Senior Credit Risk Manager - iwoca

ZipRecruiter; London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading fintech company seeks a Senior Credit Risk Manager to oversee underwriting strategies in Germany, enhancing decision models and portfolio performance. The role involves collaboration across teams to ensure high-impact lending decisions that support small businesses. Ideal candidates will possess strong analytical skills and experience in credit risk management, with a background in quantitative fields.

Benefits

Medical insurance from Vitality

Private GP service for you and dependents

25 days' holiday plus extra birthday leave

One-month fully paid sabbatical after four years

Instant access to mental health support

3% Pension contributions and share options

Cycle-to-work and electric car scheme

Annual company retreats

Learning and development budget

Qualifications

• 3 to 5 years' experience in credit risk and lending strategy.
• At least 12 months' experience managing or mentoring analysts.
• Proven ability to build predictive models and extract insights.

Responsibilities

• Lead oversight of underwriting portfolio and deliver sustainable outcomes.
• Propose and deliver improvements to models and decision strategies.
• Monitor portfolio performance and evaluate new model implementations.

Skills

Analytical skills

Python

SQL

Communication

Commercial instincts

Education

Degree in Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, or similar

Job description

Job Description

We're looking for a Senior Credit Risk Manager

About us

Imagine a world where every small business has the power to thrive. That's the world we're building at iwoca. Small businesses aren't just statistics - they're the heartbeat of our communities, the character of our high streets, and the engine of our economy. Since 2012, we've revolutionised how these businesses access finance, turning what was once a lengthy, frustrating process into something remarkable: funding that's fast, flexible, and actually works for modern businesses.

Our impact speaks for itself: we've provided billions in funding to more than 150,000 businesses across Europe, making us one of the continent's leading fintech innovators. But we're just getting started. Our mission? To empower one million businesses with the financial tools they deserve.

We combine cutting-edge technology and data science with genuine human understanding to make finance feel less like a barrier and more like a superpower. Whether it's managing cash flow or seizing unexpected opportunities, we ensure businesses get the funds they need - often within minutes.

Your mission

As Senior Credit Risk Manager, your mission is to drive the performance and evolution of iwoca's enhanced (manual) underwriting in Germany - one of our most dynamic and strategic markets.

You'll lead the day-to-day oversight of our enhanced underwriting portfolio, ensuring it delivers strong, sustainable outcomes within our credit risk appetite. Working closely with Credit Analyst Specialists, data scientists, and cross-functional teams, you'll help refine how we blend manual assessments with data-driven models to make the smartest lending decisions possible.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Proposing and delivering improvements to models, manual workflows, and decision strategies.
• Monitoring portfolio performance to ensure underwriting models and decisions deliver expected outcomes.
• Evaluating the impact of new model implementations and underwriting changes.
• Reviewing credit risk metrics and investigating any deviations to identify root causes and risks.
• Identifying gaps in risk processes, systems, or data - and developing solutions to address them.
• Partnering with the Head of Credit Risk (Germany) on strategic leadership for the enhanced underwriting function.
• Supporting the wider goal of maximising investor returns and customer lifetime value through best-in-class risk modelling.
• Setting and managing the agenda for your team aligned to the broader business strategy, and ensuring buy-in from stakeholders and leadership.
• Leading and developing a junior analyst both technically and supporting their career development.

This is a high-impact role where you'll shape the future of iwoca's German credit strategy - helping small businesses thrive while scaling a fast-growing portfolio in a data-first environment.

Requirements

• Strong analytical background with a degree in Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, or a similar quantitative field (or equivalent experience).
• 3 to 5 years' experience in credit risk and lending strategy, ideally in consumer or SME lending; fintech experience is a strong plus.
• At least 12 months' experience managing or mentoring analysts, with a track record of leading high-performing teams.
• Proven ability to build predictive models and extract insights from large, complex datasets.
• Advanced proficiency in Python and SQL, including libraries such as Pandas, NumPy, SciPy, Matplotlib, and Seaborn.
• Skilled in developing and deploying credit risk models, including scorecard thresholds, limit optimisation, and loss reduction.
• Experience with Monte Carlo simulations or Bayesian modelling (e.g., PyMC3) is a plus.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to convey complex analysis to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong commercial instincts.
• Familiarity with the German lending market or is helpful but not essential.

The salary

We expect to pay from £80,000 - £100,000 for this role. But, we're open-minded, so definitely include your salary goals with your application. We routinely benchmark salaries against market rates and run quarterly performance and salary reviews.

The culture

At iwoca, we look to hire smart, passionate, humble individuals with a growth mindset. We prioritise a culture of learning, growth, and support, and invest in the professional development of our team members.

We value thought and skill and encourage you to explore new areas of interest to help us innovate and improve our products and services.

Our friendly and inclusive environment, combined with our flexible work policies, ensures that you'll have the perfect balance between work and life, empowering you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The offices

We put a lot of effort into making iwoca a brilliant place to work:

• Offices in London, Leeds, Berlin and Frankfurt with plenty of drinks and snacks
• Events and clubs, like bingo, comedy nights, yoga classes, football, etc.

The benefits

• Medical insurance from Vitality, including discounted gym membership
• A private GP service (separate from Vitality) for you, your partner, and your dependants.
• 25 days' holiday, an extra day off for your birthday, the option to buy or sell an additional five days of annual leave, and unlimited unpaid leave
• A one-month, fully paid sabbatical after four years.
• Instant access to emotional and mental health support.
• 3% Pension contributions and share options.
• Generous parental leave and a nursery tax benefit scheme to help you save money.
• Cycle-to-work scheme and electric car scheme.
• Two company retreats a year, we've been to France, Italy, Spain, and further afield.

And to make sure we all keep learning, we offer:

• A learning and development budget for everyone.
• Company-wide talks with internal and external speakers.
• Access to learning platforms like Treehouse.

Useful links:

• iwoca benefits & policies
• Interview welcome pack