Sr. Manager, Direct and Fintech Consumer Lending

Job Summary:
The Senior Manager of Direct and Fintech Consumer Lending is responsible for the day-to-day leadership, performance, and oversight of the credit union’s consumer lending operations, including auto loans, personal loans, and credit cards, delivered through direct and fintech-enabled channels. This role manages departmental operations to ensure lending goals are achieved while maintaining strong credit quality, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency. This role provides strategic and operational leadership to ensure lending products, processes, and partnerships support sustainable growth, strong portfolio performance, and an exceptional member experience.

The Senior Manager manages day-to-day operations of the department, sets and monitors performance goals, and ensures objectives related to loan production, credit quality, efficiency, and member satisfaction are consistently met. This position serves as the primary relationship manager for fintech partners, overseeing performance, integration, and ongoing optimization of digital lending platforms. The role is also responsible for ensuring lending processes remain efficient, effective, compliant, and aligned with the credit union’s risk appetite, while continuously identifying opportunities to enhance automation, scalability, and innovation. Through strong leadership and cross-functional collaboration, the Senior Manager supports the credit union’s consumer lending strategy and digital growth initiatives.

Duties & Responsibilities:

Operational Leadership

• Directs and monitors all facets of lending operations and monitors progress on a regular basis that is consistent with the Credit Union’s strategic plan. This includes oversight of consumer portfolios, underwriting, lending compliance, quality assurance, and collateral tracking.
• Oversee daily operations of the direct and fintech consumer lending department, ensuring consistent execution of lending policies, procedures, and service standards.
• Manage staffing, workflows, and resource allocation to support loan volume, service levels, and turnaround time goals.
• Establish, monitor, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) related to production, efficiency, credit quality, and member experience.
• Ensure department goals and objectives align with the credit union’s strategic plan and consumer lending strategy.
• Supports business and marketing initiatives to enhance loan production.
• Maintains lending vendors in accordance with timing and business needs. Recommends retention or any changes needed.

Consumer Lending & Underwriting Oversight

• Provide oversight of underwriting practices for auto loans, personal loans, and credit cards to ensure consistency, accuracy, and adherence to approved credit policies.
• Monitor loan decisioning, exceptions, and overrides to ensure appropriate risk controls are maintained.
• Partner with risk management and lending leadership to recommend updates to credit policy, pricing, and underwriting criteria based on portfolio performance and market conditions.
• Ensure underwriting and lending processes balance growth, risk, and member value.
• Approves / denies loan application requests including those for Credit Union employees.

Risk Management & Compliance

• Serve as lending compliance subject matter expert with an emphasis on fair lending compliance, provide related guidance to management and assist with the ongoing development of compliance training to ensure the credit union is in full compliance with all lending laws and regulations.
• Ensure consumer lending operations comply with all applicable federal and state regulations, including but not limited to Fair Lending, UDAAP, ECOA, FCRA, TILA, and credit card–related regulatory requirements.
• Partner with Compliance, Risk, and Internal Audit teams to support examinations, audits, reviews, and issue remediation.
• Monitor portfolio trends, delinquency, losses, and exception reporting to identify and mitigate emerging risks.
• Ensure controls, documentation, and processes are maintained to support safe and sound lending practices.

Fintech Partner Management

• Serve as the primary relationship manager for fintech lending partners supporting consumer loan originations and servicing.
• Monitor partner performance against service-level agreements (SLAs), production goals, credit quality, and compliance expectations.
• Coordinate with internal teams to ensure fintech integrations, processes, and reporting meet operational and risk standards.
• Identify opportunities to optimize fintech partnerships to improve efficiency, scalability, and member experience.

Process Improvement & Efficiency

• Responsible for hiring lending staff to include completing performance evaluations and development plans as necessary.
• Continuously evaluate lending workflows and systems to identify opportunities for automation, standardization, and process improvement.
• Lead or support initiatives to enhance operational efficiency, reduce cycle times, and improve data quality and reporting.
• Ensure procedures and documentation are current, accurate, and consistently followed across all lending channels.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead, coach, and develop lending staff, fostering accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including IT, Marketing, Finance & Accounting, Risk & Compliance, Digital Services, and Member Services to support lending initiatives.
• Provide regular reporting and updates to senior leadership on operational performance, risks, and improvement initiatives.
• Compile and analyze data to evaluate the current and future status of loan production, portfolio and performance.
• Performs other duties as assigned by management.

Skills:

• Exceptional organizational skills.
• Expert skills in spreadsheet preparation.
• Excellent verbal and writing skills.
• Strong operational and analytical skills with the ability to interpret performance and risk data
• Strong relationship management and communication skills
• Strong business management skills.
• Proven leadership and team development capabilities
• Thorough understanding of consumer credit risk and regulatory compliance
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced lending environment
• Computer skills.