Lending Operations Leader: Scale & Improve

Squirrel; Auckland; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

KiwiSaver 4%

Annual incentive scheme

Employee share scheme

Flexible working by agreement

Job summary

Squirrel is seeking an experienced Lending Operations Manager to lead our lending operations team. You will ensure loans move accurately from application through discharge, while driving improvements across processes, controls and hand-offs.

The role reports to the COO and focuses on scalable, efficient operations in a growth phase. You will lead a high‑performing settlements team, partner with Credit, Finance, Product and Technology, and implement stronger risk and quality controls across the

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of lending settlements, loan servicing, securities, discharges and lending operations.
• Experience leading high-volume lending operations teams within regulated environments.
• Proven track record delivering process improvements and automation initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to manage workload, capacity planning and performance metrics.

Responsibilities

• Lead lending operations across application processing, settlement execution, post-settlement administration and discharges.
• Manage workflow, service levels and capacity to ensure timely settlements.
• Establish operational reporting across delivery, quality, risk and capacity.
• Review and improve processes to reduce manual effort and cycle times.
• Partner with Credit, Finance, Product and Technology to remove bottlenecks and improve hand-offs.
• Strengthen quality assurance, delegated authority and payment controls across the lending lifecycle.
• Coach and develop settlements team and build leadership depth.

Skills

Lending operations leadership

Stakeholder management

Process improvement

Operations planning

Risk management

Team coaching

Decision making

Communication

Education

Finance / Business / Law qualification

Tools

Operational reporting systems

Credit/Loan systems

Job description

Squirrel is seeking an experienced Lending Operations Manager to lead our lending operations team. You will ensure loans move accurately from application through discharge, while driving improvements across processes, controls and hand-offs.

The role reports to the COO and focuses on scalable, efficient operations in a growth phase. You will lead a high‑performing settlements team, partner with Credit, Finance, Product and Technology, and implement stronger risk and quality controls across the