Senior Lending Operations Analyst
Applications must be submitted by 11-11-2026. Please note this advert will close on the 10th November 2026 at 23:59pm.
Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here.
Innovate UK Loans Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of UKRI tasked with delivering Innovate UK’s new innovation finance offer, bringing together debt, investment, credit and operational expertise from within Innovate UK and the wider commercial finance sector. The interventions delivered by the team are designed to enable businesses to bring their innovations to market, through addressing the finance gap facing innovative companies and supporting later stage experimental development through to commercial success.
Salary: £46,743 gross per annum.
Contract: Permanent.
Reports to: Lending Operations Manager.
Location: UKRI sites: Swindon, London, Harwell, Daresbury, Keyworth, Cambridge, Edinburgh.
Hybrid Working: This role is in Tier 3, with 20‑40% of working time typically spent either at a UKRI site or engaging with external businesses and stakeholders across the UK. Outside of this requirement, you can work from home. Whilst this role will be formally based at one of the following UKRI sites, it is externally facing, and we expect that there will be requirement to travel around the UK for 2 days per month on average.
Job Purpose: The Senior Lending Operations Analyst role will have oversight of the end-to-end process of the loans journey, from onboarding new businesses through to final repayment.
The role will involve supporting the team in processing complex change requests to the loan structure, ensuring compliance with Anti Money Laundering and Know Your Customer processes and preparing legal documentation. The Senior Lending Operations Analyst will be responsible for creating regular reports to give feedback and highlight operational performance to internal and external stakeholders. The role holder will line manage the Execution Team directly and work closely with external stakeholders and senior management. Also take responsibility for projects that will improve and solidify the on‑going enhancements to Innovate UK Loans expanding funding capability. The role holder will need to diversify their knowledge across Innovate UK and work closely with other departments to ensure alignment of Innovate UK’s Industrial Strategy. The Senior Lending Operations Analyst will create and implement new guidance aligned with Innovate UK’s Industrial Strategy, ensuring it is applied effectively and innovatively across business areas and operational processes.
Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities
- Lead on day‑to‑day management of the new lending administration system.
- Acting as the first point of contact for enquiries related to the lending administration system.
- Providing support to analysts to ensure performance targets are upheld and SLAs are achieved.
- Collaborate with wider teams to offer expert advice on subject matter and represent the organisation through demonstrating competencies and skills.
- Data reconciliation and quality management within IUKL lending administration system to accurately reflect the IUKL loans portfolio balances with requirement to produce regular status reports for senior management to advise on non‑compliance.
- Lead on continuous improvement of the lending administration system and implement any changes in consultation with the team.
- Responsible for carrying out escalated checks of Lending Operation Analysts work where appropriate and necessary.
- Quality assuring legal documentation prior to issuing to the customer.
- Work across different functions when seeking legal advice to ensure our legal documentation is adapted alongside our product offering.
- Line Management, coaching and development responsibility for up to two Lending Operations Analysts.
- Ensuring regular review of lending policies to ensure FCA and financial services best practice is applied.
- Review and improve all SOPs and process maps, ensuring the Lending Operations Team are compliant with the agreed processes.
- Working with Partner Agencies, such as legal contractors to ensure smooth delivery of loans programmes.
This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.
Person Specification
We are looking for someone who will be able to develop new processes and challenge our thinking on ways of working, we welcome CVs from a variety of backgrounds and applicants are not required to tick each box listed below!
- Essential – Degree level or relevant equivalent experience (S).
- Proven hands‑on ability to work within a change and process‑led environment to ensure great customer service (I).
- Prioritising multiple workloads and working to tight deadlines (S&I).
- Working with legal and/or contractual documentation for debt finance (S).
- Comprehensive understanding of the loans administration systems and loan products (S&I).
- Comprehensive understanding of loans processes and high attention to details to carry out quality checks (S&I).
- Strong understanding of Customer Due Diligence and Know Your Customer requirements in financial services (I).
- Ability to line manage, coach, feedback and support other team members (S&I).
Competencies
- Thinking and Problem Solving.
- Stakeholder management.
- Communication skills.
- Influencing.
- Self‑awareness/self‑management.
- Strategic awareness.
- Working with others.
- Project management.
Travel Requirements
There will be a requirement to travel, mostly national, and there is some flexibility in this. Innovate UK staff make extensive use of telepresence tools for meetings to minimise unnecessary travel. In general, you will need to work in the Swindon office once a week and may have four to six nights away from home per month on average to attend conferences and events.
Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set‑out in our role profiles.
Equal Opportunities
We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments, some of which will be online and others may be in‑person.
If you have a disability, heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you, we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion, providing further information.
In confidence, Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required.
Employee Benefits
- 30 days’ annual leave
- 10.5 public and privilege days
- Flexible working hours
- An exceptional defined benefit pension scheme
- Access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes
- Parking: Limited parking subject to waiting list (Polaris House, Swindon only)
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