VP, Portfolio Economics

Kafene • New York, NY

20d • $225,000 - $325,000 • Remote

About The Position

The VP of Portfolio Economics owns the question at the center of the company: are we pricing risk correctly, and is the portfolio earning what it should? You will own pricing and portfolio profitability end to end — from lease-level unit economics to merchant- and vintage-level returns — and turn that analysis into decisions risk, revenue and finance can implement. This is a high-impact individual contributor role, reporting jointly to the CEO and CFO. As the function matures, there is potential to build a small team around portfolio economics — but the near-term job is to be hands on keys doing the work.

Requirements

• You personally sort through our robust data using SQL (or equivalent) and are comfortable doing so every day — this is verified in the interview with a live analytical exercise
• Deep working fluency in consumer credit and lending unit economics: pricing and yield mechanics, vintages, cash-on-cash, cohort dynamics; lease-to-own or specialty consumer finance experience is a strong plus
• Analytical rigor paired with commercial judgment and a game theory mindset— you understand that pricing decisions are made against volume, merchant relationships, and funding costs, not in a vacuum
• You thrive as a party of one — you want to own a hard problem, not manage a team or build a function on day one
• Likely backgrounds: quant trading, pricing or portfolio strategy at a lender or fintech; credit or structured-finance investor; strategic finance at a specialty finance company; risk or data science with strong P&L orientation

Responsibilities

• Own the portfolio profitability framework: unit margins, total dollar expected returns, concentration limits — by merchant, vertical, channel, score band, and cohort
• Build and maintain the recurring reporting for portfolio economics — projected and realized yield, cash on cash returns, expected profit by vintage, merchant cohort performance, emerging risk and concentration issues
• Drive every lever that moves portfolio economics — pricing, markup structures, early purchase option (EPO) discounts, approval rates, approval amounts, take rates — and own the portfolio-level outcome that results. Individual levers are jointly operated by finance, risk, and revenue; this role coordinates their interaction, identifies the trades worth making, and optimizes them across functions
• Identify where the portfolio can be improved, determine which segments, merchants, or verticals earning below target, and quantify the fix: reprice, restructure, or exit
• Design bespoke programs for the highest-value merchants, working directly across functions to structure programs that optimize wallet share or margin to maximize EV.
• Build and own the evaluation framework that governs bespoke program requests across the rest of the portfolio — the systematic process by which those requests get assessed, approved, or declined
• Design and evaluate profit tests; measure elasticity, adverse selection, and the downstream impact on funded volume and returns
• Operate with fluency within the company's data and analytics tools (Sigma and Snowflake); this is a daily, non-negotiable part of the job
• Translate findings into concrete recommendations with a clear P&L rationale that the CEO and CFO can act on

Benefits

• Base Salary: $225,000–325,000 along with an equity package
• Healthcare: We prioritize your well-being by covering 80% of medical, dental, and vision insurance costs, including coverage for your spouse, children, and other dependents.
• Retirement Benefits: Begin planning for your future from day one with our 401k plan.
• Paid Time Off: We understand the importance of work-life balance. That's why we offer flexible paid time off days starting from day one of your employment.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed