Senior Manager Credit Risk

Elevate your career, perform when it counts: become part of our global financial consulting evolution!

Your role:

Zanders is an international consultancy specialising in Risk, Treasury and SaaS solutions. From our origins in the Netherlands we now work across Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. Within Risk we cover every financial and non-financial risk type, including ESG and AI, for banks, insurers, lenders and asset managers. As a Senior Manager in our Financial Risk team in Utrecht, you lead Zanders' credit risk modelling delivery in the Dutch market and carry commercial responsibility for the portfolio.

You combine hands-on quantitative authority over PD, LGD and CCF model development with independent ownership of commercial opportunities, from first conversation through proposal and pricing to client onboarding. You direct delivery teams of four or more consultants, setting methodology and reviewing their work, including the code, while relieving the practice lead of end-to-end deal management.

You stay hands-on. Credit risk modelling at Zanders means reviewing, and where needed writing, model code yourself in Python, working with client data in Databricks or a comparable platform, and translating IRB, IFRS 9 and stress testing requirements into model design choices clients and their supervisors can defend. You act as trusted adviser to senior stakeholders at banks, build and maintain your network in the Dutch and Benelux financial sector, and turn it into qualified opportunities. You also coach consultants on their career development, and contribute to how the practice builds its credit risk expertise.

Your background will be in a consultancy specialising in financial risk, or in the model development, model validation or risk management function of a bank or lender, with demonstrable commercial ownership of client relationships.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead credit risk model development engagements end to end, owning scope, planning, budget and quality of the deliverables.

• Direct teams of four or more consultants, setting the methodology, reviewing the work and keeping delivery on track.

• Translate IRB, IFRS 9 and stress testing requirements into model design choices clients and their supervisors can defend.

• Review and, where needed, write model code yourself in Python, working with client data in Databricks or a comparable platform.

• Act as trusted adviser to senior stakeholders at banks on credit risk models, policies and governance.

• Build and maintain your network in the Dutch and Benelux financial sector, and turn it into qualified opportunities.

• Own commercial opportunities from lead through proposal and pricing to client onboarding.

• Identify cross-sell and up-sell opportunities within existing client relationships.

• Develop and share credit risk expertise across the practice through articles, training and speaking at industry events.

• Coach consultants on their long-term career development, not only on project work.

• Safeguard workload and wellbeing within your teams, and give clear direction on performance.

• Contribute to internal initiatives that strengthen the Financial Risk practice and the wider One Zanders culture.

Skills to be successful

Essential

• A Master's degree in econometrics, mathematics, physics, quantitative finance, statistics or a related quantitative field.

• 8 or more years of experience in credit risk model development or validation, with an extensive track record of taking PD, LGD or CCF models through to implementation.

• Detailed working knowledge of IRB, IFRS 9 and stress testing requirements and how supervisors apply them in practice.

• Strong hands-on programming in Python, including experience working in Databricks or a comparable data platform, sufficient to review and write model code yourself.

• Experience leading teams of several consultants or analysts on complex quantitative engagements.

• Demonstrable commercial ownership: taking an opportunity from first conversation through to a signed and onboarded client.

• Fluent in English.

Also valuable

• An established network in the Dutch or Benelux banking sector.

• SAS, R, MATLAB or SQL alongside Python.

• Experience with supervisory processes such as TRIM missions, IMIs and OSIs.

• Exposure to adjacent risk areas such as IRRBB, liquidity stress testing, ESG risk or model risk management.

• Experience coaching or line-managing consultants.

• A relevant professional certification such as FRM or CFA.

• Dutch language proficiency.

• Willingness to travel occasionally for client work.