About

At Cirql, we don’t focus on industry specifics, our core specialisation is partnering with middle-market organisations that are experiencing change. This client is the perfect example of that: a growing business proactively setting up for its future expansion.

We are working with a disruptive, high-growth challenger in the non-bank lending sector. With an established reputation built over 25 years, the business is backed by significant private capital and is embarking on a career-defining journey of scale and corporatisation.

The mission is to build the robust foundations, systems, and processes required to support a billion-dollar loan book and beyond. The business is focused on it’s people with strong investment in office fit-outs, on-site gym facilities and an in-house barista.

While going through a growth era, they still focus on work-life balance including initiatives such as monthly “life admin” days where the team can take a Friday off each month to destress and take care of things in your personal life.

They are also strong supporters of local communities, charities and football clubs - a rare opportunity of professionalism and growth stories while still feeling great about giving back.

This is a business defined by its unique combination of history, ambition, and confidence. A recent investment in the leadership team is creating a new and positive cultural shift, and they are looking for an equally impressive finance leader to join them on this exciting trajectory.

About the Opportunity

This is a critical senior leadership opportunity created to architect the future of our client's operational functions. Reporting directly to the Managing Director, you will take strategic and day-to-day leadership of all core lending operations, including Credit Assessment, Loan Settlements, Credit Management (Collections), and Client Services.

Your challenge is to lead, mentor, and build on these functions, leveraging the new technology and capabilities to drive a leap in efficiency, compliance, and service.

Your goal is to lead the investigation, optimisation, and incremental transformation of the entire lending lifecycle, moving the business from manual, high-touch processes to a systemised, scalable, and best-in-class model.

What You Will Do

Reporting to the Managing Director and leading a medium-large team of direct and indirect reports, you will:

• Review and uplift the Credit Assessment function through proactively understanding and rebuilding policies, embedding new processes, and championing a culture of rigorous, compliant, yet highly commercial credit decisions.
• Personally mentor and uplift the capability of the credit team, providing the leadership and subject matter expertise to confidently navigate complex, "in the grey" self-employed lending.
• Drive the optimisation of the new lending platform, identifying and implementing system integrations to dramatically improve processing times.
• Lead, challenge, and mentor the Collections team to enhance strategies, implement data-driven customer profiling, and adopt new technologies to ensure arrears and bad debts are minimised within targets.
• Provide strategic oversight for the Settlements and Client Services functions, ensuring processes are continuously improved and broker/customer satisfaction is maximised.
• Coach, mentor, and develop your direct reports, fostering a positive, high-performance culture aligned with company values.
• Develop and execute strategies to enhance team performance and contribute to the Group's overarching strategic plans.
• Produce accurate and detailed monthly performance reports across all departments of responsibility.

What You Will Bring

The ideal candidate is a seasoned lending operations professional with a strength in credit and a growth mindset, ready to roll up their sleeves and build.

• Essential experience as an experienced leader in Credit Assessment, ideally within the commercial asset finance or non-bank lending sector.
• A strong commercial mindset, with the proven ability to assess complex credit applications that don't fit a traditional bank's scorecard model.
• Demonstrated experience in mentoring, uplifting, and building high-performance teams and a strong, positive team culture.
• A genuine change mindset, with a proven track record of reviewing and rebuilding processes, policies, and leveraging technology to drive efficiency.
• A strong working knowledge of the originated lending industry is essential.
• A solid working knowledge of Credit Management (Collections) principles and strategies.
• A finance-related tertiary qualification is highly desired.

Why Join Us?

This is a career-defining opportunity for a commercial lending operations leader who is ready to move beyond business-as-usual and become the architect of a business-wide operational transformation.

You will be empowered by the Managing Director to investigate, optimise, and rebuild core lending functions, making a tangible impact on efficiency, compliance, and sustainable growth.

You will be joining a stable, successful company at the perfect moment to create a legacy, all while being rewarded with a highly competitive remuneration package, including a significant and achievable monthly bonus structure designed to reward your success.

Not sure if you meet these requirements? Please apply — we are happy to discuss your individual circumstances.