Chief Credit Officer

Farm Credit Illinois, ACA; Illinois; On-site; USD 220,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) with employer match

Vacation and sick days

Paid holidays

Parental leave

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Volunteer leave

Job summary

Farm Credit Illinois is seeking a Chief Credit Officer to lead credit analysts and support staff, shaping credit policy, risk management, and portfolio analysis to support sound lending operations. The CCO will oversee risk policy design, approval processes, and communication across the organization.

The role requires strategic leadership, collaboration with executives, and a focus on strengthening member experience while ensuring compliance and robust risk controls.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, business, finance, or agriculture.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in financial agribusiness or credit analysis.
• Minimum of 5 years of supervisory experience leading and developing teams.
• Or an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to perform the essential functions of the role.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and monitor credit policies, underwriting guidelines, approval processes, and internal controls aligned with regulatory requirements and the Association’s Risk Appetite.
• Oversee portfolio monitoring, credit trends, reporting, systems, and lending pipelines to support sound decisions and meet service commitments; provide expertise on large and complex loans.
• Partner with executive leaders and field operations to align credit and sales strategies, strengthen collaboration, and enhance the member experience.
• Build relationships with AgriBank, the Farm Credit Administration, other Farm Credit institutions, service providers, and partners; prepare analyses and presentations for senior management, committees, and regulatory exams.
• Set strategic direction and departmental structure for the Credit Services Division (CSD), communicate lending philosophy and risk priorities, model Association values, and serve on key credit and risk committees.
• Recruit, lead, coach, and develop CSD staff through clear expectations, timely feedback, recognition, career development, and succession planning; mentor staff across the Association.
• Protect the confidentiality, security, and integrity of Association and customer systems and data.

Skills

Credit policies

Team leadership

Analytical mindset

Communication

Numerical reasoning

Computer literacy

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

About Farm Credit Illinois

Farm Credit Illinois (FCI) is an agricultural financial cooperative owned by more than 17,400 farmers, rural landowners, and agribusiness voting stockholders in the southern 60 counties of Illinois. Dedicated to Helping Farm Families Succeed, FCI provides competitive and flexible financing, crop insurance expertise, and Rural 1st® country life lending. FCI manages an $8 billion loan portfolio, sells 1.5 million acres of crop insurance coverage, and employs approximately 300 staff in the Mahomet headquarters and 14 regional offices. The U.S. Farm Credit System is a network of locally owned cooperatives supporting rural communities, farm families, and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services today and tomorrow.

Why Join Us

• Competitive compensation package. Grade and salary commensurate with experience, with an annualized base salary range of 220,000.00 - 290,000.00plus a bonus based on team and individual performance. This range is a good-faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of this posting.

• Comprehensive benefit package includes 401(k) with 3% employer contribution and 6% employer match, vacation days, sick days, 13 paid holidays, parental leave, and volunteer leave, along with medical, dental, vision, and life insurance as further described at https://www.farmcreditfoundations.com/fcfbenefits/

• Professional development and career growth opportunities.

• Opportunity to work for a reputable and community-focused financial institution dedicated to a positive, collaborative work environment that encompasses the association’s mission to serve our members and the agricultural industry as we strive to help farm families succeed

The Role

The Chief Credit Officerleads credit analysts and support staff, implementing strategies that maintain sound lending operations and advance the Association’s vision and goals. The CCO oversees credit risk management, including policy design, implementation, and communication; approval processes; credit administration; and portfolio analysis.

What You Will Contribute

• Develop,implement, and monitor credit policies, underwriting guidelines, approvalprocesses, and internal controls aligned with regulatory requirements and theAssociation’s Risk Appetite.
• Overseeportfolio monitoring, credit trends, reporting, systems, and lending pipelinesto support sound decisions and meet service commitments; provide expertise onlarge and complex loans.
• Partnerwith executive leaders and field operations to align credit and salesstrategies, strengthen collaboration, and enhance the member experience.
• Buildrelationships with AgriBank, the Farm Credit Administration, other Farm Creditinstitutions, service providers, and partners; prepare analyses andpresentations for senior management, committees, and regulatory exams.
• Setstrategic direction and departmental structure for the Credit Services Division(CSD), communicate lending philosophy and risk priorities, model Associationvalues, and serve on key credit and risk committees.
• Recruit,lead, coach, and develop CSD staff through clear expectations, timely feedback,recognition, career development, and succession planning; mentor staff acrossthe Association.
• Protectthe confidentiality, security, and integrity of Association and customersystems and data.

What We Are Looking For

Required Skills

• Expertknowledge of credit policies, procedures, and loan structuring, with workingknowledge of corporate finance.
• Skillin selecting, managing, coaching, motivating, and developing diverse teams;communicating objectives; delegating responsibility; and managing personalemotions and others’ emotional reactions.
• Stronganalytical and systematic problem-solving skills, using logic and quantitativereasoning to interpret complex data, prioritize significant details, and makedecisive, adaptable business decisions.
• Stronglistening, verbal, written, and relationship-building skills to engage variedaudiences, advance Association interests, and work independently and acrossteams to achieve goals and represent the Association.
• Workingknowledge of computers and technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, business, finance, or agriculture
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in financial agribusiness or credit analysis.
• Minimum of 5 years of supervisory experience leading and developing teams.
  or an equivalent combination of education andexperience sufficient to perform the essential functions of the role
• Or an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to perform the essential functions of the role.
  .

Farm Credit Illinois is an Equal Employment / Affiantive Action employer. We do not discriminate in hiring based on any characteristic protected by law.

If you need a reasonable accommodation during any part of the employment process, please contact [e-mail]. Requests will be reviewed on a case‑by‑case basis.