Lauren Gardiner

Manage and lead a team of Customer Assurance Specialists delivering Customer Outcomes Testing and the Customer Assurance Governance Framework across the Society’s core product journeys (Mortgages, Savings and Insurance) in order to evaluate customer outcome delivery and identify opportunities for improvement. Overseeing completion of re-performance activity across key operational and customer facing departments including mortgage advice, lending, insurance, complaints, customers in vulnerable circumstances, collections and Branch transactional activity, to ensure the consistent application and adherence of the QA framework.

· Coach, mentor and develop multi-disciplined Customer Assurance Specialists across customer outcome testing and QA activity.

· Lead team and departmental calibration and consistency sessions to ensure alignment in testing outcomes and QA activity.

· Provide timely and high-quality reporting on team outputs/ findings that proactively and positively influence customer outcome delivery, the management of colleague competence and and oversight assurance on first-line adherence to the QA framework (including volumes and scope).

· Effectively plan resource and allocate workloads to ensure robust/ risk-based testing coverage across key operational and customer facing departments.

· Collate reports to present appropriate updates to relevant Operational and Risk working groups.

· Maintain sound knowledge of any/ all technical specialist areas and industry best practice, providing and sharing specialist knowledge and insights to promote a customer outcome focused culture across all first-line Operational Teams.

Responsible for the delivery of the Quality Monitoring Frameworks and independent monitoring of Mortgage and Insurance Consultants, by managing a team of Quality Monitoring Specialists.

· Provide expert monitoring of mortgage advice and insurance product provision whilst working collaboratively with first line management to provide input to the first line competency scheme, supporting the Society’s strategic and corporate objectives, and the delivery of good customer outcomes.

· Lead progress meetings with key Stakeholders across the business. Continually building and maintaining strong Stakeholder relationships and the ability to successfully interact with colleagues at all levels.

· Provide day to day support, coaching and development to Quality Monitoring colleagues and detailed workload planning. Working within a defined Knowledge & Competence scheme, I take responsibility of maintaining my own competency, CPD, including maintenance of accurate records of monitoring and identify potential development needs for Line Managers to action.

· Responsible for the oversight of Mortgage Managers, Regional Managers and my direct reports adhering to the Society’s framework ensuring they achieve and maintain competency across mortgage advice, insurance advice and execution only customer interactions.