Underwriter

Paragon Banking Group; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 59,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK bank is seeking a Lead Pricing Analyst to shape its pricing strategy and improve credit decision-making within the SME Lending group. This full-time role offers a hybrid working model and requires strong commercial lending experience for underwriting credit proposals. The successful candidate will prepare credit documentation, provide guidance on credit policy, and support Senior Credit Managers. Competitive salary of around £70,000 and additional benefits such as generous holiday allowance and pension plan are included.

Benefits

Generous Holiday Allowance

Share Save Scheme

Profit-Related Pay

Pension Plan

Family Friendly policies

Employee Discounts

Volunteering Day

Life Assurance and Personal Accident Cover

Qualifications

• Strong commercial lending experience in both unsecured and secured lending.
• Understanding of funding a wide range of assets and lending structures.
• Experience working in a direct and broker origination model.

Responsibilities

• Underwrite new credit proposals within your personal mandate.
• Prepare credit papers for submission to Senior Credit Managers.
• Provide guidance to the credit team on credit policy.

Skills

Commercial lending experience

Understanding of funding and lending structures

Experience in a direct and broker origination model

Ability to work within credit policy

Job description

Job Title

Lead Pricing Analyst – Strategic (Principal)

About the Role

The Strategic Lead Pricing Analyst plays a crucial role in shaping and improving the bank’s pricing strategy and credit decision‑making within the SME Lending group. The role is a full‑time position with a hybrid working model requiring a minimum of two days per week in our Southampton office.

Responsibilities

• Underwrite new credit proposals within your personal mandate.
• Recommend new credit proposals outside of your personal mandate for submission to Senior Credit Managers.
• Prepare credit papers for submission to Senior Credit Managers and Credit Risk.
• Overview credit proposals that are above another underwriter’s mandate and approve or, if not supportive, provide feedback to the underwriter.
• Ensure credit analysis of each proposal is appropriate for the level of advance and will meet the QA process.
• Provide guidance to the credit team and the wider SME business on credit policy and appetite.
• Support and assist the Senior Credit Managers and deputise for them when required.
• Ensure annual reviews are completed accurately and on time.
• Build effective relationships within SME Lending, the Bank and attend customer visits as and when required.
• Encourage an open culture with regular two‑way communication with the Credit team as well as Sales, Asset Management and Collections/Recoveries.
• Make sound commercial decisions where necessary to support the business whilst remaining within credit policy.
• Advanced written and presentation skills to produce credit papers for overview by higher mandate holders including Credit Risk.

Qualifications and Experience

• Strong commercial lending experience in both unsecured and secured lending.
• Understanding of funding a wide range of assets and lending structures.
• Experience working in a direct and broker origination model supporting SME Lending’s internal and external sales teams.
• Ability to work within credit policy while making sound commercial decisions.

Working Hours

Monday to Friday, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm.

Contract

FTC – until June 2026.

Location

Any UK Ageas office, hybrid.

Salary

Circa £70,000.

Benefits

• Generous Holiday Allowance: 27–30 days, with a day off for birthday, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Option to buy or sell up to a week.
• Share Save Scheme: Opportunity to buy shares in Paragon at a discounted rate.
• Profit‑Related Pay: Share of annual profit with eligible employees.
• Pension Plan: Up to 10 % annual salary contribution.
• Family Friendly policies: Enhanced parental pay and paid time off for fertility treatment.
• Employee Discounts: Exclusive discounts on entertainment, travel, shopping, motoring and more.
• Volunteering Day: One day per year to support causes.
• Life Assurance and Personal Accident Cover.

Equal Opportunities

As a Disability Confident Employer, we want to ensure that our vacancies are accessible for everyone. If you have a disability, long‑term health condition or are neurodiverse and need us to adjust our recruitment process, please get in touch with our recruitment team.

About Us

A Platinum Investors in People employer and an award‑winning UK bank focused on growth. We serve savers and businesses across the UK, using specialist expertise to help them achieve ambitions and build a sustainable future.