Strategy Manager

Vanquis; Bradford (IA); Hybrid; USD 108,000 - 148,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible Hybrid Working

Up to 10% Pension Contribution

25–30 Days Annual Leave

FT Best Employers 2025 & 2026

Job summary

Vanquis is seeking a Strategy Manager to join the Operations Strategy team. You will shape customer-focused operational strategies, leverage data and forecasting to identify priorities, and coordinate cross-channel customer contact efforts.

This role involves engagement with senior leaders and external partners to ensure practical, scalable improvements. You will contribute to strategic plans, champion best practices, and translate informed insights into delivered changes that enhance customer

Qualifications

• Essential Experience: proven track record in a UK-regulated financial services organisation, ideally in retail banking or credit cards.
• Experience developing and implementing customer-focused operational strategies or strategic improvements.
• Strong analytical and strategic capability with the ability to turn insight into action.
• Experience manipulating and interpreting varied data sets to support forecasting, prioritisation and decision-making.
• Experience with customer-management or strategy solutions and working with external systems or partners.
• Understanding of customer risk and the ability to identify and address potential concerns.

Responsibilities

• Shape customer-focused operational strategies and improvement plans.
• Use data, forecasting and insight to identify priorities and opportunities.
• Coordinate customer contact strategies across multiple channels.
• Support scorecard implementation and customer decisioning.
• Champion test-and-learn activity and benefit assessment.
• Coordinate programmes, resources and priorities across Customer Operations.
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders, operational teams and external partners.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Agile delivery

Forecasting

Data interpretation

Education

A-level or equivalent

Job description

Turn operational insight into better customer and colleague outcomes.

Join Operations Strategy and play a key role in supporting strategic change and continuous improvement across Collections. From shaping and implementing new initiatives through to tracking outcomes and measuring success, you will help deliver meaningful improvements for customers and colleagues.

As our Strategy Manager, you will contribute to strategic plans and change portfolios, champion best practice and help strengthen service standards. Reporting to the Senior Operations Strategy Manager, you will bring together insight, operational knowledge and stakeholder expertise to turn opportunities into practical, sustainable improvements.

There's More to the Story

This is an opportunity to move your career forward at Vanquis by working across operational strategy, customer outcomes and business change. You will gain broad exposure, influence decisions and see how your work improves customer interaction points and operational performance.

How you’ll make an impact

• Shape customer-focused operational strategies and improvement plans.
• Use data, forecasting and insight to identify priorities and opportunities.
• Coordinate customer contact strategies across multiple channels.
• Support scorecard implementation and customer decisioning.
• Champion challenge, test-and-learn activity and benefit assessment.
• Coordinate programmes, resources and priorities across Customer Operations.
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders, operational teams and external partners.

So That

• Service standards and customer journeys move forward with a clear direction.
• Operational decisions are grounded in evidence and focused on the areas of greatest value.
• Payment‑management journeys remain aligned, consistent and appropriate for customers.
• Operational teams can make more informed, consistent decisions.
• Ideas are validated and improvements are scaled based on outcomes.
• The right capability is focused on solving the most important operational challenges.
• Strategy is understood, supported and translated into joined‑up delivery.

Why this role matters

Customer Operations brings together service delivery, payment management, customer communications and operational change. This role helps connect those areas through a consistent strategy, ensuring customer impact, operational performance, risk and commercial outcomes are considered together.

Reporting to the Senior Operations Strategy Manager, you will work with senior managers and colleagues across Customer Operations, Training, Human Resources, Marketing, Business Analytics, Finance, Fraud and Credit. You will also engage with debt collection agencies, debt purchasers and other third parties, with regular exposure to senior management and ExCo.

Our operational strategy approach

Customer outcomes first.

Operational strategy starts with the impact on customer journeys and experiences.

Insight into action.

Data, forecasting and management information are translated into practical priorities.

Test, learn and improve

We Challenge Assumptions, Assess Benefits And Scale What Works.

• Joined‑up operations
• Customer contact, decisioning, communications and downstream processes are considered together.
• Controlled delivery
• Governance, risk assessment and clear documentation support sustainable change.

Essential Experience

• A proven track record in a UK-regulated financial services organisation, ideally within retail banking or credit cards.
• Experience developing and implementing customer-focused operational strategies or strategic improvements.
• Strong analytical and strategic capability, with the ability to see the bigger picture and turn insight into action.
• Experience manipulating and interpreting varied data sets to support forecasting, prioritisation and decision‑making.
• Experience with customer‑management or strategy solutions and working with external systems or partners.
• Understanding of customer risk and the confidence to identify, assess and elevate potential concerns appropriately.
• Experience working in tactical or Agile delivery teams, with strong oversight, rigour and delivery discipline.
• Strong stakeholder management and negotiation skills across operational, technical and commercial groups.
• Clear communication and presentation skills, including confidence working with senior management and ExCo.
• Ability to coordinate people, priorities and programmes while considering downstream operational impacts.

Useful, but not essential

• Broad knowledge of UK financial products.
• Experience of payment management, contact strategy, debt purchase or customer communications.
• Experience implementing scorecards or customer decisioning approaches.
• Experience coaching colleagues in Agile ways of working.
• Education to A‑level standard or equivalent.

Career development

You will build experience across operational strategy, customer outcomes, analytics, change delivery, governance and senior stakeholder engagement. The breadth of this role offers visibility of how strategic decisions affect customer interactions and business performance, with opportunities to expand your skill set, contribute to the professional development and potentially lead a development team depending on experience and future needs.

Benefits & Culture

• Financial Times Best Employers 2025 & 2026
• Armed Forces Friendly Employer, Bronze.
• Flexible Hybrid Working
• A balanced approach to office and home working.
• Inclusive Culture
• A workplace where colleagues are supported, respected and encouraged to be themselves.
• Up to 10% Pension Contribution
• Helping you plan and prepare for the future
• 25–30 Days Annual Leave