Operations Executive - Asset & Leasing (12m FTC)

The Function & Team  

The Investment Finance and Operations team ensures the smooth financial and operational running of our investment platforms. They manage transactions, reporting and controls that underpin the performance and integrity of our funds and portfolios  

This role sits within Investment Finance & Operations and supports the Private Credit Operations team, which administers and services a lending and leasing platform of approximately £1.8 billion across four funds. The team manages the operational lifecycle from drawdown and account set-up through cash processing, in-life servicing, reconciliations, reporting support and contract closure.  

Key Responsibilities & Role purpose 

The Operations Executive - Asset Finance & Leasing is a hands-on operational role responsible for supporting the effective servicing, control and data integrity of the asset finance and leasing portfolio. The role has been created following the implementation of the new lending system (Aspire), where further work is required to correct historic and migrated data issues and ensure contracts and asset records can be administered accurately throughout their lifecycle. 

The postholder will combine strong asset finance or leasing knowledge with detailed operational delivery. They will work directly in the portfolio and system, investigating issues, correcting data, processing and supporting in-life events, completing reconciliations and strengthening the practical controls used by the Operations team. 

The successful candidate will be expected to get into the detail, take ownership of operational issues through to resolution and leave the portfolio with cleaner data, stronger controls and sustainable day-to-day processes.

Asset finance & leasing operations

• Manage and support the ongoing operational servicing of asset finance and leasing contracts from post-drawdown set-up through to maturity and closure. 

• Maintain accurate customer, contract and asset records within Aspire, including payment schedules, rates and charges, residual values, asset details, ownership, status, key dates and fund or entity allocation. 

• Process and support lifecycle events including amendments, reschedules, extensions, novations, settlements, early terminations, asset disposals, contract closures and other borrower or asset changes. 

• Ensure all contract and asset updates are accurately recorded, appropriately authorised and supported by complete documentation. 

• Investigate operational queries and exceptions, working with Finance, Credit, Investment teams and other stakeholders to resolve issues promptly and accurately.

Billing, payments & account servicing

• Support the accurate preparation and processing of borrower invoices, statements, settlements, fees and other amounts due under asset finance and leasing agreements. 

• Ensure payment schedules, interest, fees and charges held within Aspire reflect the underlying contractual terms and approved changes. 

• Monitor key billing and servicing dates and help ensure operational activity is completed within agreed timelines. 

• Support the allocation and investigation of cash where issues relate to asset finance or leasing contracts, working with Cash Operations and Finance as required. 

• Respond to internal and borrower account queries, investigating differences and ensuring the system record is updated where correction is required. 

Data integrity, remediation & reconciliation

• Review and remediate historic and migrated customer, contract and asset-level data, with particular focus on information required to service leases accurately through their full lifecycle. 

• Identify and resolve inconsistencies involving contract-to-asset relationships, asset splitting, multiple assets under a single agreement, payment schedules, residual values, amendments and contract status. 

• Reconcile Aspire data to source agreements, historic records, cash information, finance ledgers and portfolio reporting, escalating accounting matters to Finance where judgement is required. 

• Investigate root causes of data issues and complete controlled corrections with clear supporting evidence and appropriate independent review. 

• Use Excel and other available data tools to analyse large datasets, identify exceptions, validate corrections and track outstanding remediation items through to completion. 

Arrears, settlements & lifecycle controls

• Monitor and support accurate recording of arrears and overdue balances across the relevant asset finance and leasing portfolio, working with Credit and servicing colleagues where escalation is required. 

• Ensure extensions, settlements, terminations, interest suspensions and other material lifecycle events are processed accurately and in line with approved terms. 

• Maintain appropriate operational evidence, approvals and audit trails for material changes to contracts and asset records. 

• Identify aged or recurring operational exceptions and ensure they are investigated, resolved or escalated with a clear assessment of impact. 

Operational processes & controls

• Review the practical processes and controls used to administer asset finance and leasing contracts and identify opportunities to improve accuracy, consistency and efficiency.