Collections Strategy Lead – Small Business

job description

Virgin Money is more than just a bank; as part of the Nationwide group, we are the UK’s first full-service mutual provider. We are driven by a singular purpose: Banking—but fairer, more rewarding, and for the good of society. We celebrate individuality and relentlessly include one another, fostering an environment where you can think big and have fun. When you join us, you’re not just starting a career; you’re embarking on a journey to make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of retail and business customers.

About the Role

As a Strategy Specialist within Customer Operations, you will be a key architect in our mission to evolve the Collections and Recoveries landscape for Small Business customers. This is a high-impact role centered on strategic improvement, where you will use your analytical expertise to ensure our treatments are sensitive, tailored, and effective. You will act as the primary owner of the Small Business arrears journey, utilizing data-driven insights to steer the direction of customer outcomes in a complex regulatory environment. Working across both Virgin Money and Nationwide, you will bridge the gap between risk appetite and customer support, making recommendations that balance commercial ambition with the “Treating Customers Fairly” (TCF) mandate.

What you’ll be doing

• Producing performance MI/Dashboards and conducting detailed portfolio analysis & insights to help inform data driven decision making.

• Own the collections and recovery strategy for Small Business customers, ensuring alignment with customer outcomes, risk appetite and regulatory requirements.

• Identify opportunities to improve the collections journey, delivering better customer outcomes while making best use of operational resources.

• Design, monitor and continuously improve contact strategies to reach the right customer, through the right channel, at the right time.

• Work closely with legal, compliance and risk team to ensure adherence to current and new regulatory requirements, adapting strategies and monitoring as required.

• Build and maintain strong internal relationships across Financial Care, 2nd line risk, compliance and commercial teams, as well as external partnerships with third parties including Debt Collection Agencies and the British Business Bank.

• Support the development, evaluation and delivery of key strategic change initiatives, ensuring clear communication and engagement with multiple stakeholder groups.

• Support the running of monthly strategy governance, sharing MI trends, strategy updates and general credit considerations.

• Monitor business performance, providing early warning of emerging risks and making recommendations to drive continuous improvement.

We need you to have

• Proven analytical capability, with hands on experience using SAS and/or SQL to work across multiple data sources and translate insight into effective strategy.

• Demonstrable experience in Small Business collections strategy (early & late arrears, pre‑default, default, and recoveries), with proven track record of delivering improved customer, risk and commercial outcomes.

• Working knowledge of FCA CONC, Consumer Duty, SME lending standards, Treating Customers Fairly (TCF), vulnerability guidance, and forbearance expectations.

• Evidence of delivering measurable change and continuous improvement within a regulated financial services environment.

• Strong ability to communicate complex information clearly and confidently, both in writing and verbally.

• A proactive and self-directed approach, with a track record of identifying opportunities, driving improvement and taking ownership from insight through to delivery.

• A collaborative team player with proven experience working across multiple stakeholders to deliver shared outcomes.

It’s a bonus if you have but not essential

• Experience with dialler strategies and digital collections (SMS/Email/Push), conversational AI, and self-serve portals.

• Knowledge of affordability and cash‑flow assessment for small businesses; business banking credit/risk models.

Role & Rewards Summary