Head of Lending Operations

RiverBank S.A.; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services company is seeking a Freelance Recruitment Leader to spearhead commercial lending operations. This role involves shaping and scaling the Lending Operations team, overseeing loan documentation, and ensuring compliance across various European markets. Ideal candidates will have over 10 years of experience in commercial lending and possess excellent stakeholder management skills, particularly in a fast-paced environment. Proficiency in English and Dutch is mandatory as is the ability to innovate in a dynamically evolving surroundings.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in commercial lending, especially in loan drawdown.
• Proven track record in leading operational teams within financial services.
• Strong communication skills in English and Dutch.

Responsibilities

• Lead loan fulfilment processes across multiple countries.
• Manage loan documentation and compliance with regulation.
• Build a new Lending Operations team from the ground up.

Skills

Commercial lending experience

Loan drawdown and fulfilment processes

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

Data-driven mindset

Job description

Freelance Recruitment Leader | Specialist in Scaling Startup & Hyper-Growth Teams

Company Profile

RiverBank is one of Luxembourg’s fastest-growing financial services companies. We are a client-focused corporate lender, dedicated to funding SMEs across Europe, with an initial focus on the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and Spain. We have ambitious plans to scale rapidly in order to support thousands of SMEs and mid-sized corporations as they invest in and build their businesses.

We are building a bank with a clear mission: to make a meaningful difference for small and medium-sized businesses across Europe. We are looking for people who are excited to help shape the pan-European SME bank of the future, bring customers on board, and build lasting momentum. Our ideal candidates are passionate about relationship-driven banking and capable of delivering lending solutions that work for all stakeholders.

Purpose of the Role

This is a newly created role at RiverBank, offering a unique opportunity to shape and scale the Lending Operations function from the ground up.

We are seeking a hands-on commercial lending expert to lead our loan fulfilment and collateral management activities, with full ownership to build, lead, and develop their own team in line with the bank’s ambitious growth plans. The role is critical in creating a high-performing, scalable platform that will enable RiverBank to significantly grow its commercial lending portfolio across multiple European jurisdictions.

Core Responsibilities

• Own the post–credit committee drawdown and loan fulfilment processes for commercial lending activities across the Netherlands, France, and Spain.
• Oversee all loan documentation and collateral, ensuring full compliance with regulatory requirements and adherence to internal credit approval conditions.
• Establish, implement, and continuously improve procedures for lending documentation, collateral management, and core banking systems.
• Collaborate closely with Sales, Credit, and Risk teams to ensure loan documentation accurately reflects credit approvals and agreed client terms.
• Manage external legal counsel and advisors for the preparation and negotiation of finance documentation.
• Ensure clear, consistent communication of loan documentation and fulfilment processes to all internal and external stakeholders.
• Own and manage relationships with the commercial lending legal panel and valuation partners.
• Ensure systems and operational processes accurately capture and reflect collateral positions associated with lending transactions.
• Ensure all transactions are completed in line with internal policies, regulatory standards, and compliance requirements.
• Implement and maintain effective risk control guidelines to identify, assess, report, mitigate, and monitor operational and credit-related risks.
• This role offers the opportunity to build a new Lending Operations team from scratch, defining structure, processes, and capabilities as the bank scales.
• Support front-line commercial lenders by providing robust operational execution that enables them to achieve their growth targets.

Skills and Competencies

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in commercial lending, with deep expertise in loan drawdown and fulfilment processes.
• Proven track record in building, leading, and managing operational teams.
• Demonstrated ability to perform effectively in a time-constrained, fast-paced environment while collaborating across multiple departments.
• Strong capability to build and manage complex external relationships, including legal counsel and valuation experts.
• Experience working within credit and/or risk functions.
• Solid understanding of the technologies underpinning commercial lending operations.

Technical Skills

• Expert knowledge of technology solutions used in commercial lending environments.
• Strong stakeholder management skills across multiple, complex relationships.
• In-depth understanding of loan drawdown processes, ideally across multiple European countries.

Core Competencies

• Communication excellence: Outstanding written and verbal communication skills in English and Dutch (both mandatory).
• Stakeholder management: Ability to build and maintain strong, trusted relationships.
• Data-driven mindset: Comfortable using analytics, performance metrics, and optimisation techniques.
• Entrepreneurial spirit: Thrives in a startup or scale-up environment with ambiguity and limited resources.
• Creative problem-solving: Innovative and pragmatic approach to operational challenges, even with limited budgets.

Personal Attributes

• Passionate about fintech innovation and SME financing.
• Comfortable operating within a regulated financial services environment.
• Results-oriented, with strong attention to detail and quality.
• Adaptable and resilient in a fast-paced, evolving organisation.
• A collaborative team player who embodies RiverBank’s values of integrity, excellence, and cooperation.

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Strategy/Planning and Finance