Senior Leader, Lending Assessmentnew

We’re looking for a commercially minded leader to shape the future of Lending Assessment by leading high-performing teams, transforming the way we work and delivering exceptional outcomes for our customers. This is an opportunity to lead a critical part of the lending journey at a time of significant transformation.

About the role

As the Senior Leader, Lending Assessment, you'll be accountable for operational performance, customer experience and execution across our Lending Assessment teams and channels. You'll lead the delivery of efficient, consistent and high-quality assessment outcomes, with a strong focus on first-touch decisioning, workflow optimisation and disciplined execution.

This is a key leadership role at the heart of our lending operation. You'll lead the transformation and capability uplift of our teams, creating a high-accountability culture where people are empowered to deliver great customer outcomes while maintaining strong quality, risk and compliance standards.

Working closely with Credit & Capability, Operational Enablement, Customer Experience and Partner Liaison, you'll identify opportunities to improve flow, reduce rework and remove systemic barriers to better customer and operational outcomes.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Leading and developing a high-performing Lending Assessment function across teams and channels.
• Driving the transformation required to deliver our target operating model and uplift capability, performance and ways of working.
• Owning end-to-end lending assessment outcomes across throughput, service, quality and efficiency.
• Driving effective workflow, file allocation and resource utilisation to optimise capacity and delivery.
• Leading first-touch decisioning to minimise rework, hand-offs and delays.
• Ensuring consistent application of processes and decision frameworks across teams.
• Creating a strong culture of customer ownership, accountability and service excellence.
• Ensuring applications are progressed promptly and customers receive clear, professional and consistent communication.
• Using data and insights to actively manage productivity, service levels, capacity and performance.
• Identifying and addressing systemic drivers of poor customer experience and operational inefficiency.
• Leading continuous improvement initiatives that improve flow, reduce rework and enhance service outcomes.
• Partnering with Credit & Capability and Operational Enablement to resolve systemic issues and improve operational effectiveness.
• Maintaining strong quality, risk and compliance standards across Lending Assessment.

You'll have the opportunity to shape how Lending Assessment operates, build high-performing teams, improve the customer experience and deliver meaningful improvements in speed, quality and efficiency.

About You

You are a confident and collaborative operational leader who thrives in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment. You bring strong commercial and operational judgement, a passion for developing people and a proven ability to deliver results through others.

You're comfortable leading through change and transformation and know how to balance performance, customer outcomes, people capability and risk. You use data and insights to understand performance, identify opportunities and make informed decisions.

You will also bring:

• Experience in banking or financial services, with exposure to lending assessment, credit operations or operational service delivery.
• Demonstrated experience leading operational teams with accountability for service performance, productivity and people outcomes.
• Proven people leadership capability, including engagement, performance management, coaching and workforce development.
• Experience managing delivery through service levels, demand and capacity planning, workflow management and operational controls.
• A strong understanding of lending assessment environments and the regulatory obligations that apply within a regulated setting.
• Experience leading teams through significant change, transformation or new ways of working.
• Strong customer focus, with a track record of improving service outcomes and addressing operational pain points.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to work effectively across operational, risk, credit and customer functions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to turn performance insights into practical action.

Qualifications

A relevant tertiary qualification or equivalent professional experience in business, finance, operations or a related discipline is preferred. Ongoing professional development in leadership, people management or operational delivery will also be highly regarded.
What’s next? 

Why you’ll love working with us

People First Bank – our new brand – says exactly what we’re all about: people. We're committed to supporting and growing our team and creating an outstanding work environment.

You’ll have access to financial and lifestyle benefits to support your success and individuality:

• Flexibility and hybrid working arrangements.
• Extend your salary with discounts on banking, health insurance, and shopping across Australia.
• Advance your career with training, study support, and project opportunities.
• Competitive leave benefits that empower employees to take time for themselves and loved ones.
• Wellbeing support with our Employee Assistance Program, wellbeing leave, mental health app, and mental health ambassadors’ program.
• Make a difference with paid volunteering, Workplace Giving, and diverse community initiatives.
• Be recognised for your contributions through our peer-driven recognition program.

A bit about People First Bank

In March 2023, People’s Choice and Heritage Bank merged to form Heritage and People’s Choice Limited - Australia's leading mutual bank.  We are now on an exciting journey to bring together our products, services, and technology under a single brand - People First Bank.

We have over 700,000 members and 1,900 employees, with dual head offices in Adelaide and Toowoomba, an Australian-based contract centre and branches across five states.

With a vision ‘To deliver positive change through banking’, People First Bank serves members and contributes to the community, while offering an inclusive, flexible work environment. We’re big enough to make an impact; but agile enough to influence and do interesting work.

Apply online now

If this sounds like the kind of role where you’ll thrive, we’d love to hear from you. Click ‘Apply’ and submit your application, including a short cover letter and your current resume by 9:00am Wednesday, 19 August 2026.

Our diversity makes us stronger

People First Bank acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and pays respect to Elders past and present. We are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive and culturally safe workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and able to thrive. We welcome applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people of all backgrounds, identities and lived experiences. We welcome requests for reasonable adjustments to ensure all candidates can participate fairly and confidently in our selection process.