Role: SME Business Support Manager
Location: Home Based
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full-Time - 35 hours (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
Grade: CR3
Job purpose:
Supporting SME customers through periods of financial difficulty with the aim of assisting them to survival, whilst keeping the bank safe and complying with all necessary legislation.
Key accountabilities:
- Being empathetic to customer’s financial position, taking time to ascertain route to financial health, whilst recognising and taking into account vulnerability and keeping the bank safe.
- Maintaining and managing relationships with an assigned customer portfolio to ensure a high level of satisfaction with the service provided, regularly reviewing progress against standards and outcomes for all allocated customers.
- Maintaining a strong working knowledge of your customers and product features and options to ensure the current and future business needs of assigned customers/customer portfolio are researched and understood in depth.
- Identifying the capability and services required to enable the achievement of business plans, and managing the development of innovative, tailored services and solutions to improve customer financial health.
- Support customers in financial difficulty through a range of appropriate forbearance options and sign posting to external support available.
- Ensuring all customer interactions are handled appropriately and in line with procedures, standards and defined discretion, and that specialist knowledge, appropriate behaviours are applied to achieve the best outcomes for customers.
- Resolving customers’ queries promptly within agreed authority and discretion.
- Ongoing monitoring of assigned customers to ensure agreements are kept up to date and the early identification of early warning indicators and taking the appropriate action when required.
- Assigning customers and keeping abreast and up to date of changes, the competition and customer propositions, which may impact the business and your customers.
- To fully understand and lead by example in accordance with the Bank’s cultural transformation and new ways of working in relation to our Risk Management Framework, Risk Appetite and ethical policy.
- High level of credit skills and credit applications from initial client interactions through the various stages of gathering the required financial and organisation information, writing the credit paper, negotiating as required with credit officers
- Making decisions in relation to assigned customers within company guidelines and in conformance with all regulatory and legal requirements.
- Maintaining a good understanding of Conduct Risk requirements relevant to the role, ensuring compliance and that due regard is paid to the interests of customers and customers are treated fairly.
- Ensuring appropriate monitoring, reporting, disclosures and remedial actions are completed to fulfil The Co-operative Bank expectations regarding the Conduct Risk outcomes as defined by the FCA.
- Completing required annual Mandatory training and ensuring Conduct Risk requirements are fully reflected in Performance Development objectives.
- Leading and continuously seeking to improve the development of operational policies and procedures, ensuring the best practices are adopted and implemented, and that these are consistent with overall practices.
- Supporting the SME Banking strategy as appropriate ensuring new processes and procedures are adopted and implemented fully.
- Being an Ambassador of the Bank and SME Banking at all internal and external forums, role model for the team.
- Contributing fully to your development, agreement and achievement of business plans, to the identification of performance opportunities, and participating in the development of strategies and policies to support and develop the business.
Knowledge, skills and experience required:
- Excellent understanding of risk management.
- Strong customer service skills and the ability to resolve complex customer issues
- Good understanding of components of financial performance in a banking context – balance sheet, income, costs, liquidity, capital etc.
- Able to follow complex processes and complete accurate calculations for customers
- Reliable and ethical, respecting customers’ confidentiality
- Able to plan and organise resources and activities effectively. Multi task and prioritise
- Understanding of the sector and associated political environment and legislative issues.
- Deep product knowledge including associated processes and procedures, regulatory issues and constraints.
- Good working knowledge of SME Banking and Government Backed Lending schemes
- Ability to communicate in a style appropriate to the audience, and to work with a diverse range of people and cultures.
What you can expect from us:
- 27 days holiday at start, rising to 30 days
- Competitive pension / income protection / life assurance
- 2 paid days for volunteering per year
- Positive working environment in contemporary offices
- Strong career path within Financial Services
- Family friendly policies and supportive working environment
- Recognition scheme and a culture in which we celebrate success
- Active network groups, ran by colleagues for colleagues
This role will not be around for long, so we would advise to get your application to us as soon as possible by applying today.
Our Bank is committed to continuing to create a diverse workforce and an inclusive environment where all colleagues can fulfil their potential.
We welcome applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and lifestyles who can work with us in maintaining a culture of belonging, where people are valued and respected.
Should you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process; please let our careers team know.