Head of Underwriting
Location: Newbury (hybrid working, min. 2 days in office)
Hours 35 hours per week (Monday–Friday, 9.00am–5.00pm)
Salary £70,000 – £80,000 dependent on experience
Introduction
Newbury Building Society are looking for an experienced, values led leader to take on a high impact role within our mortgage lending function. Reporting to the Director of Customer Service, you will be responsible for credit risk oversight, the application and operationalisation of lending policy, and ensuring consistent, high quality mortgage underwriting.
You will work closely with Executive colleagues and play an active role in Credit Committee, providing insight, assurance and constructive challenge to support good and sustainable outcomes for both customers and intermediaries.
What you’ll be doing
- Leading the application of our lending policy, ensuring alignment with MCOB and wider regulatory expectations.
- Monitoring credit and conduct risks, using MI to spot trends, emerging risks and opportunities.
- Recommending changes to lending policy and processes based on market, regulatory and portfolio insights.
- Driving operational effectiveness, consistency and quality across underwriting and valuation activity.
- Overseeing key third party relationships linked to underwriting and valuation services.
- Championing continuous improvement of lending processes and the customer and intermediary journey.
- Embedding a strong risk culture and delivering excellent customer outcomes.
- Leading, developing and empowering underwriters to perform at their best.
What We’re Looking For
You will thrive in this role if you balance commercial judgement with responsible risk management, and bring confident, values driven leadership along with deep expertise in credit risk and mortgage lending. You’ll communicate clearly and credibly with senior stakeholders and committees, build trusted relationships, and lead with clarity, integrity and accountability.
You will also join a supportive and collaborative team where ideas are welcomed, expertise is valued and autonomy is encouraged. This highly visible senior role offers a significant opportunity to influence the Society’s mortgage lending proposition and shape the future of our credit strategy.
If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you.
Why choose Newbury
We invest in your development — through excellent learning opportunities, meaningful responsibilities and project work that supports your long‑term growth.
We look after and reward you — including a generous holiday allowance, contributory stakeholder pension, wellbeing support, and your birthday off.
We support our communities — through regular volunteering, fundraising and local initiatives. You will also receive two paid volunteering days each year to support causes you care about.
Essential skills and experience
- Strong understanding of credit risk management and able to make sound underwriting decisions.
- Proven experience leading underwriting, credit or mortgage servicing teams.
- Sound knowledge of the external property and mortgage market, and regulatory framework.
- Ability to interpret MI and provide clear, proportionate recommendations.
Desirable skills and experience
- Existing or recent senior leadership role in a bank or building society.
- Experience contributing to senior level committees.
- Direct involvement in lending policy development.
- Exposure to specialist lending (e.g. Lending in/into retirement or shared ownership).
Interviews
- There will be two interview stages
- Feedback provided regardless of outcome.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy at any point.