BTL Underwriter

Vida Bank provides specialist mortgage solutions through Vida Homeloans.

Our mortgage business supports Buy to Let (BTL) and residential borrowers (ROO) who find themselves underserved elsewhere. Our mortgage customers range from Buy to Let investors, to the self-employed and customers with multiple jobs.

Our business model and strategy are underpinned by our core purpose to ‘Help More People Find a Place to call Home’.

We are here to help the under-served, especially those with more nuanced personal circumstances or borrowing needs who are not able to access a mortgage from a mainstream mortgage lender. Working exclusively with intermediary partners, we combine cutting-edge technology with skilled and caring underwriting expertise to solve complex customer problems.

As a fully regulated UK based bank with ambitious growth aspirations, we recognise the importance of having a clearly articulated culture strategy and the need to actively manage how it embeds in the business together with the behaviours which exemplify it.

 As a recognised Best Companies Top 100 mid-sized company to work for in the UK and a finalist at the Financial Reporter Women’s Recognition Awards, we take pride in our diverse workforce, championing both ethic and gender diversity through our EDI commitments.

Having met the target set by being a member of the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter we have 50% of senior management roles filled by women.

With offices in London, Newcastle and Skipton, we bring our teams together regularly to collaborate and empower our colleagues to have more choice around when and where they work on the days they are not in the office, with colleagues working remotely in various locations across the UK.

We are proud to have built a culture founded on an ethos of caring, and that sits at the heart of our Vida Values, driving the way we run our business, support our customers and other stakeholders on a daily basis.

We genuinely care about delivering the right outcomes for all of our stakeholders who we consider through the cultural framework as our customers, colleagues, company and communities that we operate in.

By Joining Vida you will have a sense of belonging in what is a diverse and collaborative environment, where you will be empowered to take responsibility for driving delivery.

We embrace a diversity of backgrounds and experiences in our people, in the deeply held belief that better outcomes are achieved for customers when our colleagues are better placed to empathise with and understand their unique circumstances. From application to interview, we place inclusion at the heart of all we do.

Role Overview:

The successful candidate will be a suitably qualified and experienced manual Underwriter in the specialist mortgage market, having recently held a Buy to Let lending mandate for a minimum of 2 years and a strong understanding of complex specialist lending scenarios.

They’ll be confident and well-reasoned in their decision making with excellent attention to detail, proactive in managing their applications, always be striving to provide an excellent customer journey and be a great team player.

Key Responsibilities:

• Underwrite and decision complex BTL mortgage applications whilst ensuring exceptional customer service
• Self-manage their own caseload in line with the business priorities while achieving agreed production and quality targets, and annual objectives
• Have a ‘can do’ approach to responsible lending decision making, considering mortgage applications outside of our standard lending policy where a justifiable business reason exists
• Ensure responsibilities regarding Consumer Duty, the Prevention of Financial Crime (including AML, identification, and reporting of fraud) and responsible lending are carried out effectively and in accordance with the Company’s policies
• Develop and maintain knowledge of our mortgage products and our bespoke underwriting approach, aligned to Vida’s risk appetite, products, and criteria
• Support out Intermediary partners with their queries

Requirements:

• Extensive experience of specialist mortgage manual underwriting, the mortgage intermediary market, its products, marketing approach and processes
• Held a specialist BTL lending mandate for a minimum of 2 years (£500k+ mandate desirable)
• A detailed understanding of complex BTL lending types.
• Regulation / Legislation Awareness - Knowledge of the Regulated Financial Services environment and a demonstrable understanding of Consumer Duty and responsible lending.
• CeMap qualified or industry equivalent (desirable)
• Able to demonstrate a proactive, hardworking and flexible attitude to work and be team player
• Proficient in MS Office, credit risk decision systems

Our values are well established and recognised throughout our organisation. They provide a frame of reference for the behaviours expected from our colleagues every day.

We find ways to break old conventions, especially those which cause exclusion or customer harm. We look for these qualities when hiring new talent into the organisation, and they underpin our approach to personal development and performance management for all our people. At the heart of this is the fact we care about our Customers, Our Colleagues and our Communities. We are:

Visionary - We innovate and break old habits, thinking big and pushing boundaries together as one team

Inclusive - We value each other’s differences and work to see people for who they really are

Dynamic  - We are flexible and fast, cutting through complexity and never accepting second best

Authentic - We are honest and genuine, what you see is what you get

We offer a comprehensive benefits package to support our employees’ professional and personal needs. Further details can be provided upon application.