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- Tasks: Lead the underwriting team, making confident credit decisions and ensuring smooth deal processes.
- Company: Ultimate Finance, a specialist lender focused on flexibility and real-world problem solving.
- Benefits: Hybrid work options, supportive culture, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Join a growing team where your leadership can make a real impact on business success.
- Qualifications: Experience in asset finance underwriting and strong people management skills.
- Other info: Dynamic environment with a focus on collaboration and continuous improvement.
The predicted salary is between 43200 - 72000 £ per year.
POSITION: Head of Underwriting
DEPARTMENT: Ultimate Asset Finance
RESPONSIBLE TO: Head of Operations - Asset Finance
LOCATION: Nationwide. Hybrid and flexible work options available.
OVERVIEW:
At Ultimate Finance, we back ambition - properly. We're a specialist lender built for pace, flexibility and real-world problem solving, helping businesses access funding that fits how they work. You'll join a team of approachable experts who move quickly, speak clearly and take pride in doing the right thing for customers and partners. We trust people to take ownership, with supportive leaders and experienced teammates on hand. With 20+ years experience and over £17bn funded, we're growing - and we're looking for people who want to do work that matters.
About the team:
Asset Finance at Ultimate Finance is built to keep deals moving. We provide tailored funding for hard assets such as vehicles, equipment and machinery quickly, clearly and with support that stays close. Working side-by-side with brokers, customers and internal teams, we shape the right solution, deliver a strong customer experience, and apply smart risk controls and operational discipline to get deals completed smoothly and responsibly.
About the role:
As Head of Underwriting in our Asset Finance division, you'll lead the team that makes confident, commercial credit decisions - keeping deals moving while protecting the quality of our portfolio. You'll set clear underwriting standards, develop a high-performing team, and stay close to day-to-day decisioning to ensure consistency, pace and great outcomes.
Key responsibilities:
- Provide strategic leadership and oversight to the underwriting team, ensuring all activities align with the company's commercial objectives and risk appetite.
- Manage, mentor, and develop team members, fostering a high-performance culture that encourages professional growth, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- Drive the implementation of best-in-class underwriting practices, proactively identifying opportunities to enhance efficiency, profitability, and client satisfaction in a dynamic market environment.
- Take day-to-day ownership and management of your own underwriting case load, ensuring timely, accurate and commercially balanced decisions.
- Act as a senior point of escalation for complex or high-value cases, making informed decisions that balance risk management with commercial awareness.
- Lead regular reviews of team performance, set clear objectives, and deliver constructive feedback to ensure personal and departmental targets are achieved.
- Champion cross-functional collaboration with Sales and Operations, ensuring seamless client journeys and robust transfer processes between teams.
- Represent the company as a senior ambassador at key industry events, building and strengthening relationships with strategic partners and stakeholders.
- Monitor emerging trends, regulatory developments, and competitor activity, providing insight and recommendations to shape the Groups underwriting strategy.
Key skills and knowledge:
- Proven experience in asset finance underwriting / credit decisioning.
- Strong relationship-builder, with a track record of working well with brokers, clients and internal teams.
- Confident people leader - able to coach, motivate and set clear expectations.
- Skilled in managing and organising a team, including performance, workload and priorities.
- Strong planning and delivery mindset - keeps activity on track and outcomes consistent.
- Able to engage and influence stakeholders across Sales, Operations, Risk and the wider business.
- Excellent time management in a fast-paced environment, balancing urgency with accuracy.
- Comfortable analysing financial information and producing clear, practical credit summaries.
- Commercial judgement - able to weigh risk and return and sense-check proposals quickly.
- Strong understanding of security and collateral in asset finance deals.
- Ability to structure proposals into workable deals that meet credit requirements and support customer needs.
- Professional, personable and reliable - makes confident, well-informed decisions and stands by them.
- Consistently delivers high service standards, keeping brokers and clients supported from start to finish (and ongoing).
Please note that if you are successful in receiving an offer of employment from Ultimate Finance, your employment will be conditional upon satisfactory completion of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. We use a third party provider to conduct the check on our behalf.
We kindly ask not to be contacted by recruitment agencies, thank you.
Head of Underwriting in Leicester employer: Ultimate Finance
Contact Detail:
Ultimate Finance Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of Underwriting in Leicester
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the asset finance industry and let them know you're on the lookout for opportunities. You never know who might have the inside scoop on a role that’s perfect for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching Ultimate Finance and its values. Understand their approach to underwriting and be ready to discuss how your experience aligns with their mission of providing tailored funding solutions.
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your leadership skills! Be prepared to share examples of how you've developed high-performing teams and driven best practices in underwriting. This will demonstrate your fit for the Head of Underwriting role.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets the attention it deserves. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining the Ultimate Finance team.
We think you need these skills to ace Head of Underwriting in Leicester
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your experience in asset finance underwriting. We want to see how your skills align with our values of Decency, Enterprise, and Brilliance.
Showcase Leadership Skills: As a Head of Underwriting, you'll be leading a team. So, don’t forget to mention your experience in managing and mentoring others. We love seeing examples of how you've fostered a high-performance culture!
Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, keep it straightforward. We appreciate clarity and directness, just like we do in our dealings with customers and partners. Make your points stand out!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity in our growing business!
How to prepare for a job interview at Ultimate Finance
✨Know Your Underwriting Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your asset finance underwriting knowledge. Understand the key principles of credit decisioning and be ready to discuss how you've applied these in past roles. This will show that you're not just familiar with the theory, but also have practical experience.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As a Head of Underwriting, you'll need to demonstrate your ability to lead and develop a team. Prepare examples of how you've successfully managed teams in the past, focusing on mentoring, performance management, and fostering a high-performance culture.
✨Be Ready for Scenario Questions
Expect to face scenario-based questions that test your commercial judgement and risk assessment skills. Think about specific situations where you've had to balance risk and return, and be prepared to explain your thought process and the outcomes.
✨Highlight Your Relationship-Building Skills
Ultimate Finance values strong relationships with brokers and clients. Be prepared to discuss how you've built and maintained these relationships in previous roles. Share specific examples of how your interpersonal skills have led to successful collaborations and client satisfaction.
