SVP – Engineering — Digital Lending Portfolio

The mandate

A deliberate change of pace is required to deal with engineering commitments exceeding delivery capacity and architecture coherence within a privately held diversified financial-services platform. The immediate arena is the digital lending portfolio during a post-acquisition integration. For mandate 030, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The SVP – Engineering operating perimeter covers approximately £4,600 million in assets under oversight, with activity spanning several digital lending portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The SVP – Engineering Financial Services remit carries direct influence over roughly 650 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a SVP – Engineering who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the digital lending portfolio. The SVP – Engineering Financial Services seat must resolve a post-acquisition integration, while preserving the underlying strengths of the digital lending portfolio. For mandate 030, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The SVP – Engineering’s first year on the digital lending portfolio is expected to end with roadmap predictability, quality and stronger technical leadership. In mandate 030, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the SVP – Engineering — Digital Lending Portfolio seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the digital lending portfolio, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a post-acquisition integration cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the SVP – Engineering value-creation thesis for the digital lending portfolio, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately £4,600 million in assets under oversight, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the SVP – Engineering Financial Services organisation of about 650 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the digital lending portfolio economics and execution constraints created by a post-acquisition integration, with SVP – Engineering-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one SVP – Engineering operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the digital lending portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Show end-to-end ownership of a material platform or value stream, including budget, talent and measurable operating outcomes in mandate 030.
• Build the SVP – Engineering’s three-year succession and capability plan for the digital lending portfolio, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Financial Services organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the digital lending portfolio baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to engineering commitments exceeding delivery capacity and architecture coherence, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal SVP – Engineering portfolio and organisation choices for the digital lending portfolio, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable digital lending portfolio trend against roadmap predictability, quality and stronger technical leadership, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the SVP – Engineering’s agreed first-year digital lending portfolio value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A SVP – Engineering forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the digital lending portfolio’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the SVP – Engineering mandate’s highest-priority digital lending portfolio risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical digital lending portfolio talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the SVP – Engineering’s direct reports.
• A quantified SVP – Engineering-owned improvement in the digital lending portfolio operating constraint behind a post-acquisition integration, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 030: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a SVP Engineering, VP R&D or Engineering Centre Head in a privately held Financial Services or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the digital lending portfolio, your SVP – Engineering track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from banking, insurance, payments, wealth or regulated fintech will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this SVP – Engineering brief.

As a SVP – Engineering candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Financial Services or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of £2,650 million and led an organisation of at least 650 people.

For mandate 030, the board wants two transitions: a difficult digital lending portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a post-acquisition integration. As the prospective SVP – Engineering for this digital lending portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 030 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The SVP – Engineering must be based in London; international relocation is supported, but this Financial Services role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of SVP Engineering, VP R&D or Engineering Centre Head, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Financial Services governance forum.
• Proven SVP – Engineering ownership of at least £2,650 million and leadership of no fewer than 650 employees in a comparable digital lending portfolio context.
• One completed Financial Services or adjacent-sector example of engineering commitments exceeding delivery capacity and architecture coherence with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from banking, insurance, payments, wealth or regulated fintech; experience that is purely functional and lacks SVP – Engineering-level digital lending portfolio consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the London location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 030.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated SVP – Engineering package is £210,000–280,000 base + annual incentive, calibrated to the final digital lending portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 030 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The SVP – Engineering appointment in London, centred on the digital lending portfolio, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 030.

Confidentiality

To protect the board, incumbent team and candidate, the organisation remains unnamed until a confidential conversation confirms mutual relevance for mandate 030. The operating facts have been rounded and blended expressly to remove identifying signals for mandate 030.