Description
JOB TITLE: Head of SME Trading Sectors, Commercial Banking Coverage
LOCATION: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds or Manchester
HOURS: Full time
WORKING PATTERN: Hybrid, 40% (or two days) in one of our office hubs mentioned above
SALARY: Highly competitive, dependent on skills and experience.
About this opportunity
We’re looking for an outstanding leader to shape the future of our face-to-face SME Trading business. You'll drive sustainable growth and deliver outstanding client outcomes for trading businesses with turnovers between £3m and £25m — a critical and fast-growing part of our Commercial Banking franchise.
In this high-profile role, you’ll lead a team of around 280 Commercial Regional Directors, Area Directors, and Relationship Managers/Directors, being responsible for a portfolio of approximately 25,000 trading business customers. Collectively, this portfolio generates c.£750m in income, holds £5bn in lending and £27bn in deposits, and represents one of the most important growth engines within our organisation.
Your leadership will extend beyond client delivery. You’ll lead the Growth & Structured Finance team to support the structuring of complex deals, enabling key elements of our Trading Business strategy - ensuring we meet ambitious business goals while championing the SME client proposition.
This is a rare opportunity to make a measurable impact across the UK economy, lead a high-performing national team, and set the standard for excellence in SME client engagement.
Your role and responsibilities will include:
1. Develop and implement a five-year strategy to grow the SME Trading business in alignment with the bank’s commercial objectives.
2. Champion a client-focused culture and lead acquisition of high-value SME clients using the bank’s full product suite.
3. Lead and mentor a nationwide team of Commercial Banking leaders to foster a client-focused sales culture.
4. Represent the bank externally and collaborate with internal leaders to optimise customer treatment strategies.
5. Apply advanced credit skills to manage risk and ensure compliance with lending policies and regulatory standards.
6. Foster inclusive leadership, invest in team development, and build succession plans aligned with future skills and diversity goals.
Why Lloyds Banking Group?
We’re on an exciting journey and there couldn’t be a better time to join us. The investments we’re making in our people, data, and technology are leading to innovative projects, fresh possibilities, and countless new ways for our people to work, learn, and thrive.
What we need from you?
7. Validated leadership experience in commercial or SME banking, ideally within a UK-regulated environment.
8. Consistent track record of delivering sales growth and managing complex client portfolios.
9. Scale leadership experience across a large, dispersed team.
10. Deep understanding of credit risk, regulatory frameworks, and balance sheet management.
11. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels.
12. Strategic problem solver with a growth mindset to lead groundbreaking change.
About working for us
Our ambition is to be the leading UK business for diversity, equity and inclusion supporting our customers, colleagues and communities, and we’re committed to creating an environment in which everyone can thrive, learn and develop.
We were one of the first major organisations to set goals on diversity in senior roles, create a menopause health package, and a dedicated Working with Cancer Initiative.
We offer reasonable workplace adjustments for colleagues with disabilities, including flexibility in office attendance, location and working patterns. And, as a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee interviews for a fair and proportionate number of applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role with a disability, long-term health or neurodivergent condition through the Disability Confident Scheme.
We provide reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process to reduce or remove barriers. Just let us know what you need.
We also offer a wide-ranging benefits package, which includes:
13. A generous pension contribution of up to 15%
14. An annual bonus award, subject to Group performance
15. Share schemes including free shares
16. Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
17. 30 days’ holiday, with bank holidays on top
Want to do amazing work, that’s interesting and makes a difference to millions of people? Join our journey!
At Lloyds Banking Group, we're driven by a clear purpose; to help Britain prosper. Across the Group, our colleagues are focused on making a difference to customers, businesses and communities. With us you'll have a key role to play in shaping the financial services of the future, whilst the scale and reach of our Group means you'll have many opportunities to learn, grow and develop.
We keep your data safe. So, we'll only ever ask you to provide confidential or sensitive information once you have formally been invited along to an interview or accepted a verbal offer to join us which is when we run our background checks. We'll always explain what we need and why, with any request coming from a trusted Lloyds Banking Group person.
We're focused on creating a values-led culture and are committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the customers and communities we serve. Together we’re building a truly inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference.