Credit Model Validation Manager (Machine Learning & NPV Models)

Role overview

This is a Credit Model Validation Manager position within the second line of defence of a UK digital bank's growing lending business. The role provides independent validation and oversight of credit models used for customer-level decisioning and credit strategy across products, with a particular focus on underwriting scorecards, origination PD models, and NPV / unit economics models.

Responsibilities

- Lead hands-on independent validation of machine learning, decision science, and NPV models used in lending strategies, ensuring they are fit for purpose, well governed, explainable, and performing as expected. - Support validation of broader credit risk models, including IFRS9, stress testing, and economic response models. - Provide impactful challenge to first-line model developers, helping to strengthen modelling capabilities. - Review ongoing performance monitoring against risk thresholds and support first-line teams when action is required. - Build challenger models where appropriate and run statistical analyses to test assumptions. - Improve the Model Risk Framework by evolving policies, standards, and procedures and keeping pace with regulatory and methodological change. - Write clear validation reports and present findings in relevant committees. - Partner with first-line credit strategy, modelling, and broader risk teams to embed consistent validation standards. - Champion the adoption of AI tools to enhance the validation approach.

Requirements

- Strong background in credit risk modelling with hands-on experience in model validation or development within financial services. - Practical experience using Python to develop, validate, or analyse machine learning and statistical models. - In-depth knowledge of credit decisioning models is a strong plus. - Familiarity with the wider data and engineering stack used in analytics, including Google Cloud Platform, dbt and BigQuery SQL, Python, Go, and AWS.

Nice to have

- Experience supporting oversight of IFRS9, stress testing, or economic response models alongside core decisioning models.

Benefits and work setup

- Salary of £79,000 to £93,000 plus incentive awards tied to performance. - Based in London or distributed anywhere in the UK, with ad hoc in-person meetings in London. - Flexible working hours, a £1,000 annual learning budget, and full home-working setup including a MacBook.