The appointment further strengthens the management team supporting Just Mortgages’ self-employed division.
Just Mortgages has strengthened its self-employed division with the appointment of Claire Jopson (pictured) as area director for the North.
Based in Selby, Jopson will support self-employed advisers across Yorkshire, the North East and the wider region, providing mentoring, business development support and recruitment assistance as the brokerage continues to expand its self-employed offering.
Jopson joins with nearly 20 years of financial services experience.
Her career has included roles at NatWest, First Direct and Accord Mortgages, where she worked as a senior mortgage underwriter. She later moved into mortgage advice with Yorkshire Building Society before joining Echo Finance, progressing from self-employed adviser to head of adviser development.
Most recently, she served as adviser relationship and development manager at Mortgage 1st.
The appointment further strengthens the management team supporting Just Mortgages’ self-employed division, which now works with nearly 500 advisers across the UK.
Jopson said: “Having been a self-employed broker myself, I understand just how important it is to have the right support behind you.
“Just Mortgages really recognises this too and has put so much in place to allow advisers to live their dream of running their own business.
“Even at this early stage, it’s clear to see that everything Just Mortgages shouts about in terms of opportunity, support and adviser development is absolutely true.
“This is a great opportunity for me to use my skills and experience to help adviser firms reach that next level – whether it’s those just starting out, or those who are already successful and looking to tweak what they do to be the best they can be.
“I’m really excited about this new opportunity and I look forward to supporting the growth of this fantastic region and division.”
Ben Allkins, head of mortgages and protection at Just Mortgages, said: “Claire is a superb addition to our self-employed management team.
“Her vast experience as a underwriter, single-tie broker, self-employed adviser and a development manager means she can offer tremendous value to brokers at every stage of the self-employed lifecycle.
“Our advisers can trust in the fact that the managers they work with have stood in their shoes. It forms a crucial part of the wider infrastructure we place around all our advisers to help them succeed.
“We firmly believe that this support structure is a key reason why we continue to see high levels of applications to join our division and why we are approaching nearly 500 self-employed advisers.
“It should certainly be a key consideration for any adviser looking to launch and scale their own advice business – determining which brokerages or networks talk about support and which ones actually deliver on it.”
Just Mortgages has more than 650 mortgage advisers operating on either an employed or self-employed basis across the UK.