Tell us about your journey at Vanquis…
I was actually introduced to the bank through some work with our parent company Provident Financial. After that engagement finished and I was approached for a new role that had been created in the bank called a Compliance Business Partner – so that was the first role I did, working for the Head of Compliance at the time. Since then I’ve worked as Chief of Staff for our Director of Cards to get more experience in the first line operation and seeing what it takes to run a credit card business. As of March this year I moved back to Compliance where I’m now Head of Compliance Advisory so I manage the Business Partners and support the business achieve their objectives giving them an opinion on regulatory compliance.
What’s the Compliance team at Vanquis like?
We have a great mix of ages, experience, people who’ve progressed from our call centre, people who’ve had external experience working for the FCA and the FOS. It’s a really nice dynamic and there’s lots of people with different perspectives, which helps us give a really well rounded support to the rest of the bank.
What motivates you in your role?
What really motivates me is the chance to have an impact on our customers and the way that we treat them and products they get so they generally have a great experience when they come on board with us that exceeds their expectations.
What’s different about Vanquis to other places you’ve worked?
One of the things I’ve really enjoyed about my time at Vanquis is that leaders are always looking out for the key skills that you’ve got and where they see you in the future. Previously it’s always been driven by myself, but here I feel like it’s a really good balance between what I would like to achieve and where I would like to be, and where other leaders see my potential. If you have the right attitude and skills, you’ll be given the opportunity to progress and develop – I’ve definitely seen that in my three years here.
What’s the most challenging thing in your role?
Keeping up to speed with all the regulatory changes that are out there. Vanquis is an ambitious, fast growing firm with new initiatives always round the corner so it’s really important for me to have the knowledge I need to be able to give the best advice possible. It’s a challenge but also one of my favourite things about the job because no two days are the same and you really do get involved in every aspect of the business.
What’s the most exciting thing you’re working on at the moment?
I’d say the aligned assurance approach that being led by one of my team. It’s an initiative she’s kicked off to better explain how the different lines of defence should work. Having a consistent message that’s clear for our regulators, customers and colleagues is key for strengthening the bank.
In your opinion, what does it take to be successful?
I think it’s an ongoing thing to be successful or to be seen as successful but for me the crucial thing is how you deal and how you relate to people. My job can be very technical and very specialist but in order to do a good job I need to translate that for the different areas that we work in and for all of the different the colleagues that make up Vanquis. Knowing the people you work with and having a good healthy working relationship with them is probably they key thing.
What are your favourite things about working at Vanquis?
There’s a really diverse range of people of all ages, lots of different insights so it’s a fun place to come into every day. I also really like the size of the bank – it’s not so big that I’m just a number and you can’t really see the end product of your work but not so small that you can’t make any meaningful change or have an impact on customers or the industry in your day to day role.
Any advice for someone thinking of applying for a role at Vanquis?
Check out our LinkedIn/Instagram and other social media pages. There’s a lot of information about the bank and it’ll give you a good insight into what working here might be like.