Lead Underwriter - SME Lending

JR United Kingdom; London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative fintech scale-up is looking for a Lead SME Underwriter to drive credit strategy and decision-making. In this pivotal role, you will lead the underwriting process, balancing risk with commercial needs while shaping the future of lending. You'll collaborate with various teams to ensure fast, customer-friendly credit decisions and contribute to the development of automated underwriting models. This is a unique opportunity to make a significant impact in a rapidly growing company, where your expertise will guide the credit policy and enhance lending performance.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in SME or commercial underwriting, ideally in a fintech.
• Strong analytical skills to interpret financial statements and credit reports.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end underwriting for SME customers, reviewing financials and credit data.
• Collaborate with Sales, Product, and Risk to ensure scalable credit decisions.
• Support development of automated underwriting models and monitor portfolio performance.

Skills

SME Underwriting

Analytical Skills

Credit Policy Development

Risk Assessment

Job description

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We’re seeking a highly skilled and commercially minded Lead SME Underwriter to take ownership of underwriting processes across a rapidly scaling lending platform. You’ll be instrumental in shaping the credit strategy, driving high-quality credit decisions, and balancing risk with the needs of a fast-moving commercial environment. This is a rare opportunity to join a fintech scale-up at a key stage in its growth and have a direct impact on lending performance, risk appetite, and automation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end underwriting for SME customers, including reviewing financials, credit data, bank feeds, and behavioural insights to make informed decisions.
• Refine and apply the credit policy, ensuring decisions align with risk appetite and commercial strategy.
• Collaborate with Sales, Product, and Risk to ensure credit decisions are scalable, fast, and customer-friendly.
• Support development of automated underwriting models and contribute to data-led decisioning improvements.
• Manage exceptions and borderline cases, applying sound judgment in fast-paced scenarios.
• Monitor portfolio performance and suggest changes to policy or processes based on emerging trends.
• Act as the subject matter expert on SME credit, coaching junior underwriters or operations team members.
• Contribute to credit committee discussions and support investor/lender reporting where required.

Requirements:

• Proven experience in SME or commercial underwriting, ideally in a fintech, alternative lender, or challenger bank.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret financial statements, bank data, and credit reports.