Vice President, Consumer Loan Operations

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union•Tustin, CA

About The Position

The Vice President, Consumer Loan Operations leads consumer loan underwriting, processing, funding, operational quality, and business systems supporting direct and indirect lending. This executive role is accountable for timely and accurate execution, consistent application of approved credit strategies and delegated authorities, effective first-line controls, operational scalability, system effectiveness, and coordinated handoffs across the end-to-end Member journey. The position partners with Consumer Loan Originations, Consumer Loan Servicing, Risk, Compliance, Technology, Data, Finance, and other enterprise functions to deliver responsible lending outcomes and an exceptional Member experience. Working with the SVP, Consumer Lending and senior leadership, the Vice President establishes and executes strategy, goals, and priorities for consumer lending operations and systems. The role builds and leads managers and specialized teams, sets operating procedures and performance measures, governs underwriting authority and exceptions, and maintains an integrated operational quality and control framework. It also oversees business requirements and priorities for consumer lending operational systems, complex operational and technology changes, workforce and capacity planning, indirect lending operations, vendor governance, business continuity, and coordinated Member communications and service recovery. The role manages relevant credit-execution, operational, compliance, fraud, technology, data, third-party, conduct, and reputational risks. It represents Consumer Loan Operations in audits, examinations, compliance reviews, risk assessments, and control testing, and ensures findings are addressed with sustainable corrective actions. The Vice President leads organizational development and performance, uses analytics and industry intelligence to drive improvement, and complies with regulatory requirements and assigned training, including applicable BSA requirements.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED required.
Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent years of experience required.
15+ years of prior relevant experience required.
10+ years of prior management experience required.
Strategic operations leadership and executive-level judgment; ability to translate enterprise strategy into operating priorities, controls, accountability, and measurable outcomes.
Deep understanding of consumer loan underwriting, direct and indirect processing and funding, credit policy administration, delegated authorities, exception practices, and downstream servicing dependencies.
Strong knowledge of consumer lending laws, regulations, and controls, including fair lending, adverse action, credit reporting, privacy, Member protection, and third-party oversight.
Strong understanding of operational risk, first-line controls, quality assurance, audit and examination support, issue remediation, and corrective-action practices.
Proficiency using data and analytics to define measures, diagnose root causes, forecast demand, monitor quality, make decisions, and evaluate results.
Strong understanding of loan-origination systems, decision engines, automation, artificial intelligence, workflow, system controls, testing, implementation readiness, and technology-enabled performance management.
Strong financial and business acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, workforce and capacity planning, resource allocation, investment evaluation, and vendor value management.
Ability to balance speed, accuracy, Member advocacy, service quality, efficiency, financial outcomes, and risk.
Proven ability to lead organizational change and complex operational and technology transformations while maintaining engagement, quality, controls, and business continuity.
Exceptional relationship-building, negotiation, vendor-governance, and cross-functional stakeholder-management capabilities.
Strong executive presence and excellent verbal, written, presentation, and influence skills, including communicating complex matters clearly.
Ability to build, develop, engage, and retain high-performing leadership and specialized technical teams, and strengthen succession and critical-role readiness.
High ethical standards, sound judgment, integrity, professionalism, and commitment to the Credit Union’s values and Member Service philosophy.
Results-oriented, organized, and adaptable, with the ability to manage competing priorities in a dynamic, high-volume environment.
Experience leading consumer loan underwriting, processing, funding, quality, and lending systems functions.
Experience governing automated decisioning, operational controls, and complex lending technology changes.
Experience developing operating scorecards, capacity plans, business-continuity strategies, and sustainable remediation plans.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a related field preferred.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with the SVP, Consumer Lending and senior leadership to establish and execute strategy, goals, and priorities for consumer loan underwriting, processing, funding, operational quality, and lending systems.
Build and lead managers and specialized teams across underwriting, processing, funding, and business systems.
Lead timely, accurate, consistent, and compliant execution of direct and indirect consumer loan underwriting, processing, and funding.
Design and continuously improve operating procedures, service-level expectations, controls, and handoffs across operations and lending systems.
Establish and monitor performance measures for decision turnaround, processing and funding cycle times, quality, productivity, rework, backlog aging, service levels, Member effort, incidents, and control effectiveness.
Lead consistent execution of approved credit strategies, underwriting guidelines, exception practices, and delegated authorities; evaluate credit performance and recommend changes to strategies, policies, decision rules, and authority structures.
Establish governance for underwriting authority, exception management, reconsiderations, and decision quality.
Partner with risk, compliance, data, and technology teams on governance of automated decisioning and artificial intelligence, including decision quality, model performance, data integrity, explainability, fair-lending outcomes, change controls, and human review.
Establish an integrated operational quality framework and ensure findings, errors, complaints, exceptions, audit issues, and control breakdowns receive root-cause analysis and sustainable corrective action.
Maintain first-line controls and manage credit-execution, operational, compliance, fraud, technology, data, third-party, conduct, and reputational risks within the area.
Ensure operations follow approved policies, procedures, controls, and applicable requirements; represent Consumer Loan Operations in audits, examinations, reviews, assessments, and control testing.
Serve as senior business owner for consumer lending operational systems; define business requirements and priorities, support testing and implementation readiness, and evaluate adoption, performance, control effectiveness, and realized benefits.
Lead complex operational, credit, process, and technology changes, including impact assessment, stakeholder engagement, readiness and training plans, adoption monitoring, and benefit confirmation.
Develop workforce, capacity, and contingency plans aligned with forecast application volume, underwriting complexity, funding demand, technology changes, and service-level expectations.
Provide strategic oversight of indirect underwriting, processing, and funding operations, including service performance, efficiency, accuracy, exception management, and compliance with established standards.
Coordinate effective handoffs, clear ownership, consistent information, and Member communications with originations, servicing, branch operations, Member Care, and other enterprise functions.
Ensure effective escalation, reconsideration, and service-recovery practices; use complaint, exception, escalation, and error trends to implement systemic improvements.
Govern technology vendors, service providers, and operational partners through performance standards, service levels, issue escalation, change management, third-party risk coordination, continuity, and value realization.
Maintain and test business-continuity, disruption, peak-volume, and operational recovery plans for critical Consumer Loan Operations functions.
Lead and develop managers and team members; establish workforce strategies, operational plans, and budgets to achieve organizational objectives.
Use data, analytics, market intelligence, and industry trends to optimize performance, inform decisions, and drive continuous improvement.
Build strategic relationships with stakeholders, vendors, and business partners; influence performance, innovation, and a Member-focused service culture.
Identify, evaluate, and manage risks within the area and implement mitigation strategies and activities.
Perform other duties as assigned and comply with regulatory compliance and assigned training requirements, including applicable BSA regulations.