Consumer Lending Manager

About the role

The Consumer Lending Manager oversees the Consumer Loan Officer team, Consumer Lending Operation Specialists, and Loan Support Clerks, ensuring strong operational performance, underwriting consistency, member experience, and overall operational effectiveness. This role combines day-to-day leadership with strategic oversight, focusing on evaluating lending performance, identifying trends and opportunities, recommending operational improvements, and supporting initiatives to achieve organizational goals.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the Loan Officers, Consumer Lending Operation Specialists, and Loan Support Clerk, ensuring strong member experience, service consistency, operational effectiveness, underwriting quality, credit risk management, and overall lending operational effectiveness.
• Provide leadership, direction, coaching, and performance management to lending and loan support staff while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and professional development.
• Support organizational consumer lending growth objectives through strategic leadership, operational analysis, production monitoring, and data-driven recommendations.
• Analyze lending production trends, pull-through ratios, application sources, operational performance, and portfolio growth opportunities to identify areas requiring improvement or strategic focus.
• Provide recommendations to senior leadership regarding operational changes, workflow improvements, staffing needs, product enhancements, promotional opportunities, service strategies, and process efficiencies to support organizational lending goals.
• Monitor loan application conversion metrics, funded loan ratios, turnaround times, productivity, and member experience trends to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Coach and develop team on underwriting consistency, operational effectiveness, product knowledge, member experience expectations, and lending best practices.
• Partner with internal departments to support lending knowledge, workflow alignment, operational consistency, and member experience throughout the lending process.
• Identify development opportunities and assist in preparing team members for increased responsibilities and future leadership opportunities.
• Assist with escalated lending decisions, exception requests, member concerns, and complex lending situations while balancing member experience, organizational policy, and risk management.
• Ensure lending decisions, exception handling, and operational processes are consistently documented and aligned with organizational policies, procedures, and risk tolerance.
• Collaborate with Retail Delivery, Digital, Processing, Indirect Lending, Marketing, and other departments to improve workflows, reduce member friction, and enhance the overall lending experience.
• Participate in cross-functional projects and process improvement initiatives supporting consumer lending efficiency, scalability, and member service.
• Partner with the Consumer Lending Systems Analyst to identify operational inefficiencies, support workflow enhancements, participate in user acceptance testing, and assist with implementation and adoption of lending technology initiatives.
• Maintain and improve member service by ensuring inquiries, applications, and member issues are handled professionally, consistently, and promptly.
• Conduct quality reviews and audits to ensure lending accuracy, operational consistency, compliance, and proper documentation.
• Stay up to date on industry trends, lending laws, operational best practices, and product innovations to recommend improvements and new opportunities.
• Support strategic lending initiatives, promotional campaigns, and market growth efforts in partnership with senior leadership and marketing.
• Oversee the processing and management of title work, loan payoffs, release of liens, and UCC filings.
• Promote a positive team environment, encouraging collaboration and high-quality service.
• Ensure employees have the tools, materials, and training necessary for success.
• Ensure compliance with all federal and state laws and regulations, including the Bank Secrecy Act, Patriot Act, and Office of Foreign Asset Controls, and request legal interpretation as necessary.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, or related field; or equivalent work experience.
• 3 to 5 years of previous consumer lending experience with a proven performance record, with leadership or management experience preferred.
• Strong understanding of consumer lending regulations, underwriting principles, operational workflows, and member service expectations.
• Experience leading teams in a fast-paced lending environment focused on balancing growth, service, operational efficiency, and risk management.
• Experience working with loan origination systems, workflow automation, reporting tools, and lending technology platforms preferred.
• Strong communication, coaching, organizational leadership, and relationship-building skills.
• Able to analyze operational data and utilize reporting to drive performance improvements and strategic decision-making.
• Candidate must have a thorough understanding of the Loan Policy and Guidelines.
• Candidate must be knowledgeable of Credit Unions product and services and demonstrate the ability to cross-sell and build deeper relationships with our membership.
• This position requires an understanding of basic computer skills including Microsoft 365 suite applications.

Skills And Abilities

• Strong leadership and management skills with the ability to motivate, coach, and develop high-performing teams.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills with the ability to evaluate operational performance and make data-driven decisions.
• Exceptional problem-solving skills with a solution-oriented mindset.
• Detail-oriented with a strong focus on operational consistency, compliance, and member experience.
• Ability to handle multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment while meeting deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships across departments and effectively navigate operational challenges.
• Presents a positive and professional image to members and team members through effective and courteous verbal and written communications.
• Ability to research and cross reference similar information to identify trends and proactively prevent loss and fraud.
• Ability to learn new tasks and processes quickly and efficiently.
• Ability to adhere to internal policies as well as external policies and regulations set forth by the NCUA.
• Comfortable learning and adapting to new systems, processes and change.
• Courtesy, tact, and diplomacy are essential elements of the job.