United Trust Bank Limited
Head of Underwriting - BTL & Bridging
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Role Purpose
The Head of Underwriting – BTL & Bridging is responsible for leading and managing the underwriting function across United Trust Bank's Buy-to-Let and Bridging Finance businesses. The role is accountable for ensuring high-quality credit decisions, maintaining a strong risk culture, delivering excellent customer and broker outcomes, and supporting the Bank's growth objectives while operating within risk appetite and regulatory requirements.
The role will provide leadership to the underwriting team, driving continuous improvement in underwriting standards and working closely with the sales team to deliver excellent service.
Responsibilities
Leadership & People Management
- Lead, develop, and inspire a team of Team Managers, Senior Underwriters, and Underwriters.
- Create a high-performance culture focused on accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement.
- Recruit, develop, and retain underwriting talent.
- Conduct regular performance reviews, coaching, and succession planning.
Credit & Risk Management
- Ensure all lending proposals are assessed in line with UTB lending policies, risk appetite, and regulatory requirements.
- Maintain robust underwriting standards across the BTL and Bridging portfolios.
- Exercise delegated lending authority responsibly and effectively.
- Review and recommend complex cases to Credit Committee where appropriate.
Operational Excellence
- Manage underwriting service levels to deliver a market-leading broker and customer experience.
- Drive efficiencies through process improvements, automation, and technology adoption.
- Implement and maintain effective controls, governance, and quality assurance frameworks.
- Monitor underwriting productivity, turnaround times, and decision quality.
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Stakeholder Management
- Partner closely with Sales function to deliver appropriate solutions with a looking-to-lend approach.
- Build strong working relationships with third party firms, including solicitors, valuers, and professional panel.
- Participate in broker and client meetings where required.
- Represent the underwriting function at internal governance forums and committees.
Strategy & Change
- Contribute to the development and execution of the growth strategy.
- Undertake SME role for underwriting-related projects and change initiatives.
- Support the development of new products, policies, and lending propositions.
- Ensure underwriting frameworks evolve in line with market, regulatory, and business requirements.
Governance & Regulatory Compliance
- Ensure all lending activity complies with FCA requirements, Consumer Duty principles, and internal policies.
- Maintain strong governance and operating controls across the underwriting function.
- Support internal and external audits where required.
- Escalate material risks, issues, and policy exceptions appropriately.
Skills and Experience sought
- Significant leadership and lending experience within BTL & Bridging market.
- Strong credit risk assessment and complex case underwriting expertise.
- Strong understanding of AML, KYC, Financial Crime, and FCA requirements.
- Experience operating within delegated lending authorities and Credit Committee structures.
- Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills.
- Strong analytical and decision-making capabilities.
- Experience within specialist banking or specialist property finance lending.
- Understanding of development finance and commercial real estate lending.
- Professional lending, banking, or risk management qualifications.
- Experience leading transformation and technology-enabled change.
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Equal Opportunities
We're an equal opportunity employer, which means we'll consider all suitably qualified applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or beliefs, age, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other protected characteristic. We recruit and develop our people based on merit and we're committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. During the application process, you will be asked to complete an equality questionnaire on a voluntary basis and any data we collect will be treated confidentially and used for evaluation purposes. This will be for a period of 6 months or longer with your permission. This helps us understand our applicants so we can make sure we are doing everything we can to attract a diverse range of people and ensure our recruitment processes are fair and inclusive.
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