Specialty Lending Director
Director, Specialty Lending Underwriting & Operations
Role Overview
As Director, you will hold underwriting authority across all Specialty Lending products—Custom Credit, Securities-Based Lending (SBL), and Partner Lending—while overseeing origination operations, servicing, and program-level legal negotiations for Partner Lending programs. This senior leadership role is pivotal in delivering bespoke liquidity solutions for high-net-worth clients and ensuring operational excellence across the platform.
Primary Responsibilities
Underwriting Leadership
- Act as final credit authority for all Specialty Lending transactions, including highly complex, bespoke credit structures.
- Review and approve transactions within delegated authority; escalate and present cases to credit approvers as needed.
- Partner with product leaders to design competitive structures that align with market-leading private credit offerings.
- Maintain rigorous adherence to credit policy and regulatory requirements while enabling business growth.
Origination Operations & Servicing
- Oversee end-to-end origination workflows for all Specialty Lending products, ensuring efficiency and accuracy from application through funding.
- Manage servicing processes, including collateral monitoring, margin calls, and release procedures for SBL.
- Establish and monitor SLAs across all operational touchpoints; implement corrective actions where needed.
- Drive continuous improvement in processes to enhance speed, accuracy, and client experience.
Program-Level Legal Negotiations
- Lead negotiations for Partner Lending program agreements with external partners, ensuring terms align with Citizens’ risk appetite and compliance standards.
- Collaborate with internal legal, compliance, and risk teams to finalize agreements and maintain ongoing governance.
Risk & Controls
- Design and maintain robust operational and credit controls across all Specialty Lending products.
- Partner with risk and audit teams to ensure full compliance and readiness for internal and external reviews.
- Develop and update policies and procedures to reflect evolving regulatory and business requirements.
Client Experience
- Champion a white-glove client experience throughout underwriting, origination, and servicing processes.
- Oversee client transitions between platforms or processes, ensuring seamless execution and proactive communication.
Team Leadership
- Lead a team of 3 managers and 15–20 colleagues, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and excellence.
- Define role profiles, career paths, and training programs to build expertise and support future growth.
- Develop capacity models and resource plans to meet increasing demand and evolving product complexity.
Qualifications
- 10+ years of experience in financial services underwriting and operations for high-net-worth clients.
- Expertise in complex credit structures across Custom Credit, SBL, and Partner Lending.
- Proven ability to lead large teams and manage multi-faceted processes.
- Strong negotiation skills for program-level agreements.
- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
Pay Transparency
The salary range for this position is $250,000 - $275,000 per year, plus an opportunity to earn an annual discretionary bonus. Actual pay is based on various factors including but not limited to the work location, and relevant skills and experience.
We offer competitive pay, comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, maternity/paternity leave, flexible work arrangements, education reimbursement, wellness programs and more. Note, Citizens’ paid time off policy exceeds the mandatory, paid sick or paid time-away policy of every local and state jurisdiction in the United States. For an overview of our benefits, visit https://jobs.citizensbank.com/benefits.