Head of credit - bridging finance

Let’s grow together! A Platinum Investors in People employer and an award-winning UK bank, focused on growth. Our customers include savers and businesses across the UK and, working together, we use our specialist expertise to help them achieve their ambitions and build a sustainable future. If you’re an experienced Head of Credit looking for an opportunity to grow in a friendly environment, we’re looking for you! We’re flexible, inclusive, committed to your wellbeing and passionate about you reaching your potential. Let’s grow together … What you’ll be doing Lead credit strategy & team development Develop and implement the bridging credit and underwriting strategy while leading, mentoring, and scaling a high-performing team aligned to business objectives. Own credit risk framework & portfolio oversight Take full ownership of credit risk policies, governance, and decision-making, ensuring consistent underwriting quality and regular portfolio performance reviews. Drive underwriting excellence & operational efficiency Ensure underwriting processes are efficient, scalable, and customer-focused, while maintaining strong turnaround times and continuously improving systems and automation. Ensure regulatory compliance & governance Maintain compliance with regulatory requirements and fair customer outcomes, manage audits and stakeholders, and uphold a strong control environment. Lead analytics, reporting & cross-functional collaboration Oversee credit models, reporting, and performance analysis, while partnering with Commercial, Product, Finance, and Compliance teams to balance risk, growth, and innovation. About You What you’ll bring to the team Extensive industry experience 8–15 years’ experience in bridging finance credit risk, underwriting, or financial risk leadership roles, with a strong understanding of lending dynamics. Proven leadership capability Demonstrated success leading and developing underwriting teams or credit functions, driving high performance and technical excellence. Deep Bridging Finance expertise Strong background in bridging lending, with the ability to assess complex deals and navigate nuanced risk scenarios. Strategic & commercial mindset A track record of developing and executing credit strategies that support sustainable, profitable growth while managing risk effectively. Strong academic & professional foundation (desirable) Degree educated in Finance, Economics, Business, Mathematics, or a related field, with professional certifications (e.g., CICM, CFA, FRM) or advanced training in credit risk and analytics considered advantageous . Even if you don’t meet all the criteria, we encourage you to apply . At Paragon, we value diversity and we’re excited to hear from passionate individuals like you! If you’re ready to contribute to the team, please apply. Further information on the role can be found in the Purpose and Performance Profile (PPP), which is downloadable on this page. Please note, applicants must have the right to work in the UK. We do not offer visa sponsorship. Working hours Hybrid working 37.5 hours per week – Monday to Friday. (2-3 days in the office) Inclusion As a Disability Confident Employer, we want to ensure that our vacancies are accessible for everyone. If you have a disability, long term health condition or are neurodiverse and need us to adjust our recruitment process please get in touch with our recruitment team. About Us What can we offer you? Generous Holiday Allowance: Starting from 27 days and climbing to 30, you also get to enjoy a day off for your birthday, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve. You can also buy or sell up to a week’s leave Share Save Scheme: Annually, you have the opportunity to buy shares in Paragon at a discounted rate Profit Related Pay: We share some of our annual profit with our eligible employees Pension Plan: We contribute up to 10% of your annual salary towards your pension Family Friendly policies : We offer enhanced parental pay and paid time off for fertility treatment Employee Discounts: Enjoy exclusive discounts on entertainment, travel, shopping, motoring and more Volunteering Day: Contribute to causes you care about with one volunteering day per year Life Assurance and Personal Accident Cover Be flexible We promote flexibility around how and where we work so that you can achieve a healthier work-life balance. We operate hybrid working, splitting our week between the office and home. Be yourself As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome diversity and care about inclusion. That’s why we want you to be your whole self at work. We believe an inclusive workplace is good for each of us, great for our customers and better for our business. Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Network meets regularly to share challenges, experience, and ideas to build a more equal, diverse, and inclusive business. Be heard We listen to your point of view, with our People Forum and regular employee surveys making sure you can use your voice and influence our future. Be well We will give you access to a range of tools and resources to support your wellbeing. This will include a digital GP service via our free Employee Assistance Programme, access to our Wellbeing team to connect you with the help you need to get more out of life and our Vitality at Work programme to provide you with discounted gym membership, fitness equipment and another multitude of wellbeing services. Be better We want you to reach your potential and, as a Platinum Investors in People employer, we’ll encourage you to learn and develop by building a personalised development plan together with your manager.