Third Party Risk Lead

Own and operate onboarding risk frameworks 

• Design, iterate and operate a fast, risk-based onboarding model for Auto, Payments and Retail Finance partners within clear, proportionate end-to-end risk frameworks. 

• Define and maintain risk appetite guardrails, decision-making authorities, and minimum control standards for partner onboarding and changes to partner operating models, aligned to Zopa’s broader risk management model and appetite monitoring approach  

• Ensure distributor/partner risks (including failures in onboarding or ongoing management) are clearly captured and managed as part of the bank’s operational risk taxonomy for distribution methods/intermediaries 

Embed data-driven risk management 

• Translate risk appetite into measurable metrics and high-quality MI for senior governance, using a robust set of KRIs/KCIs/KPIs and clear thresholds/trigger points 

• Build and calibrate monitoring that provides early warning indicators and actively manages risk exposure across the full partner lifecycle  

• Provide clear, structured risk analysis and recommendations to support decisions that balance risk and reward within appetite  

Drive automation & tooling 

• Partner with Product and Engineering to digitise onboarding and monitoring workflows, converting policy requirements into scalable, system-executable controls (e.g., automated checks, evidence capture, attestations, monitoring triggers). 

• Help ensure control performance is measurable and evidenced appropriately, aligned with expectations for control ownership, operation, and keeping risk/control data up to date  

Continuous control improvement 

• Proactively identify weaknesses and friction points across onboarding and monitoring; implement enhancements that improve speed, clarity, and resilience. 

• Use lessons learned (issues, incidents, near misses) to strengthen frameworks and controls, consistent with the “response and learning” cycle in Zopa’s risk model  

Act as a commercial risk partner 

• Provide structured challenge and clear trade-off analysis to enable growth within appetite. 

• Build strong cross-functional partnerships across 1LoD/2LoD and business teams, influencing outcomes through clear communication of complex topics to senior stakeholders