Director, Head of Lending Products

We are seeking a strategic and collaborative Director to join our Business Banking Lending Product team. This role will play a pivotal part in shaping and delivering the infrastructure and capabilities that underpin our Lending products and services. The successful candidate will lead on driving commercial outcomes, improve customer experiences and ensure robust governance across the end-to-end lending journey.

Key responsibilities [criteria] include:

• Championing the end-to-end Business Banking Lending customer journeys and servicing, identifying opportunities to enhance customer outcomes and deliver commercial value
• Leading cross-functional delivery of the Lending product workstack, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and effective stakeholder engagement
• Driving continuous improvement across lending systems, processes and controls to support scalable and sustainable growth
• Ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and internal policies, fostering a strong and proactive risk and control culture
• Collaborating with Product Directors and other senior leaders to shape the future of Lending in Business Banking, aligning infrastructure and operational capabilities with customer and business needs. 

Purpose of the role

To manage and develop existing and new products and/or services; and where applicable, ownership of related customer and colleague journeys, develops the product strategy, drive change through Barclays execution teams, make key decisions in the product lifecycle and own associated outcomes for customers, colleagues and the bank, achieved through appropriate service level agreements, regulatory compliance, risk management and controls. 

Accountabilities

• Development of customer level strategies & solutions that are tailored to customers’ needs.
• Subject Matter Expert in the applicable Product/Proposition team and be able to confidently guide and advise stakeholders at all levels in the Bank on the application of existing and new products/propositions and related customer and colleague journeys.
• Development of product propositions, and/or service strategy, define the priorities for delivering the outcomes needed to deliver the strategy and lead execution of the priorities.
• Development of different commercial and business models through a strong understanding of the financial drivers of the P&L for the relevant segment/ proposition/ journey.
• Evaluation of the technical feasibility, legal compliance, and potential risks associated with the development and launch of the new product.
• Monitoring of market trends and analysis feedback from internal employees and target customers through prototypes, user testing sessions, and beta programs to identify areas for improvement to refine the product / process before launch.
• Management of comprehensive launch plans and technical deployments for products that establish rollout timelines, marketing strategies, training initiatives and communication channels to promote the launch new products effectively.
• Monitoring of key metrics such as adoption rates, usage patterns, customer satisfaction (including complaints), and revenue generation to assess the product's performance against set goals.

Director Expectations

• To manage a business function, providing significant input to function wide strategic initiatives. Contribute to and influence policy and procedures for the function and plan, manage and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects, which may be business wide..
• They manage the direction of a large team or sub-function, leading other people managers and embedding a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects and act as deep technical expert and thought leader, identifying new ways of working and collaborating cross functionally. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions..
• Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees to influence decisions made outside of own function, offering significant input to function wide strategic initiatives.
• Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub-function.
• Escalates breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
• Foster and guide compliance, ensure regulations are observed that relevant processes in place to facilitate adherence.
• Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays, when appropriate.
• Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
• Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline alongside up-to-date relevant sector / functional knowledge, and insight into external market developments / initiatives.
• Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/ sensitive situations.
• Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
• Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
• Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
• Mandated as a spokesperson for the function and business division.

All Senior Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.