VP - Operations Product Manager

Updraft. Helping you make changes that pay off. Updraft is an award winning, FCA-authorised, high-growth fintech based in London. Our vision is to revolutionise the way people spend and think about money, by automating the day to day decisions involved in managing money and mainstream borrowings like credit cards, overdrafts and other loans.

• A 360 degree spending view across all your financial accounts (using Open banking)
• A free credit report with tips and guidance to help improve your credit score
• Native AI led personalised financial planning to help users manage money, pay off their debts and improve their credit scores
• Intelligent lending products to help reduce cost of credit

We have built scale and are getting well recognised in the UK fintech ecosystem.

• 800k+ users of the mobile app that has helped users swap c £500 m of costly credit-card debt for smarter credit, putting hundreds of thousands on a path to better financial health
• The product is highly rated by our customers. We are rated 4.8 on Trustpilot, 4.8 on the Play Store, and 4.4 on the iOS Store
• We are selected for Technation Future Fifty 2025 - a program that recognizes and supports successful and innovative scaleups to IPOs - 30% of UK unicorns have come out of this program.
• Updraft once again featured on the Sifted 100 UK startups - among only 25 companies to have made the list over both years 2024 and 2025

We are looking for exceptional talent to join us on our next stage of growth with a compelling proposition - purpose you can feel, impact you can measure, and ownership you'll actually hold. Expect a hybrid, London-hub culture where cross-functional squads tackle real-world problems with cutting-edge tech; generous learning budgets and wellness benefits; and the freedom to experiment, ship, and see your work reflected in customers' financial freedom. At Updraft, you'll help build a fairer credit system. The Role The VP Operations will lead Updraft's strategic focus to re-engineer the business processes with the usage of AI agents and traditional process mining and automation. The role will be responsible for KPI across all operational areas - customer success, underwriting, collections and payments and across customer facing and back-office work. This role owns end-to-end improvements across Operations meeting relevant KPI targets and ensuring the right change controls and business readiness processes are in place. You will also be responsible for strategic planning on operational costs, performance, effectiveness and use of 3rd parties. The successful candidate will need to be able to set the overall strategy through leadership and collaboration whilst also getting hands-on and working closely with engineering to deliver improvements and own the product backlog for operations. The position is ideal for a leader with deep experience in consumer lending, particularly within fast-paced, technology-driven financial services environments. You will be reporting to the COO. Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Define and execute the overall Operations Strategy to maximise both performance and efficiency
• Process Optimisation: Lead on automation and AI development, identifying use cases, building solutions and continually improving through testing
• Change Management: Own the change management process, ensuring full business readiness prior to projects going live
• Resource & Cost Management: Forecast required FTE based on expected portfolio growth whilst managing Operations costs within budget
• Third Parties: Manage the relationship with some of the key third parties, including debt purchasers
• New Product Development: Engage in new product discussions, providing Operations requirements and ensuring good customer outcomes
• Team Management: Lead, mentor, and grow a team, fostering a culture of accuracy, efficiency, and customer-centric decision-making
• Collaboration and Stakeholder Management: Work closely with Data Science, Engineering, Compliance, and customer facing teams to ensure decisions support both customer outcomes and regulatory standards

Requirements The perfect addition to our team will have:

• Experience: Strong background in analytical or technical roles, with at least 3 years in a leadership role
• AI & Automation: Proven track record of improving efficiency through use of AI and automation
• Change Management: Experience of leading large-scale change initiatives
• Analytical Skills: exceptional numerical and analytical skills, with experience in data-driven decision-making
• Leadership: Proven experience in leading teams and managing cross-functional initiatives
• Communication: Strong interpersonal skills to collaborate with stakeholders and provide updates to the leadership team effectively

Benefits

• Flexible hybrid working
• Pension and Medical plan
• Opportunities for career growth within a high-growth fintech