What a Credit Strategy Project Really Looks Like

Two years ago, Bianca-Rose joined Zopa's graduate cohort knowing she wanted to work in analytics, but with little idea of what Credit Strategy actually involved.

Since then, she’s had the opportunity to lead complex projects form analysis through to implementation, work with teams across the business and help shape decisions that have a real impact on customers. She’s now written an article to share her experience and what that ownership looks like in practice:

When people hear "Credit Strategy Analyst", they often picture someone spending most of their time writing SQL and building dashboards. Analysis is certainly part of the job. But some of the most interesting work I've done at Zopa has looked much more like project management, stakeholder management and problem solving than people might expect.

A good example is a six-month affordability project I worked on recently. The objective was straightforward: review and strengthen affordability assessments across our lending products to make sure they remained aligned, robust and delivered the right outcomes for customers. What made the project interesting was its scale. Rather than focusing on a single product, it covered personal loans, credit cards, credit limit increases, auto finance and point-of-sale lending.

By the end of the programme, I had been involved in everything from identifying opportunities for improvement through to implementation planning and outcome monitoring. It was a good reminder that, when analysts are given ownership, the role can extend far beyond producing analysis.

The first challenge was understanding what already existed.

Each product had evolved over time and developed its own affordability framework, data structures and processes. Before we could identify improvements, we needed a clear picture of how affordability was being assessed across the business and where approaches were similar or different.

A large part of the early work involved creating a common analytical foundation that allowed us to compare products consistently rather than treating each one as a separate exercise. Once that foundation was in place, we could identify opportunities and build a prioritised roadmap. That groundwork proved valuable because it allowed us to focus attention on the areas where changes could have the greatest impact.

My specific focus within the programme was improving part of our affordability assessment related to how essential customer expenditure is estimated.

The interesting part wasn't simply analysing the problem. It was owning the entire lifecycle of the change. I started by understanding the different approaches used across products and identifying opportunities for greater consistency. From there, I developed and evaluated potential solutions, working closely with senior stakeholders to understand the trade-offs involved and what outcomes we wanted to achieve for customers.

As the project progressed, the work became broader than analysis. I was responsible for building confidence in the proposed approach, refining recommendations based on feedback and helping shape how changes would be implemented.

By that stage, I had gone from investigating a problem to effectively leading a strategic piece of work. That's something I've enjoyed throughout my time in Credit Strategy: analysts are expected not only to identify issues, but also to help solve them and see those solutions through.

One thing that surprised me when I first moved into Credit Strategy was how much time is spent working across teams.

This project involved collaboration with stakeholders from Credit Risk, Engineering, external data providers and senior leaders across Risk. Understanding different perspectives was essential when shaping recommendations and planning delivery.

The work was at its strongest when those different viewpoints were brought together. Analytical evidence mattered, but so did operational considerations, customer outcomes and implementation realities. Good decisions rarely come from a single perspective.

A common misconception about project work is that success is measured by getting a change implemented.

In reality, implementation is only one stage of the process. Once a solution has been agreed and delivered, there is still important work involved in validating that it operates as intended and monitoring whether outcomes match expectations.

That monitoring often becomes the starting point for the next improvement. The most rewarding projects are rarely those that end with a launch; they're the ones where you can see the effect of the decisions you've made and continue refining them over time.

Looking back, the most valuable thing I gained from this project wasn't a deeper understanding of affordability. It was the experience of taking ownership of a complex piece of work from start to finish.

Over six months, I developed skills in prioritisation, stakeholder management, communication and delivery. The analysis was important, but it was only one part of the role. Just as important was learning how to build alignment around a recommendation and move a project forward when there wasn't a predefined playbook. More importantly, every stage of the project was tied back to a simple objective: helping ensure customers receive lending that is appropriate and affordable for their circumstances.

That's what continues to make Credit Strategy interesting to me. You're not analysing data for the sake of analysis. You're using it to improve decisions that have a real impact on customers.

If you think you’d enjoy solving complex problems, working with people across the business and seeing your work influence real-world outcomes, we'd love to hear from you.