Dealer Credit Specialist

Are you an experienced commercial credit professional fluent in French and English? Ford Credit Europe (FCE) is looking for a Dealer Credit Specialist (DCS) to join our team at the Manchester Business Centre. This is a high-profile, highly visible position primarily managing wholesale lending and credit risk for Ford franchised dealerships in France, with opportunities to support other European markets.

In this role, you will have direct exposure to senior European leadership, national sales divisions, and global credit committees. You will manage lending to a diverse range of dealer borrowers, including complex and high-risk accounts, ensuring our portfolio remains secure and losses are minimized.

We operate a flexible hybrid model, requiring a minimum of 3 days per week at our Manchester Business Centre, with the potential to increase to 4 days in the future, offering a great balance of collaborative teamwork and remote flexibility.

• Portfolio Management: Manage the full-cycle credit risk of an assigned commercial dealer lending portfolio, focusing on complex, high-exposure, and medium-to-high-risk accounts.
• Risk Mitigation: Collaborate with external advisors (lawyers, accountants) and third-party funders to establish and protect Ford Credit's security and collateral positions.
• Deal Structuring: Proactively structure, negotiate, and finalize non-standard or ad-hoc credit proposals to minimize financial risk.
• Present to Committees: Prepare, structure, and present high-quality credit proposals and risk mitigation strategies to senior European and US-based credit committees.
• Relationship Building: Develop and maintain strong partnerships with dealership principals, regional sales teams, and internal legal/operations departments.
• Governance & Reporting: Participate in and lead key governance meetings, portfolio reviews, and risk committees.
• Coaching & Quality: Conduct quality reviews of credit proposals prepared by junior analysts, providing constructive coaching and feedback to maintain high underwriting standards.

Essential Requirements:

• Bilingual Fluency: Professional fluency in both English and French (written and spoken), including the ability to read, write, and interpret professional business documents in French.
• Credit Expertise: Proven experience in commercial/corporate credit analysis, underwriting, or commercial lending.
• Financial Acumen: Strong ability to analyze complex corporate financial statements (P&L, balance sheets, cash flow) and identify risk indicators.
• Risk & Security Knowledge: A solid understanding of how lenders protect themselves (e.g., assets, guarantees, and collateral).
• Communication & Influence: Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the confidence to defend credit decisions to senior executives.
• Autonomy: Ability to work independently, prioritize a high-volume portfolio, and meet tight deadlines.

 

Desirable Requirements:

• Fluency in Spanish and/or Italian.
• Educated to degree level in Finance, Business, or a related field (or equivalent hands-on commercial lending experience).

 

Additional Information:

The Company is committed to diversity and equality of opportunity for all and is opposed to any form of less favourable treatment or harassment on the grounds of race, religion or belief, sex, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability

This position is based in the Manchester Business Centre, and it is expected the successful candidate will be able to attend the Manchester Business Centre for typically 3 days a week with potential to rise to 4 days in the future and remain flexible on the days they are required to attend the office according to business requirements.

As part of our pre-employment checks process, successful candidates will be required to undergo a criminal record check. This will be conducted in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and applied only to unspent convictions.