Find out what a day in the life of an Operations Manager in the Mortgages industry looks like, as we catch up with Paragon’s Matt Fulford for a chat about his typical day. 

My alarm goes off at…

6.15am, I am a morning person so am always up early. Paragon has a flexible hybrid working policy, but I still go into the office every day. I arrive just after 7am and enjoy an hour working while it’s quiet before the other staff start arriving.

I wanted to work in the mortgage industry because…

I didn’t, I wanted to be a footballer, but a lack of talent held me back…

However, the Premier League’s loss is the mortgage industry’s gain and having now worked in the industry for nearly 30 years, it’s proved to be a very good second choice and one I certainly don’t regret.

Something that surprised me about my job was…

How passionate and collaborative the people in this industry are. I have built very strong relationships with intermediary partners over the years, many of whom I now class as friends.

A misconception about my role is…

Two things spring to mind:

Firstly, that you can’t contact me…at Paragon any intermediary has access to speak directly with an underwriter and that includes me. I am always happy to speak on the phone, reply to an email or jump on a Teams call so get in touch if you want a chat.

Secondly, that we aren’t flexible. Yes, we have lending criteria to follow but we are always proactively looking for reasons to lend. We use common sense and it’s certainly not a ‘tick box’ approach, each application is considered on its own merits.

My typical day entails…

Looking for solutions! I deal directly with a large number of our key intermediary partners and with our landlords.  This is from new enquiry, throughout the underwriting process, until the day of completion. 

When not talking to intermediaries or landlords, it is quite likely that I will be spending time with colleagues working on a transformation project. What we have works really well, but we are working to enhance our processes end-to-end with the aim of improving the experience of brokers and landlords who work with Paragon.

A perk of the job is…

Perhaps more of what makes the job rewarding than a perk is being in a position to genuinely make a difference. At Paragon I am very lucky to work with great people and we are all actively encouraged to come up with new ideas that improve how we do things, whether that be for processes, products or criteria.

My favourite work memory is…

Over the years we’ve managed to get some very unusual cases over the line and certainly had some fun at award ceremonies and Christmas parties but it’s too hard to think of one.

One thing I do always try to remember though is that there is a customer at the end of every transaction. For me, there is nothing more satisfying than supporting a landlord’s business and seeing it grow over time to become a successful portfolio. Working for a specialist lender like Paragon allows us to understand a landlord’s needs and to work with them to help them achieve their property goals and dreams.

To unwind after work…

I love most sports. Since I am stopped from playing anything competitive, that’s now watching on TV or live whenever possible. That said, I also enjoy the occasional hack around a golf course (if you see me stand well back!).

This article first appeared in Mortgage Strategy.