Head of Credit Operations - Germany (m/w/d) - Festanstellung

About Us 

YouLend is a rapidly growing FinTech that is the preferred embedded financing platform for many of the world’s leading e-commerce platforms, tech companies, and Payment Service Providers. Our software platform enables our partners to extend their value proposition by offering flexible financing products in their own branding, to their merchant base, without capital at risk.  

We are owned by the leading Private Equity company, EQT, and have grown +100% year-on-year since 2020. We are headquartered in London, UK, but are also present in several European countries as well as the United States where we service our partners, including eBay, Amazon, Just Eat, Shopify, and Stripe.  

Last year, the importance of the German market increased significantly, mirroring the growth in financing volume. For 2026, YouLend expects the financing volume disbursed in this region to more than double, while simultaneously supporting even more partners. Against this background, it was decided to open a new office in Germany to specifically support our growth ambitions.

The Role 

YouLend is seeking a Head of Credit Operations (Germany) (m/f/d). In this role, you will work closely with the Head of European Operations and support the further development of our newest location in Germany. You will assume full responsibility for building, leading, and developing the German-speaking Credit Operations team, which is expected to grow to over 25 employees within the next 12 months.

The Credit Operations team is the central element of the YouLend production chain and is responsible for approving and rejecting financing applications, determining appropriate exposures, and pricing the terms for all deals in the pipeline. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Credit Eligibility: Qualifying incoming applications and preparing cases for underwriting.
• Underwriting: Assessing credit risks and viability, approving appropriate financing amounts and terms.
• KYC/KYB: Conducting KYC and KYB checks in accordance with local regulatory requirements.

Your primary goal is to ensure your team processes financing applications efficiently and to a high standard (measured by productivity and quality), while achieving high approval rates and low default rates. You are responsible for building, training, and developing existing and future team members to achieve these goals. You will also work closely with the Credit Risk, Compliance, Product, Sales, and Commercial teams to continuously improve our underwriting processes and capabilities.

This role is focused on sustainably improving results, processes, and efficiency in the German market. You will work independently, build a high-performing team, act proactively, and achieve ambitious goals. You possess a deep understanding of the end-to-end application process and are able to successfully implement strategies to streamline processes and improve the overall customer experience. The position requires strong analytical and conceptual skills, as well as excellent communication and interpersonal skills, to clearly communicate and successfully implement changes.

Requirements

Responsibilities: 

• Building and developing our German-speaking Credit Operations team from the ground up, including recruiting and developing employees (over 25 people planned within 12 months).
• Overall responsibility for the performance of the German Credit Operations team with the goal of achieving maximum efficiency while maintaining high approval rates and low default rates.
• Recruiting, training, and continuously developing existing and future team members to achieve these goals. This includes, among other things:
• Driving KPI reporting and monitoring to increase growth and efficiency,
• Identifying and closing process gaps,
• Providing ongoing training, coaching, and mentoring to the teams,
• Establishing quality assurance measures to ensure high standards of accuracy and consistency across all Credit Operations teams, including regular audits to verify compliance with internal policies and processes.
• Empowering a high-performing team through data-driven decision-making and the translation of insights into clear action plans with measurable improvements: analysing drop-offs, bottlenecks and friction points, and implementing targeted strategies to improve relevant KPIs.
• Close collaboration with Credit Risk, Compliance, Product, Sales, and Commercial to continuously optimize our underwriting tools, processes, and policies.
• Acting as a change leader, implementing improvements quickly and effectively and embedding them sustainably within the teams – with minimal disruption to daily operations and high acceptance.

The ideal candidate will have the following skillset:  

• Proven experience in leading teams (ideally 10+ people) as well as in coaching and developing direct reports. Ideally, you also have experience in managing managers.
• At least 2 years of experience in a rapidly growing FinTech company, in the financial services sector, at a bank, or in a leading strategy consultancy. Ideally, you also have direct experience in underwriting, KYC/KYB, or payments.
• Experience in project management in dynamic, fast-paced environments such as startups or scale-ups.
• Hands-on mentality: You are proactive, act with urgency, drive projects forward, remove obstacles, and consistently implement changes.
• Proven track record of achieving ambitious goals.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong change management skills and experience in managing change processes.

Desirable skills: 

• Strong analytical skills, problem-solving abilities, and experience working with large datasets (e.g., SQL, Python, R).
• Experience in SME financing in Germany, ideally with cash advances.

Benefits

Why join YouLend?  

• Award-Winning Workplace: YouLend has been recognised as one of the “Best Places to Work in 2024 and 2025” by the Sunday Times for being a supportive, diverse, and rewarding workplace. 

• Award-Winning Fintech: YouLend has been recognised as a “Top 250 Fintech Worldwide” company by CNBC. 

It’s just getting fun: 

• We have developed powerful solutions, won some significant partnerships, and are growing at a rapid pace.  

• But the global opportunity is still massive, and YouLend is a raw organisation where we are only just getting started.  

Lots of upsides: 

• High-growth (>100% growth during 2022 and 2023), so clear outlook to compensation (bonus or share option appreciation) and career growth (through growth with business).  

• Well-capitalised with supportive private equity backing.  

• Part of Banking Circle Group with a fully licensed Luxembourg bank, which can provide a balance sheet and support European expansion in otherwise complex regulated markets.  

Motivating work environment:  

• A high-quality team that pushes each other to succeed through direct feedback and aligned incentives.  

• Strong and transparent team culture, we have each other’s backs.  

• Independent work environment where results matter.   

• Data-driven culture and emphasis on speed (anti-red tape).  

Start date: As soon as possible

Salary: Competitive market salary plus bonus

Location: Berlin, Germany (office-based position)