My alarm goes off at…
…early. I set my alarm at 6.15am during the working week.
I’ve got a couple of teams who, due to our flexible-working policy, choose to start work at 8am. So, whether I am in the office or working from home, I am always logged on before that to make sure I’m on hand to help.
I wanted to work in the mortgage industry because…
…I arrived in the financial services industry by accident. When I graduated, I wanted to use my geography degree to become a town planner. The more I saw through attending interviews, the more it put me off.
We consider how we want to make continuous improvement and real, effective change, and how we can work together differently to deliver that
I started looking for a temporary role, and landed a job doing credit searches. That was 21 years ago and I have never looked back. Underwriting and people management are a great fit for my skills. I love bringing things together, finding solutions and supporting others.
Something that surprised me about my job is…
…I’ve been at Vernon Building Society for 18 months and I’m still surprised by the sheer breadth of responsibility that I have here compared to roles I’ve had before. It’s fantastic!
My remit is really large so I have been on a big learning curve, which I have relished. I’ve been able to gather knowledge about processes and tools that you may take for granted elsewhere.
I always judge my success through the success of others
A big positive aspect of working for a smaller employer is that you get a much larger breadth of responsibility, rather than having a repetitive, specialist role. It’s very satisfying.
A misconception about my role is…
…I think most people assume that, as I’m an underwriting manager, I manage a team of underwriters.
I do have 10 direct reports but in reality I do so much more to support the society, in so many ways.
My typical day entails…
…I usually start by setting up expectations for the day with the five underwriters and five mortgage processors that I manage.
We communicate, generally, via Teams, and I tend to catch up individually with people throughout the morning to support them on any issues they may have around cases, completions or data, etcetera.
A big positive aspect of working for a smaller employer is that you get a much larger breadth of responsibility
I work quite closely with our sales team — who refer complex lending decision cases our way — as well as manage enquiries from our customer service and quality assurance teams.
I also get the opportunity to work on some of the longer-term, visionary work for Vernon Building Society. We’ll consider how we want to make continuous improvement and real, effective change, and how we can work together differently to deliver that.
We’re doing quite a lot of this type of bigger-thinking work at the moment and it’s exciting to be part of this.
A perk of the job is…
…the people, definitely. I get to work with a fantastic and diverse group. They make my job rewarding and fun.
I work quite closely with our sales team, as well as manage enquiries from our customer service and quality assurance teams
My favourite work memory is…
…I recently got to interview somebody from another team and give them a job as an underwriter, on the basis that I could see what they were capable of and that they had unfulfilled potential. I’m delighted to say they have been in their new post for three weeks and are smashing it.
I always judge my success through the success of others and am really motivated by nurturing and developing talent and retaining good people.
To unwind after work, I…
…I have four children and three cats, so we have a busy household. The point where I relax the most is at 9pm when the kids are in bed and the cats have decided to stop scrapping. I get to sit down and watch a boxset with my partner and drink a beer.
I love bringing things together, finding solutions and supporting others
It often takes us an hour to decide on what to watch, but it’s still the best part of the day. I’ve got back into my 1990s blockbuster movies at the moment, which I’m not sure my partner loves but I do.
We’ve watched The Rock and Air Force One on the past couple of weekends. Brilliant.
This article featured in the November 2024 edition of Mortgage Strategy.
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