Senior Model Validation Lead - Hybrid/Remote Ready

SBS Skipton Building Society; Skipton; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 67,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual discretionary bonus

25 days annual leave + bank holidays +

Employer pension contributions up to

Private medical insurance

Wellbeing app and lifestyle perks

Job summary

Skipton Building Society is seeking a Model Validation Lead to independently validate strategically important models, delivering robust challenge and assurance. You’ll communicate findings to senior stakeholders and support governance across the organisation.

The role offers blended working; 3 days in Skipton office and 2 days from home, with a 35-hour week and a salary of £66,800 per annum. A closing date is 24 September 2026.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of regulatory environment including Capital frameworks (Standardised/IRB), IFRS 9 and Model Risk Regulation (SS1/23).
• Proven experience validating complex statistical models using independent review, performance testing and challenger models.
• Advanced analytical skills with Excel, SAS and SQL; willingness to learn new tools.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills for non-technical audiences.
• Deep expertise across the data science lifecycle, assessing design, performance and risk.
• Degree in mathematical, statistical, data science or analytical field.

Responsibilities

• Lead independent validation of strategically important models with robust challenge and assurance.
• Assess model performance across the full lifecycle including data quality, design, implementation, monitoring and governance.
• Produce validation reports and present findings and insights to senior stakeholders and governance committees.
• Build trusted relationships across the business and translate complex concepts into clear messages.
• Provide expert data science and model risk guidance to analytics teams.
• Support regulatory compliance, audits and model governance aligning with standards.

Skills

Regulatory knowledge

Model validation experience

Communication skills

Data science lifecycle expertise

Education

Degree in mathematical, statistical, data science or analytical field

Tools

Excel

SAS

SQL

Job description

Skipton Building Society is seeking a Model Validation Lead to independently validate strategically important models, delivering robust challenge and assurance. You’ll communicate findings to senior stakeholders and support governance across the organisation.

The role offers blended working; 3 days in Skipton office and 2 days from home, with a 35-hour week and a salary of £66,800 per annum. A closing date is 24 September 2026.