First Line Risk & Control Manager in London

Updraft is an award-winning, FCA-authorised, high-growth fintech based in London. Our vision is to revolutionise the way people spend and think about money, by automating the day-to-day decisions involved in managing money and mainstream borrowings like credit cards, overdrafts, and other loans. We are looking for exceptional talent to join us on our next stage of growth with a compelling proposition - purpose you can feel, impact you can measure, and ownership you'll actually hold. Expect a hybrid, London-hub culture where cross-functional squads tackle real-world problems with cutting-edge tech; generous learning budgets and wellness benefits; and the freedom to experiment, ship, and see your work reflected in customers' financial freedom.

The role will lead Updraft's strategic focus on ensuring Operations delivers for customers whilst remaining compliant with regulations. The role will be responsible for complaints and quality assurance whilst also being the main point of contact for Compliance with regards to regulatory changes or requests. We are looking for someone who can take ownership of these areas and drive significant process improvement through automation and AI development. The successful candidate will be able to set the overall strategy and identify relevant automation use cases through appropriate leadership and collaboration whilst being hands-on and having enough technical knowledge to work with Engineering to deliver on the changes. The position is ideal for someone with experience in complaints and quality assurance within consumer lending, particularly within fast-paced, technology-driven financial services environments. You will be reporting to the COO.

Key Responsibilities

• Complaints: Own Updraft's complaints strategy. Able to respond to individual customer complaints whilst also progressing with automation of relevant use cases.
• Quality Assurance: Define and execute Updraft's quality assurance framework, prioritising automated approaches to maximise the breadth of testing.
• Root Cause Analysis: Identify themes within complaints or quality assurance outcomes. Progress with changes to minimise customer impact.
• 2nd Line Engagement: Provide relevant MI to Updraft's 2nd Line Compliance team to demonstrate the effectiveness of controls within Operations.
• Strategic Leadership: Define and execute the overall Risk & Control Strategy to maximise both performance and efficiency.
• Process Optimisation: Lead on automation and AI development, identifying use cases, building solutions and continually improving through testing.
• New Product Development: Engage in new product discussions, providing the voice of the customer to ensure good customer outcomes.
• Team Management: Lead, mentor, and grow a team, fostering a culture of accuracy, efficiency, and customer-centric decision-making.
• Collaboration and Stakeholder Management: Work closely with Data Science, Engineering, Compliance, and customer-facing teams to ensure decisions support both customer outcomes and regulatory standards.

Qualifications

• Experience: Strong background in complaints and quality assurance within Consumer Lending.
• Start-Up Culture: Familiarity with start-up culture and comfort with fast-paced, evolving environments.
• AI & Automation: Proven track record of improving efficiency through use of AI and automation.
• Leadership: Proven experience in leading teams and managing cross-functional initiatives.
• Communication: Strong interpersonal skills to collaborate with stakeholders and provide updates to the leadership team effectively.
• Previous experience with consumer finance, particularly in credit cards, personal loans, or buy-now-pay-later products.

Benefits

• Flexible hybrid working.
• Pension and Medical plan.
• Opportunities for career growth within a high-growth fintech.