and external data to improve credit selection and portfolio performance.
• Partner with Product, Data and Technology to improve the speed, accuracy and automation of credit decisions.

Credit team leadership

• Lead, develop and mentor a high-performing team of credit risk professionals.
• Establish clear objectives and accountability across the team.
• Build a culture that combines strong credit judgement with analytical rigour, commercial thinking and intellectual curiosity.
• Remain close to the detail and be comfortable getting hands-on with analysis and individual credit decisions when required.

Cross-functional collaboration

• Partner with Commercial teams to understand customers, acquisition channels and growth opportunities.
• Work with Product and Technology to develop lending products and improve the customer experience.
• Use insights from Collections and Recoveries to strengthen underwriting and credit strategy.

Qualifications/Required Skills

• Extensive experience in credit risk management within SME lending
• Strong understanding of credit risk principles, methodologies and regulatory requirements.
• Proven track record of developing and implementing credit risk strategies in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience in managing and leading a team of credit risk professionals.
• Solid analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex data and make informed decisions.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Comfortable working directly with data and with dashboarding / BI tools such as Power BI or Looker.
• Knowledge of credit risk modelling techniques and statistical analysis tools.