Description
We’re on a mission to be a force for good in lending. Throughout our almost 30-year history, we’ve consistently been recognised as a great place to work; in 2026, Capital One was officially ranked 9th in the UK’s Best Workplaces™ list.
The Senior Director, Account Executive Operations provides executive leadership and strategic vision for the operational business support of our most critical partners. This role is fundamentally about organisational leadership, building scalable structures, defining the operating rhythm, and deeply investing in the coaching and development of a multi-layered team.
Responsibilities
- Executive Leadership & Coaching: Direct, mentor, and coach a multi-layered team of operational leaders (Managers and Directors). Foster a culture of continuous feedback, prioritise leadership development, and build robust succession plans.
- Organisational Design & Structure: Design, implement, and govern comprehensive operational frameworks and standard operating procedures (SOPs). Bring rigorous structure to the department by establishing clear roles, responsibilities, and standardised workflows.
- Strategic Partner Management: Serve as the executive sponsor and ultimate point of escalation for the network’s top-tier, highest-impact strategic partners, managing relationships at the C-suite level.
- Operational Excellence & Risk Mitigation: Define the overarching strategy for mitigating operational gaps and system risks. Oversee the deployment of enterprise-wide initiatives to eliminate failure modes and ensure absolute compliance and documentation integrity.
- Cross-Functional Vision: Champion the full life-cycle of complex, cross-functional transformations. Partner with executive stakeholders across Product, Tech, and Sales to sponsor system enhancements, tool rollouts, and long-term capability building.
- Performance Strategy: Define the key performance indicators (KPIs) and operational metrics for the entire department. Leverage executive-level dashboards to drive continuous improvement, operational efficiency, and resource alignment with corporate goals.
- Change Management: Lead the organisation through periods of growth and change, ensuring comprehensive training, change readiness, and adoption strategies are effectively executed.
- Client Engagement: This is a highly visible, client-facing executive role requiring approximately 25-30% travel.
The skills and experience you need
- Experience in a Senior Director level role
- Senior leadership experience, specifically focused on coaching leaders, organisational design, and scaling complex operational teams
- Experience within the financial services or payments industry
- Demonstrated expertise in strategic planning, capability building, and managing executive-level client relationships within the EMEA market
- Change management experience
What’s in it for you
- Competitive pension and performance-based bonus schemes
- 25 days of annual leave, increasing with tenure
- Access premium care through private medical insurance
- Enhanced parental leave
- Up to £5,000 in funding for external qualifications