Just Mortgages has appointed two divisional sales directors to its employed division.

Paul Kirkup has more than 20 years’ experience in the mortgage sector in  England and Australia.

While in Australia, Kirkup spent 12 years at Westpac, most recently as head of national home lending, where he worked with brokers and others to grow business through estate agencies.

Prior to this, Kirkup worked for Santander, Barclays and HFC Bank, which later became part of the HSBC group.

Jonathan Gili-Ross joined the mortgage industry straight from school over 20 years ago.

During his career, he has worked for Loans.co.uk and spent 12 years with Connells Group, rising through the ranks to become regional director. He was their top banking broker, sales manager and top regional and divisional director.

He later left Connells to start his own brokerage.

In their new roles, Kirkup and Gili-Ross will work with the financial services directors and wider senior management team, to grow the employed division by increasing the number of advisers within their branches and teams.

Just Mortgages and Spicerhaart chief executive John Phillips says: “We are fully committed to making sure our brokers are in the best possible position to succeed.

“Key to this is strengthening the support around each broker with high-calibre hires such as Paul and Jonathan.

“With their broad expertise and experience, they will be a fantastic asset to our brokers, as well as great additions to our management team as the division continues to scale and move from strength to strength.”

Commenting on his appointment, Kirkup states: “My career in the UK and Australia has given me extensive experience in both the housing and mortgage markets.”

Gili-Ross adds: “I’ve always felt that to be a good manager you need to have enjoyed being a broker yourself. That’s certainly true for me and I have the same passion as the people I work with, sharing the wins and the frustrations.”