Summary
Overview
Work history
Education
Skills
Timeline
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Kathleen Watson

Kathleen Watson

Mansfield,Notts

Summary

A highly successful leader with a proven track record of demonstrating strong leadership capability inspiring and empowering teams to perform at their best. Kathleen has an extensive knowledge of the Mortgage, Insurance and Protection business gained through experience leading multiple teams in Bancassurance and Mortgages. Kathleen has more recently applied this knowledge and experience to leading on significant change programmes in central business support functions to deliver outstanding performance improvements.

Kathleen consistently achieves stretching business objectives, delivering results whilst balancing the essentials of significant change and adhering to regulatory requirements whilst keeping people at the heart of everything she does.

Kathleen's deep understanding of her teams and the Mortgage, Insurance and Protection business leads her to confidently challenge current ways of working and be proactive in looking for solutions and opportunities to improve outcomes for customers, colleagues and the business.

Kathleen enjoys working in a challenging environment and is at her best when outside her comfort zone challenging not only her thinking but that of others around her as demonstrated in her last two talent moves.

Overview

20
20
years of professional experience

Work history

Manager - Insurance & Protection Customer Dev

Lloyd's Banking Group
Sheffield, South Yorkshire
01.2022 - Current
  • Leading Integrated Home Journey (Protecting What Matters Calculator & Protecting Your and Your Home tool) originating through data and colleague insight to deliver large scale project impacting c1500 colleagues to introduce the first integrated mortgage, insurance and protection journey into Direct Mortgage Sales process to increase commerciality
  • Leading Simplifying Protection Advice launch delivering changes to revolutionise the Protection advice model for Mortgage Advisers increasing accessibility of protection for customers based on their affordability whilst increasing protection take up rate and meeting commercial objectives.
  • Influencing delivery of key changes through a wide stakeholder network (not line led)
  • Using data and insight to understand the problem and opportunity and make recommendations on a solution to address this
  • Influencing/negotiating funding for all aspects of the project changes
  • Engaging and balancing multiple stakeholders across the wider LBG teams, protection partners Scottish Widows and external suppliers.
  • Collaborating with internal and external stakeholders on digital design and providing SME input.
  • Writing/Presenting papers to director level stakeholders gaining approval for roll out.
  • Proactively prioritising aspects of the project to meet challenging deadlines ensuring clear accountability to meet deadlines
  • Through focus groups and continuous engagement with colleagues taking learns from early feedback to enhance future colleague and customer experiences.
  • Lead Catalyst for "Home People and Culture Squad" creating a culture of psychological safety allowing all colleagues to love to work in Home,
  • "Stepped up" to take on additional responsibilities including deputising for Senior Manager absence leading the team, decision making and attending senior leadership meetings.



Senior Manager Insurance & Protection Interim sec

Lloyds Banking Group
Sheffield, South Yorkshire
04.2024 - 07.2024
  • Led engaged team to create inclusive cultures, using Group priorities, purposes and value to guide leadership decisions.
  • Led with empowering and empathetic leadership style, leveraging emotional intelligence and proactive communication to defuse conflict.
  • Led team to land and embed change/new ways of working supporting transformational growth using storytelling to articulate benefits to colleagues.
  • Responsible for team performance, growth and development of key Protection deliverables including Protection Coach, Your Worth Protecting, Protecting Your Shortfall and informing Insurance space app design alongside development of colleague capability materials.
  • Lead SME for Home on Integrated Home Journey - ideating and advising Scottish Widows feature teams on new Protection journey enhancements for customers through new product, process and journey design considering both human and digital channels alongside other tech enablers.
  • Responsible for delivery of initiatives to support good compliant customer outcomes, ensuring improvements to risk.
  • Monitored and reviewed operational performance, aiding improved business strategy to maximise productivity.
  • Developed, recommended and implemented strategies to improve both colleague and customer experience.

Manager Development Team LBoS MDO

Lloyd's Banking Group
Nottingham, Notts
10.2021 - 01.2022
  • Appointed to position as part of "ready now" Talent Placement from circa 100 colleagues.
  • Lead and contributed to Innovation Pioneers related Workstreams/Working/Steering groups driving improvements to LBoS business resulting in changes to diary manager, digital business cards rolled out to all colleagues.
  • Leading LBoS Mortgage Future Deployment project, working with multiple stakeholders and using expertise of the Mortgage business to make recommendations to the Mortgage Director on post covid deployment of 400 MaPAs. Ensuring deployment to the right place at the right time, significantly increasing capacity and supporting unprecedented customer demand and ensuring business objectives exceeded.
  • Building leadership profile by leading and contributing to Pega 8 and Diary Manager changes attending Workstreams/Working/Steering groups representing the LBoS brand and ensuring changes "fit for purpose" by the branch network.
  • Supported across the Development team and wider MDO owning the production of appropriate forum packs, co ordinating and organising calls and inputs from all team members.
  • Gained funding and approval to test a new digital business card initiative with Relationship Consultant colleagues. Initiating an innovative new idea to support non face to face meetings, changes in customer behaviour and supporting business objectives around the environment.
  • Preparing and presenting clear communication updates to internal committees and senior executives on a regular basis to keep them informed of wider changes to the business.
  • Investing in personal development to further career aspirations and supporting other Talent cohort colleagues sharing best practice.

Local Mortgage Manager

Lloyd's Banking Group
Nottingham, Notts
01.2015 - 10.2021
  • Excelled in delivery of key business metrics across all objective measures (customer, people, risk)
  • Leadership demonstrated across branch, remote(site) and hybrid colleagues alongside an ability to influence non customer facing teams.
  • Created an environment of psychological safety and trust inspiring and motivating diverse teams resulting in outstanding colleague engagement feedback including 100% line manager feedback.
  • Team People SME sharing wellbeing and performance best practice to create an environment of trust allowing colleagues to be their best.
  • Wrote and delivered numerous colleague development programmes including Regional Aspire events and National lunch and learn events supporting colleague personal and talent development
  • Inclusion & Diversity Regional lead educating and supporting colleagues to support Group diversity objectives.
  • "Stepped up" to take on additional responsibilities including deputising for Head of Mortgages at senior leadership meetings.
  • Collaborated with Central business functions, providing SME insight instrumental in the design/training/roll out of key initiatives to support the business (Customer Journey Case Manager, Lead LMM Colleague Framework, Online leads, National working lunch)
  • Increased regional MaPA capacity by 20% through taking the lead of a Regional initiative to drive in bound Avaya available capacity and increase the number of customers helped as a result.
  • Presented a best practice session on Ways of Working at the LMM National conference to 500 colleagues including MaPAs and senior leaders, sharing best practice around use of the Colleague Framework activities to support colleagues and drive performance.

Local Bancassurance Manager

Lloyd's Banking Group
Nottingham , Notts
10.2005 - 11.2014
  • Led a team of high performing (Top 10 Nationally) regulated advisers across various teams including Lloyd's Bank and Verde.
  • Exceeded performance metrics across investments, insurance, service, colleague engagement and risk measures. (Top 10 Nationally).
  • Created an environment of psychological safety and trust inspiring and motivating diverse teams resulting in top quartile colleague engagement scores over 7 years.
  • Green risk outcomes throughout role with multiple teams.
  • Stakeholder management to support referrals from Community Bank to Financial advisers (including Business Planning and review).
  • Led on key business strategies to improve and grow the business.
  • Wrote and delivered 1st Lloyd's Bank Financial Adviser Academy for future talent and succession planning resulting in 10 new Financial Advisers being recruited into role over the following 12 months.
  • Head hunted to move to Verde in 2011 and set up the Bancassurance business to support customer investment and insurance needs.
  • Nominated two consecutive years for the Best of the Best National award including team nomination for best team and nomination for best leader.
  • Top customer service scores

Education

Some College (No Degree) - Diploma in Financial Services (Level 4)

Institute of Financial Services
London
01.2011

Some College (No Degree) - J07 Supervision in a Regulated Environment

Chartered Insurance Institute
London
03.2008

Some College (No Degree) - J06 Investment Principles, Markets and Environment

Chartered Insurance Institute
London
01.2008

Some College (No Degree) - CeMAP

Institute of Financial Services
London
01.2005

GCSEs - GCSE 10 - Grades A-C

All Saints Catholic Voluntary Academy
Mansfield
07.1988

Skills

  • Outstanding Business and Customer insight
  • Drives vision and purpose
  • People champion with ability to lead and develop highly engaged teams
  • High personal drive and commitment to achieve individual and team goals including personal development and continuous improvement
  • Action orientated with ability to work individually or as part of a team
  • Expert knowledge of Mortgage, Insurance & Protection business to drive improvement for colleagues and customers
  • Exemplar oral and written communications at all levels and across different audiences
  • Builds and balances highly productive stakeholder relationships at all levels, able to influence and work collaboratively across all areas of the organisation
  • Ability to multi task and work at pace, progressing multiple priorities concurrently
  • Innovative approach to solving complex problems in line with regulatory and conduct requirements
  • Highly collaborative approach to support business and people results
  • High levels of resilience and enjoys working with ambiguity

Timeline

Senior Manager Insurance & Protection Interim sec

Lloyds Banking Group
04.2024 - 07.2024

Manager - Insurance & Protection Customer Dev

Lloyd's Banking Group
01.2022 - Current

Manager Development Team LBoS MDO

Lloyd's Banking Group
10.2021 - 01.2022

Local Mortgage Manager

Lloyd's Banking Group
01.2015 - 10.2021

Local Bancassurance Manager

Lloyd's Banking Group
10.2005 - 11.2014

Some College (No Degree) - Diploma in Financial Services (Level 4)

Institute of Financial Services

Some College (No Degree) - J07 Supervision in a Regulated Environment

Chartered Insurance Institute

Some College (No Degree) - J06 Investment Principles, Markets and Environment

Chartered Insurance Institute

Some College (No Degree) - CeMAP

Institute of Financial Services

GCSEs - GCSE 10 - Grades A-C

All Saints Catholic Voluntary Academy

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