Head of Credit Risk

ABOUT HAPPY MONEY

Happy Money is designing a happier way of lending that helps borrowers achieve their goals and helps credit unions achieve greater impact. Our mission comes to life through our platform, which enables happier lending at scale by connecting consumers with financial institutions who keep their best interests at heart. Through this model, we also bring credit unions access to technology solutions, high-performing assets, and national reach to accelerate their impact on communities and help increase their strength and resilience.

Backed by leading investors, Happy Money has helped over 300,000 borrowers since inception – working with community-focused lending partners to fund more than $6 billion in loans. Visit happymoney.com to learn more.

Happy Money is hiring a Head of Credit Risk to lead the Risk & Analytics organization. The ideal candidate should be an analytical and strategic powerhouse, a polished communicator, a highly skilled team builder and a high-EQ, humble leader capable of influencing across a matrixed environment. As a key member of the executive team, the Head of Credit Risk will actively engage with the Board and collaborate with our capital suppliers. The Head of Credit Risk will be responsible for setting the strategic direction for the Risk & Analytics organization, overseeing the development and implementation of a comprehensive risk management framework. An integral part of the position involves identifying, assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and aligning risk management efforts with overall business objectives. Reporting to the CEO, the Head of Credit Risk will play a pivotal role in shaping and executing risk management strategies, contributing significantly to the stability and growth of the organization.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Motivate and develop the highly analytical Data Science and Credit Risk Teams
• Manage the installment lending portfolio to meet/exceed performance expectations; key metrics will include account volumes, acquisition costs, revenue, credit risk, and overall profitability for Happy Money and its capital suppliers.
• Oversee Credit Risk Policy and oversee the credit risk assessment process, including the development of risk models, scoring systems and underwriting criteria.
• Work closely with executive leadership to align risk management initiatives with business objectives.
• Instill confidence and support strong external relationships with capital suppliers by demonstrating credit expertise and polished executive-level communication.
• Drive positive selection in the lending portfolio by optimizing marketing, pricing, product, risk segmentation, funnel experience, and underwriting.
• Develop effective loss mitigation strategies that deliver strong performance, scale with portfolio needs, and are cost-effective.
• Implement strategies to optimize the risk-return profile
• Prepare and present comprehensive risk reports to executive leadership, the board and any other relevant stakeholders.
• Collaborate with key internal stakeholders to implement risk management initiatives
• Establish key risk indicators and trigger points for risk mitigation actions
• Stay up to date on changes in the regulatory environment and macro environment that would impact our business (credit risk policies)
• Develop strong people leaders and focus on building a high-performing team
• Fulfill managerial responsibilities such as hiring, delegation of work, performance management, recognizing and rewarding, addressing complaints, and resolving problems effectively and promptly
• Ensure our policies result in delivering high-quality of customer service
• Build strong cross-functional relationships (Sales, Operations, Engineering, Product, Compliance, etc) and external relationships with our partners.
• Ensure credit policy complies with all applicable banking laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the Bank Secrecy Act, USA Patriot Act, and related anti-money laundering statutes, and federal consumer protection legislation and regulations.

ABOUT YOU

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in risk management roles within the fintech or banking industry, with a focus on the consumer lending industry.
• Minimum of 6 years of management experience
• Exhibits business process knowledge and possesses a broad-based operational perspective of a financial institution.
• Proven track record of developing and implementing effective risk management strategies.
• Strong understanding of credit risk modeling, regulatory compliance and risk mitigation strategies
• Familiar with emerging technologies and their impact on risk management in the fintech space
• Ability to create effective and persuasive speeches and presentations on controversial or complex topics to top management, external partners, and/or boards of directors.
• Ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems. Ability to deal with nonverbal symbolism (formulas, scientific equations, graphs, etc.,) in its most difficult phases. Ability to deal with a variety of abstract and concrete variables.
• Working knowledge of statistical analysis, algorithm development, and state-of-the-art tools and methodologies for data science (advanced machine learning techniques a plus).
• Steep career trajectory characterized by increasing levels of responsibility and bona fide examples of driving value creation through innovation.
• Executive presence/gravitas, polished executive-level communication skills (written & oral).

BENEFITS & PERKS

• Generous medical, dental, and vision insurance options (one covered at 100% for you & family) and coverage on Day 1
• 401k Plan with a matching contribution
• Generous PTO
• Monthly Health and Wellness Days
• 12 Weeks Paid Parental Leave
• Company-paid short & long term disability and life insurance
• Happy Home Allowance to contribute to your home office workspace
• Monthly tech stipend to help cover expenses for remote work
• Happy Money is a 100% fully distributed workforce

Happy Money is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Happy Money is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please email [email protected].