Available Position (Company name withheld)

Loan Market - Chief Operating Officer

Reporting to Group Executive Loan Market

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking a highly influential Chief Operating Officer (COO) to act as the strategic partner and "force multiplier" for the Executive Chairman and Founder of Loan Market as we embark on the next era for the Loan Market business.

This is not a traditional "operations manager" role. You will be the strategic architect, critical to scaling our franchise network. This requires a unique fusion of:

• Operational rigour
• Commercial acumen
• Expertise in navigating complex business landscapes

The ideal candidate is a master problem-solver who excels in ambiguous environments, assumes total ownership of high-stakes initiatives, and can seamlessly transition between board-level strategy and detailed operational execution. Given our continued rapid growth, and dynamic market conditions, you must be highly adaptable and resilient, comfortable with shifting priorities and rapid iteration.

This role will be largely internally facing, but will have contact with the network. There will be some travel involved. It will be focussed on Australian business.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy, Leadership, and Governance

• Serve as a member of the Loan Market Senior Leadership Team (SLT), actively participating in the creation, refinement and co-ordinating the execution of the LM strategy.
• Lead the transition plan from the current state franchising network to the future state operating model. This will include helping state leaders plan their state’s transition and keep the balance between local flexibility and national consistency.
• Manage key stakeholder communications to ensure all key parties are informed.
• Run weekly leadership meetings to maintain operational alignment.  Responsible for driving the leadership team on execution of strategy, delivery against LM KPIs, tracking project/ outcome status and removing blockers to drive outcomes.
• Oversee and coordinate key LM projects and national programs/ events, and represent LM customers/ business in key LMG initiatives/ programs.
• Responsible for managing and reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs), recruitment metrics, sales results, revenues, and other relevant metrics, with a focus on identifying variances from the established plan.
• Have your finger on the pulse - to know what is happening across the group and to be able to summarise key opportunities and challenges. Ensure that key issues for resolution are escalated to the decision makers and that we are addressing the key issues in our network comms.
• Lead and provide support to the specialist functions that differentiate our LM strategy - namely business coaching, profit teams and marketing. 
• Preparing documents for Exco and Board on key LM matters

Business Enablement and Development

• Operational Agility: Transform complex strategies into clear frameworks and actionable choices, providing the insights needed to solve the business's most difficult scaling challenges.
• Collaborate with state leaders to develop individual state/ business plans and resolve specific challenges.
• Develop new franchise policies in consultation with relevant stakeholders.
• Collate and communicate insights and ensure that we are reporting against KPIS and KRAs
• Ensure the Loan Market Way (LMW) - business and broker, is kept current with necessary information. Work closely with the LMG broker education team.
• Manage the recruitment and Go to market/ training plan to support business/ market share growth and success.
• Manage the Recognition & Rewards (R&R) and events program.

Operational Coordination and Support

• Act as the Senior stakeholder/ primary interface with other LMG aggregation functions, including Operations, Lender Partnerships, Compliance, and Legal.
• Liaise with key LM leaders to prioritise and coordinate delivery of reporting requirements.
• Coordinate the management of lender complaints and compliance issues with state leaders .
• Provide executive support to the Executive Chairman (Sam) by managing meetings and project follow-ups, documenting decisions and actions, including circulating content and tracking comments/actions. 

Note: This role will work closely with the Finance Business Partner (FBP) who will support you with provision of financial measures support and insights

ESSENTIAL SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• Senior Leadership Experience: A minimum of 10 years in senior leadership is required, ideally within a COO, Sales Leadership/Operations, Franchise Development, B2B2C, or SaaS environment.
• Commercial & Financial Mastery: Possess a deep and demonstrated understanding of business strategy and finance. The successful candidate must look beyond task management to comprehend the commercial rationale and bottom-line impact of every decision.

Execution and Influence

• Strategic & Operational Capability: Must be able to think strategically while simultaneously executing with pace and operational excellence. A proven ability to 'get things done'.
• Judgment and Decision-Making: A track record of consistently exercising excellent judgment and making sound decisions.
• Exceptional Influencing Skills: The ability to effectively influence peers across the organisation to find solutions and achieve desired outcomes.

Communication and Mindset

• Executive Communication & Stakeholder Management: Expert proficiency in executive-level communication and stakeholder engagement. Must be able to synthesise complex information into clear, actionable insights and maintain composure under extreme pressure.
• Broker & Customer Focus: An obsession with the broker and consumer experience, ensuring all offerings deliver tangible value.
• Change Leadership: Proven ability to lead and embed change effectively, taking people on the journey so they feel ownership rather than feeling change is being imposed upon them.
• A Trusted adviser: to Group Executive and leadership team, ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and professioanlism 

Desirable Experience:

• Significant experience within a franchising environment and/ or a repeatable framework such as in a SaaS business.
• Previous experience in the financial services sector is beneficial, but not mandatory.