Part-Time Managing Director- ZeroPA Credit

ZeroPA Credit is seeking a hands-on Managing Director to lead the day-to-day delivery and responsible growth of its interest-free consumer lending business. ZeroPA provides fee-free, guarantor-free finance for essential household purchases, with payment made directly to suppliers. The appointment begins at 0.4 full-time equivalent (FTE), with capacity to increase to 1.0 FTE as the business grows, secures full FCA authorisation and expands geographically.

Employer: ZeroPA Holdings Ltd (proposed future name ZeroPA Credit)

Reporting to: Saqhib Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer

Working time: Initially 0.4 FTE, approximately 2 days per week; potential to rise to 1.0 FTE

Base salary: £50,000 per annum full-time equivalent; £20,000 gross per annum at 0.4 FTE

Additional reward: Share options and a performance-related bonus, subject to agreed terms

Location: UK-based hybrid working, with travel as required

Role purpose: The Managing Director will be accountable to the Group CEO for operational delivery, safe and sustainable lending growth, customer outcomes and the effective management of ZeroPA Credit. The role will turn the Group strategy into a funded, well-controlled business plan, working closely with the fractional finance, risk and technology leadership team.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead daily operations, including applications, underwriting workflows, loan issuance, supplier payments, servicing, repayment management and customer support.
• Deliver a practical operating plan with budgets, cash-flow forecasts, capacity planning, management information and regular performance reporting to the Group CEO and Board.
• Drive the transition to full FCA authorisation and maintain effective procedures, evidence, management oversight and readiness for supervisory engagement, with support from the Risk and Compliance Director.
• Embed Consumer Duty, fair value, appropriate affordability assessment, treatment of vulnerable customers, complaints handling and sound arrears practices throughout the customer journey.
• Grow sustainable loan volumes and customer reach while maintaining credit quality, controlled costs, operational resilience and positive customer outcomes.
• Develop and manage referral networks and supplier relationships, including charities, advice agencies, community organisations, employers and essential-goods providers.
• Lead UK geographic expansion and assess future markets only where commercially viable, operationally supported and permitted by the relevant regulatory framework.
• Coordinate the contributions of the CFO, CTO, Risk and Compliance Director, contractors and suppliers; recruit and manage permanent team members as volumes and resources justify.
• Oversee systems, data quality, information security, outsourcing, incident management and service improvement, escalating material risks promptly.
• Support the Group CEO with investor, funder and strategic-partner due diligence through credible operational forecasts, impact data and reporting.

Success measures:

• Achievement of regulatory and operational readiness milestones, with timely closure of identified gaps.
• Responsible growth in completed loans, active customers and geographic reach, within agreed risk appetite and funding capacity.
• Good customer outcomes, including service quality, complaints, arrears, vulnerability support and evidenced affordability.
• Delivery against operating budgets, liquidity requirements, supplier income assumptions and business-plan milestones.
• Reliable management information, effective controls and development of a capable, appropriately resourced team.

Person specification:

• Essential: senior leadership experience in lending, consumer finance, fintech or another regulated financial-services setting; evidence of building and managing operational teams; strong commercial and financial judgement; practical knowledge of UK consumer-credit regulation and customer protection; and the ability to operate effectively in a resource-constrained early-stage business.
• Strongly preferred: previous experience of running an FCA-authorised retail consumer credit lender, ideally as Managing Director, Chief Executive or Chief Operating Officer, with direct accountability for lending operations, regulatory governance and customer outcomes.
• Other desirable experience: FCA authorisation applications, scaling loan portfolios, financial inclusion or social-impact models, digital lending platforms, supplier-funded economics and partnership-led distribution.

Working time and progression: The appointment starts at 0.4 FTE. The Group CEO and Managing Director will review capacity at least quarterly and at major milestones, including sustained increases in applications and loan volumes, full FCA authorisation, secured funding, organisational complexity and geographic expansion. Any move to 0.6, 0.8 or 1.0 FTE will be subject to business need, affordability, Board approval where required and mutual agreement recorded in writing. Salary will rise pro-rata with contracted hours.

Pay and long-term incentives: The base salary is £50,000 per annum at 1.0 FTE (£20,000 at 0.4 FTE), paid through payroll. Eligibility for share options and a discretionary performance-related bonus will be agreed separately, with option quantum, vesting, exercise price, leaver terms and bonus measures approved under the relevant company arrangements. Bonus measures will balance commercial performance with regulatory compliance, responsible lending and customer outcomes; loan growth alone will not determine payment.

Governance and regulatory position: Delegated authorities, reserved decisions and reporting arrangements will be documented. Appointment to any statutory directorship or FCA Senior Management Function, if applicable, is separate from the job title and subject to the relevant governance, fitness and propriety and regulatory approval requirements. The Managing Director must work within the permissions and restrictions applicable to ZeroPA Credit at each stage.