Senior Credit/CCO

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior Credit Officer / Chief Credit Officer (CCO) to provide strategic credit leadership for a growing community or regional bank. This individual will bring 10+ years of Ag and Commercial Credit experience and will play a key role in maintaining strong credit quality, managing risk, and supporting profitable loan growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and oversight of the bank's overall credit function.
• Review and approve commercial and agricultural loan requests within established lending authority.
• Oversee credit underwriting, analysis, portfolio management, and risk assessment.
• Partner with commercial and agricultural lenders to structure sound, profitable loans.
• Monitor the overall quality and performance of the loan portfolio.
• Identify emerging credit risks and recommend appropriate mitigation strategies.
• Lead or participate in Loan Committee and other credit-related committees.
• Ensure adherence to bank policies, regulatory requirements, and sound banking practices.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to credit analysts, lenders, and other lending personnel.
• Review criticized, classified, and watch-list relationships and develop appropriate action plans.
• Assist senior leadership with strategic planning, loan growth initiatives, and credit risk management.
• Maintain strong relationships with internal teams, customers, auditors, and regulators.
• Help develop and continuously improve credit policies, procedures, and underwriting standards.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in Ag and Commercial Credit.
• Strong understanding of agricultural lending, commercial lending, and credit risk management.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing complex commercial and agricultural loan relationships.
• Previous experience in a senior credit leadership, credit administration, or CCO capacity preferred.
• Strong knowledge of financial statement analysis, cash-flow analysis, collateral evaluation, and loan structuring.
• Experience with Loan Committee and credit approval processes.
• Strong understanding of regulatory expectations and sound credit practices.
• Excellent leadership, communication, analytical, and decision-making skills.
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Agricultural Economics, or a related field preferred.