Deputy Director Credit Risk & Portfolio Management

Reporting to the Chief Investment Officer you will have overall responsibility for and leadership of the Credit and Portfolio functions of Innovate UK Loans Ltd. Ensuring adherence to policy and process and implementation of best practice in treating customers fairly and lending responsibly.
Since the inception of the innovation loans product in 2017, over £230 million in innovation loans have been awarded to over 250 highly innovative companies. Portfolio companies cover the full spectrum of the future economy and are distributed across the UK.
In this role, you will be part of the Innovation Finance management team and will also be responsible for representing the activities of the Directorate in policy and funding discussions within internal and external stakeholders and the public. The role may also involve being a director and Board member of the Board of Innovate UK Loans Limited and an executive member of its Credit Committee. You will also take membership of wider groups within IUK and represent the wider Products and Services of Innovate UK., + Lead a team of 10 credit and investment specialists and 8 debt portfolio management experts to build and manage a portfolio of high risk, SME loans with mezzanine / structured finance features and controls
+ Operate a personal delegation for credit, investment and arrears, default and recovery decisions, operating a devolved delegation on behalf of the Chief Investment Officer as required
+ Support the Heads of Function for Credit and Portfolio to systematise and codify precedent in Innovate UK’s approach to responsible lending and debt management, working within the spirit of the FCA’s Treating Customers Fairly framework
+ Act as Innovate UK’s technical expert in credit and portfolio management, as part of the wider risk, assurance and governance architecture of the organisation – and provide similar support to UK Research and Innovation, as required
+ Work as part of the senior leadership team of Innovate UK’s investment directorate in delivering within a product-oriented, customer-insight driven organisation
+ Engage with the wider organisation and across Innovate UK’s Domains and Products and Services as part of the senior management team, contributing to the growth and development of the organisation.
+ Build effective working relationships with the senior leadership team across Innovate UK, UKRI and with our governing bodies and other public stakeholders including the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the British Business Bank
+ Provide thought leadership in key public forums and expert representation in key government forums as part of the Innovate UK senior management team
+ Attend Credit Committee as an executive member, offering personal opinions and insight into decisions alongside executive and independent members
This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.

+ Qualified or demonstrating substantial equivalent experience in SME lending and/or investment decisioning in a fund, banking or alternative finance environment and/or a good degree or professional qualification in a relevant discipline – experience in working with early stage, immature and innovating businesses would be beneficial
+ Experience in originating and maintaining a portfolio of SME loan assets as a (stretched-) senior and/or mezzanine/structured finance lender
+ Experience in a leadership capacity
+ Proven track record in building, maintaining and leading a high performing team across several technical disciplines through consensus-building, empowerment and coaching
+ Willingness and ability to flex mindset to deliver a portfolio which delivers on the innovation objectives and economic impact of the programme while achieving an overall balance of risk/reward consistent with the risk appetite established by Innovate UK
+ Experience of working with senior government stakeholders, developing and implementing policy initiatives in the context of Subsidy Control regulation and Managing Public Money contexts; and
+ Experience in launching new financial products in the public/private sectors at scale, analysing and determining customer requirements and developing appropriate risk and finance strategies
+ Evidence of having helped UK SMEs grow through new products and/or markets
Desirable:
+ Understanding of fair value accounting in the context of IFRS9, including benchmarking of loan assets against industry standard models through the credit cycle
+ Knowledge of the end-to-end credit process from origination through to recoveries through administration and other enforcement processes
+ Awareness of how innovative businesses grow, evaluation of routes to market and value propositions, comprehensive funding strategies across both debt and equity and commercialisation of new technologies
+ Politically aware and with proven interest in Innovation policy and practice demonstrated through your professional or personal experiences
+ Experience in working directly with clients, managing expectations and providing constructive feedback on credit decisions
+ Knowledge of process management and development, including cash management, forecasting and covenant review
+ Experience in managing and reporting on a portfolio of loans or investments
+ Board Experience and/or sound understanding of governance
Skills:
+ Formulation, delivery and effective management of a loan portfolio in collaboration with a management team
+ Strong decision making skills, balancing the desires of multiple stakeholders
+ Strong credit risk evaluation skills
+ Strong technical and strategic (corporate) finance and risk management capabilities
+ Excellent communicator and negotiator with public presentation skills and gravitas
+ Proven capability to build a team, develop and implement new initiatives within an organisation on a significant scale
+ Ability, flexibility and willingness to thrive in a changing environment, working proactively on new product ideas and processes and providing clarity in areas of expertise
+ Highly self-motivated and able to lead on own initiative whilst in close co-ordination with the wider senior team
Additional Requirements:
Independence:
+ No external commitments that could be perceived as a conflict of interest or material distraction from the execution of duties.

Competencies:
All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as:
Thinking and Problem Solving – Stakeholder management – Communication skills – Influencing – Self-awareness/self-management – Strategic awareness – Working with others– Project management

Travel Requirements:
Field-based: There will a requirement to travel, mostly national, and there is some flexibility in this. Innovate UK staff make extensive use of telepresence tools for meetings to minimise unnecessary travel. In general, you will need to work in the Swindon office once a week and may have four to six nights away from home per month on average to attend conferences and events.
Swindon/London-based: There may be the occasional requirement for national travel.

Alongside your salary of £80,001, Innovate UK contributes £23,176 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
+ Learning and development tailored to your role
+ An environment with flexible working options
+ A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
+ A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Selection process details
1st Interview incl Presentation
Interviews will either take place remotely via Zoom/Teams or face to face in person.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.