Just Mortgages has appointed Claire Jopson as area director within its self-employed division.

Based in Selby, Jopson will support self-employed advisers across Yorkshire, the North East and the wider northern region, helping firms to grow and develop their businesses.

She joins the brokerage from Mortgage 1st, where she worked as adviser relationship and development manager, overseeing adviser recruitment, onboarding and support, as well as managing lender relationships.

Jopson has nearly 20 years’ experience in financial services.

She began her career with NatWest and First Direct before joining Accord Mortgages as a senior mortgage underwriter.

She later moved into mortgage advice with Yorkshire Building Society before joining Echo Finance, where she worked as a self-employed adviser, team manager and head of adviser development.

Just Mortgages’ self-employed division supports almost 500 advisers across the UK.

Just Mortgages area director Claire Jopson says: “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.”

Just Mortgages head of mortgages and protection Ben Allkins says: “Claire is a superb addition to our self-employed management team.

“Her vast experience as an underwriter, single-tie broker, self-employed adviser and 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.”