Chief Credit Strategy & Risk Leader

Ascentra Credit Union; Pleasant Valley Township (IA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Ascentra Credit Union in Iowa seeks a Vice President, Credit Officer to lead credit administration and enterprise credit risk management, protecting the organization’s strong credit culture and member-focused mission.

You will oversee consumer, business, and special assets credit, establish underwriting standards, guide portfolio risk management, and shape future credit strategy as the role expands to mortgage functions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field.
• 5–8 years of progressive financial institution leadership experience.
• Significant experience within credit administration, credit risk management, or commercial credit.
• Strong background in portfolio management and credit policy development.
• Experience overseeing special assets, loan workouts, and collections.
• Working knowledge of commercial and small business lending.
• Deep understanding of NCUA regulations, CECL/ACL methodologies, and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for credit administration, underwriting governance, and special assets functions.
• Lead and develop four direct-reports overseeing a team of approximately 13 employees across multiple departments.
• Develop, maintain, and continually improve credit policies, underwriting standards, lending authority, and risk appetite frameworks.
• Monitor portfolio performance, delinquency trends, concentrations, charge-offs, and emerging credit risks.
• Oversee commercial credit administration, loan review processes, portfolio management, and risk ratings.
• Guide complex loan decisions, exceptions, restructures, workouts, and problem loan strategies.
• Present portfolio performance, risk metrics, and credit quality reports to Executive Leadership and the Board Credit Committee.
• Partner closely with Consumer Lending, Mortgage, Business Services, Internal Audit, Compliance, and Executive Leadership.
• Ensure regulatory compliance with NCUA requirements, bankruptcy laws, fair lending, and consumer compliance regulations.
• Lead internal and external examinations, audits, and remediation efforts.
• Build scalable credit administration processes that support future organizational growth.
• Coach, mentor, and develop department leaders while fostering collaboration across the lending organization.

Skills

Credit leadership

Underwriting governance

Portfolio risk management

Regulatory compliance

Executive communication

Team development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Business

Job description

Ascentra Credit Union in Iowa seeks a Vice President, Credit Officer to lead credit administration and enterprise credit risk management, protecting the organization’s strong credit culture and member-focused mission.

You will oversee consumer, business, and special assets credit, establish underwriting standards, guide portfolio risk management, and shape future credit strategy as the role expands to mortgage functions.