Commercial Loan Specialist

Russell Tobin; Baltimore (MD); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Russell Tobin is seeking an Associate to support the FID Secured Lending origination function within Loan Operations. You will partner with deal teams and internal controls to support new facilities, amendments, renewals, and related funding events.

The role focuses on operational readiness from intake through booking and closing, ensuring complete documentation, accurate system setup, timely issue identification, disciplined escalation, and audit-ready evidence.

Qualifications

• Strong attention to detail, organization, and ability to manage multiple time-sensitive transactions and dependencies.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to elevate issues concisely and factually.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and ability to learn loan booking and workflow platforms.

Responsibilities

• Origination Intake and Pipeline Management: review pipelines, establish ownership, milestones and target dates.
• Documentation and Closing Readiness: collect and validate closing packages; verify terms align with deal terms.
• Deal Setup, Booking and Funding Coordination: support system setup and alignment of settlement readiness.
• Risk, Controls and Governance: execute controls, maintain audit trail, and escalate when needed.
• Stakeholder and Client Service: partner with deal teams and cross-functional partners; provide status updates.

Skills

Attention to detail

Written & verbal communication

Organization

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Office

Loan IQ

Job description

Duration : 11 Months with extension or conversion possibility

Overview

The Associate will support the FID Secured Lending (FSL) origination function within Loan Operations, partnering with Business Unit deal teams and internal control functions to support new facilities, amendments, renewals, and related funding events.

The role is responsible for driving operational readiness from initial deal intake through booking and closing, with a focus on complete documentation, accurate system setup, timely issue identification, disciplined escalation, and audit-ready evidence.

Operating Principle: No booking or funding should proceed until required documentation, approvals, settlement details, and control checks are complete and evidenced.

Responsibilities

Origination Intake and Pipeline Management

• Review new-deal, amendment, renewal, and funding pipelines; establish clear ownership, milestones, dependencies, and target dates.
• Engage early with deal teams to obtain draft legal documentation and identify operational requirements, product structure, currencies, entities, and anticipated settlement flows.
• Maintain accurate status tracking and provide concise updates on readiness, open items, risks, and decisions required.
• Coordinate handoffs across origination, booking, funding, and post-closing servicing teams to prevent gaps or duplication.

Documentation and Closing Readiness

• Collect and validate required closing packages, including applicable credit agreements, fee letters, closing checklists, borrowing notices, funding memos, standing settlement instructions, KYC evidence, approvals, and product-specific documentation.
• Compare operational instructions and economics to legal and approved deal terms and investigate discrepancies before booking or funding.
• Confirm that conditions required for operational setup are complete, appropriately approved, and retained in the designated repository.
• Escalate incomplete, late, or inconsistent documentation that may place closing or funding timelines at risk.

Deal Setup, Booking and Funding Coordination

• Prepare and/or support deal, facility, borrower, lender, pricing, fee, commitment, and settlement setup in approved systems, including Loan IQ and applicable workflow tools.
• Coordinate account, entity, SSI, KYC, cash, and settlement readiness with relevant internal teams.
• Support pre-closing validation, maker-checker review, funding memo alignment, and release-readiness checks.
• Monitor closing-day activity, promptly resolve exceptions, and communicate material risks or dependencies to management and business partners.
• Complete post-closing checks to confirm that booked terms, balances, commitments, cash flows, fees, and retained evidence align with approved documentation.

Risk, Controls and Governance

• Execute assigned controls accurately and on time, including checklist completion, evidence retention, reconciliations, exception tracking, and escalation.
• Apply a control-first mindset to prevent incorrect bookings, late or failed fundings, settlement errors, inaccurate invoicing, and downstream books-and-records issues.
• Maintain a clear audit trail of source documentation, approvals, updates, exceptions, and resolution evidence.
• Follow applicable procedures, approval authorities, information-handling requirements, and segregation-of-duties standards.
• Identify recurring breaks or capacity constraints and contribute to root-cause analysis, process standardization, and sustainable remediation.

Stakeholder and Client Service

• Partner with Business Unit deal teams, Credit, Legal, KYC/AML, Controllers, Treasury, Technology, Asset Management, and other Operations teams.
• Provide timely, accurate, and transparent status updates, with clear ownership and next steps for open items.
• Respond to internal and external inquiries professionally and route servicing matters to the appropriate team after closing.
• Build constructive working relationships while maintaining strong challenge when documentation, approvals, or controls are incomplete.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent relevant experience.
• Experience in loan operations, lending operations, transaction management, middle office, or a comparable financial-services control function.
• Working knowledge of the loan lifecycle, including new-deal setup, amendments, funding, settlement, fees, and servicing handoffs.
• Strong attention to detail, organization, and ability to manage multiple time-sensitive transactions and dependencies.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to elevate issues concisely and factually.
• Demonstrated control mindset, sound judgment, accountability, and disciplined follow-through.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and ability to learn loan booking and workflow platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands‑on experience with Loan IQ.
• Exposure to secured lending, warehouse facilities, syndicated or bilateral loans, subscription finance, direct lending, commercial real estate, asset‑backed lending, CLO financing, or residential warehouse lending.
• Experience interpreting credit agreements, fee letters, borrowing notices, funding memos, closing checklists, and settlement instructions.
• Experience working with front‑office deal teams and cross‑functional partners in a high‑volume, deadline‑driven environment.
• Familiarity with maker‑checker controls, operational risk management, reconciliations, metrics, and audit‑ready evidence standards.