First Line of Defense, Credit Risk Manager (Private Bank)

Citizens Bank•United States,

4d•$117,000 - $153,000•Onsite

About The Position

The First Line of Defense, Credit Risk Manager will be responsible for the continuous development of the Quality Assurance and Quality Control process within the Private Bank Commercial Lending Portfolio, for the assessment of risk within the portfolio and managing reporting requirements for the team. Specifically, the First Line of Defense Risk Governance Responsibilities will include developing and executing QC/QA control monitoring and testing plans for the Private Bank’s Commercial Portfolio lending workflow, performing quality control reviews of loan transactions, lending files, and operational processes, validating accuracy, completeness, and compliance with regulatory and internal policy requirements, identifying errors, deficiencies, or control breaches and documenting findings. The role also involves analyzing defects, non-conformances, and deviations, investigating root causes, implementing corrective actions, and identifying opportunities to prevent defects. Reporting quality findings and escalating issues as needed are also key responsibilities. The role supports the identification, measurement, and mitigation of credit risks within the Commercial Portfolio, ensuring alignment with enterprise risk frameworks, strategies, and regulatory expectations. It also involves supporting the monitoring and reporting on asset quality metrics, KRIs and KPIs and trending to ensure process effectiveness, and developing and executing inspection and testing plans. The role supports and partners with business leaders on targeted initiatives to address specific risk issues, working with risk partners, business line owners and operational professionals across the enterprise; analyzing and quantifying risk exposures, evaluating mitigation strategies, and developing actionable remediation plans. It also involves implementing and maintaining internal governance processes to strengthen risk oversight, enhance accountability, and ensure consistent adherence to policies and standards. Providing a forward-looking risk perspective on business strategies, identifying potential vulnerabilities while enabling informed decision-making and strategic opportunities is crucial. Synthesizing complex data into meaningful insights and performing risk-based analysis to evaluate control effectiveness and inform business and risk management strategies are also part of the role. Conducting reviews of current policies and procedures to identify control gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities for optimization and enhanced risk management practices is expected. Promoting a strong risk culture by delivering training, education, and consultative support, fostering accountability and awareness across all levels of the organization is important. Collaborating with cross-functional teams (Business Line, Risk Partners, Credit Review, Compliance, etc.) to embed quality into workflows is also a key aspect. The role acts as a 1st Line Credit Risk subject matter expert and serves as a liaison interfacing with business and risk partners. Working closely with Credit Risk Analytics in the development of management reporting is also a responsibility.

Requirements

3 years of experience with Portfolio Management, Credit Risk and/or Credit Review issue management.
Bachelor’s degree, Accounting, Business, economic or equivalent field or equivalent work experience.
Strong attention to detail and accuracy required.
Effective communication and writing skills with the ability to influence change and drive continuous improvement, required.

Nice To Haves

7 years’ experience in analytical and problem-solving skills with focus on Commercial & Industrial loans, Commercial Real Estate loans and Private Equity/Venture Capital loans (root cause analysis, data interpretation), preferred
Familiarity with Loan Documentation preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute QC/QA control monitoring and testing plans for the Private Bank’s Commercial Portfolio lending workflow including testing for adherence to regulatory standards, safe and sound lending practices and adherence to procedures.
Performing quality control reviews of loan transactions, lending files, and operational processes.
Validate accuracy, completeness, and compliance with regulatory and internal policy requirements.
Identify errors, deficiencies, or control breaches and document findings.
Analyze defects, non-conformances, and deviations.
Investigate root causes and implement corrective actions.
Identify opportunities to prevent defects.
Report quality findings and escalate issues as needed.
Support the identification, measurement, and mitigation of credit risks within the Commercial Portfolio, ensuring alignment with enterprise risk frameworks, strategies, and regulatory expectations.
Support in the monitoring and reporting on asset quality metrics, KRIs and KPIs and trending to ensure process effectiveness.
Develop and execute inspection and testing plans.
Support and partner with business leaders on targeted initiatives to address specific risk issues working with risk partners, business line owners and operational professional across the enterprise.
Analyze and quantify risk exposures, evaluate mitigation strategies, and develop actionable remediation plans.
Implement and maintain internal governance processes to strengthen risk oversight, enhance accountability, and ensure consistent adherence to policies and standards.
Provide a forward-looking risk perspective on business strategies, identifying potential vulnerabilities while enabling informed decision-making and strategic opportunities.
Synthesize complex data into meaningful insights.
Perform risk-based analysis to evaluate control effectiveness and inform business and risk management strategies.
Conduct reviews of current policies and procedures to identify control gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities for optimization and enhanced risk management practices.
Promote a strong risk culture by delivering training, education, and consultative support, fostering accountability and awareness across all levels of the organization.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Business Line, Risk Partners, Credit Review, Compliance, etc.) to embed quality into workflows.
Act as a 1st Line Credit Risk subject matter expert and serving as liaison interfacing with business and risk partners.
Work closely with Credit Risk Analytics in the development of management reporting.