Underwriting Team Lead

OverviewWe’re reinventing payments. In less than four years, Dojo disrupted the market to become the largest and most loved acquirer in the UK. Our payments infrastructure, purpose-built for in‑person commerce, is game changing.Now, over 150,000 customers across four countries choose to transact billions with us every year. But we’re just getting started. Our people are the driving force behind our success. They are our greatest investment and our ultimate competitive advantage. We hire exceptional people and give them the autonomy, trust, and ownership to thrive. The results take care of themselves.The RoleAs the International Underwriting Lead, you will play a crucial role in enabling Dojo’s rapid expansion into key international markets, initially focusing on Italy and Spain. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced underwriting expert to step into a pivotal leadership position, guiding and strategically developing a team of international underwriting professionals. You will combine your proven underwriting expertise with a passion for process improvement and team enablement, ensuring robust risk assessment and efficient onboarding flows for our growing international merchant base. Reporting to the Head of Credit, you will be instrumental in embedding best practices, delivering training, and fostering strong relationships with senior stakeholders across our international operations.What You Will DoLead and Develop International Underwriters: Provide day‑to‑day guidance, coaching, and support to a team of international underwriters, with a focus on those based in markets such as Italy and Spain. Act as a primary point of contact for complex escalations and critical queries, offering expertise and feedback to foster their development and decision‑making capabilities, and empowering them to achieve ambitious goals.Deliver Underwriting Training and Onboarding Strategy: Design, implement and deliver comprehensive training programmes for new joiners and existing team members within the international underwriting function. Ensure a consistent understanding of underwriting policies, local regulations, and best practices that align with global standards.Enhance International Underwriting Processes: Strategically review, identify and lead initiatives to improve international underwriting processes and boarding flows. Implement effective end‑to‑end solutions to enhance efficiency, support long‑term scalability, and streamline operations for international expansion, including exploring ways to integrate automation where feasible.Contribute to International Risk Strategy: Work closely with the Underwriting Manager and regional stakeholders to provide insights that inform our international risk appetite and strategic expansion plans. Ensure underwriting practices align with local market nuances whilst maintaining consistent global standards.Collaborate with International Stakeholders: Build and maintain strong working partnerships with international senior stakeholders, including Commercial, Compliance, and Country Managers. Proactively facilitate effective communication to resolve challenges and ensure that underwriting decisions support regional objectives.Conduct Complex Underwriting Assessments: Continue to handle and act as a senior escalation authority for complex or escalated international merchant applications, applying expert judgement to assess risk and make informed decisions in line with company policy.Support Operational Excellence: Lead and own contributions to the overall operational efficiency of the international underwriting function by monitoring performance metrics, identifying trends, and recommending and implementing improvements to processes and tools.What You Will BringProven Underwriting Expertise: Extensive experience (typically 4+ years) as an Underwriter, ideally within the payments or financial services sector, with a strong understanding of credit, fraud, and AML risks.Demonstrated Leadership Potential: A clear passion for developing others and a readiness to take on direct people management responsibilities, including coaching, training, and providing constructive feedback to team members.International Acumen: Experience working within or supporting international markets, with an understanding of diverse regulatory environments and market practices. Fluency in English and either Italian or Spanish is essential.Process Improvement Mindset: A proactive approach to identifying inefficiencies and a track record of contributing to process improvements that enhance operational effectiveness and support business growth.Effective Communication and Collaboration: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to build rapport and work collaboratively with diverse teams and senior stakeholders across different geographies.Problem‑Solving Skills: An ability to analyse complex situations, identify root causes, and propose practical, effective solutions.Adaptability: Comfortable working in a fast‑paced and evolving environment, demonstrating flexibility and initiative.Educational Background: Degree‑qualified (or equivalent experience) in a business, finance, or related discipline.Dojo Home and AwayWe believe our best work happens when we collaborate in‑person. These “together days” foster communication, drive innovation and spark our brightest ideas. That’s why we have an office‑first culture. This means working from the office 4+ days per week. With offices across Europe, we know a thing or two about staying dynamic. Need deep focus? Head to a quiet zone. Big ideas? Collaboration spaces have you covered. Do work that counts, in spaces made for you.Question : what’s curious, relentless, and customer obsessed?If you’re keen to know the answer, you’re a third of the way to meeting our Dojo values.You’re curious. You have a real desire to learn and create.You’re relentless. You keep going even when it’s easier not to.You’re customer‑obsessed. You know how important customers are to what you do.Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at DojoFrom local bakeries to well‑known eateries, Dojo payments serve over 150,000 places across the UK. And something that’s fundamental to creating relevant, innovative products at Dojo is to build teams to reflect the diversity of the businesses we serve. Our drive to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion is closely linked to helping employees thrive and innovating for better customer experiences.To make sure you’re the best you can be throughout the recruitment process, let us know if you need any extra adjustments to help you thrive.Visit dojo.careers to find out more about our benefits and what it’s like to work at Dojo, or check out our LinkedIn and Instagram pages.#J-18808-Ljbffr