Consumer Lending Manager

North Star Community Credit Union; Devils Lake (ND); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

North Star Community Credit Union seeks a Consumer Lending Manager to lead our lending program, guide a high-performing team, and ensure sound credit decisions that support member goals. You will oversee the end-to-end lending process, apply policies, and drive continuous improvement with strategic initiatives across products and rates.

The role emphasizes leadership, portfolio management, risk oversight, and delivering an exceptional member experience while maintaining responsible lending

Qualifications

• 5–8 years of progressive consumer lending or financial services experience.
• Strong experience in consumer loan origination, underwriting, credit analysis, and loan decisioning.
• Experience coaching, mentoring, developing, or leading lending professionals.
• Experience managing or monitoring consumer loan portfolio performance.
• Strong understanding of consumer lending regulations, compliance requirements, and sound lending practices.
• Experience interpreting and applying lending policies and underwriting guidelines.
• Experience with lending technology, loan origination systems, and core banking systems.
• Credit union or community banking experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop consumer lending staff.
• Build lending knowledge, confidence, consistency, and sound credit judgment across the team.
• Provide ongoing training on consumer lending policies, procedures, regulations, and best practices.
• Establish clear expectations and promote accountability for lending quality, service, and performance.
• Identify development opportunities and help employees strengthen their lending capabilities.
• Foster a collaborative, member-focused, and high-performing lending culture.
• Provide leadership and oversight for North Star's consumer lending operations.
• Manage and provide guidance on consumer loans from application through underwriting, approval, documentation, and closing.
• Support lending decisions involving both standard and more complex credit requests.
• Monitor lending production, application activity, approval trends, portfolio performance, and other key lending indicators.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen lending performance and improve the member experience.
• Partner with leadership on consumer lending priorities, products, rates, and strategic initiatives.
• Ensure lending practices are consistently applied throughout the organization.
• Evaluate consumer lending processes, policies, products, systems, and workflows for opportunities to improve.
• Lead and support lending process improvements from concept through implementation.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency while maintaining appropriate controls and credit quality.
• Partner with operational and core-system teams to strengthen lending workflows and system utilization.
• Stay current on emerging lending technology, industry practices, and changing member expectations.
• Recommend enhancements that improve the lending experience for both employees and members.

Skills

Leadership

Coaching

Mentoring

Credit judgment

Analytical decision-making

Communication

Collaboration

Lending expertise

Portfolio monitoring

Regulatory knowledge

Tools

Lending systems

Job description

Consumer Lending Manager

Our Purpose

At North Star Community Credit Union, we believe lending is more than numbers-it's about people, possibilities, and helping members move forward.

Every loan represents a member working toward something important: purchasing a vehicle, building credit, managing an unexpected expense, or creating greater financial stability. Our responsibility is to provide knowledgeable guidance, sound lending decisions, and an experience that earns our members' trust.

Our culture is grounded in- how we serve our members, support one another, and strengthen the communities we call home.

As we continue to strengthen and evolve our consumer lending program, we are looking for an experienced lending leader who is ready to develop people, drive performance, improve processes, and help shape what comes next.

Your Role: Consumer Lending Manager

As Consumer Lending Manager, you will provide leadership and direction for North Star's consumer lending program while serving as a trusted lending resource across the organization.

This role combines people leadership, lending expertise, portfolio management, risk oversight, and continuous improvement. You will help ensure our lending team has the knowledge, tools, coaching, and confidence needed to make consistent lending decisions and deliver an exceptional member experience.

Above all, you will help create a lending culture that balances member opportunity with responsible lending. You'll encourage thoughtful decision-making, strong credit judgment, and a willingness to look for solutions while protecting both our members and the long-term strength of the Credit Union.

What You'll Do

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop consumer lending staff.
• Build lending knowledge, confidence, consistency, and sound credit judgment across the team.
• Provide ongoing training on consumer lending policies, procedures, regulations, and best practices.
• Establish clear expectations and promote accountability for lending quality, service, and performance.
• Identify development opportunities and help employees strengthen their lending capabilities.
• Foster a collaborative, member-focused, and high-performing lending culture.

Consumer Lending Strategy & Operations

• Provide leadership and oversight for North Star's consumer lending operations.
• Manage and provide guidance on consumer loans from application through underwriting, approval, documentation, and closing.
• Support lending decisions involving both standard and more complex credit requests.
• Monitor lending production, application activity, approval trends, portfolio performance, and other key lending indicators.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen lending performance and improve the member experience.
• Partner with leadership on consumer lending priorities, products, rates, and strategic initiatives.
• Ensure lending practices are consistently applied throughout the organization.

Lending Innovation & Process Improvement

• Evaluate consumer lending processes, policies, products, systems, and workflows for opportunities to improve.
• Lead and support lending process improvements from concept through implementation.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency while maintaining appropriate controls and credit quality.
• Partner with operational and core-system teams to strengthen lending workflows and system utilization.
• Stay current on emerging lending technology, industry practices, and changing member expectations.
• Recommend enhancements that improve the lending experience for both employees and members.

Portfolio Management, Risk & Compliance

• Monitor and analyze consumer loan portfolio performance to maintain strong credit quality and portfolio soundness.
• Identify emerging risks, trends, and opportunities and recommend appropriate action.
• Provide oversight and direction related to delinquency management.
• Ensure consumer lending decisions align with established lending authority, policies, and underwriting standards.
• Maintain compliance with applicable state and federal consumer lending regulations.
• Provide oversight of regulatory and operational requirements associated with the Credit Union's Visa credit card portfolio.

Products, Rates & Market Awareness

• Monitor consumer lending trends, market conditions, competitor offerings, and interest rates.
• Evaluate existing lending products for competitiveness, member value, and performance.
• Recommend new or enhanced lending products when opportunities are identified.
• Partner with leadership to evaluate and recommend lending rate adjustments.
• Support lending strategies that responsibly expand opportunities for members while strengthening the Credit Union.

What We’re Looking For

Experience & Knowledge

• 5‑8 years of progressive consumer lending or financial services experience.
• Strong experience in consumer loan origination, underwriting, credit analysis, and loan decisioning.
• Demonstrated experience coaching, mentoring, developing, or leading lending professionals.
• Experience managing or monitoring consumer loan portfolio performance.
• Strong understanding of consumer lending regulations, compliance requirements, and sound lending practices.
• Experience interpreting and applying lending policies and underwriting guidelines.
• Experience with lending technology, loan origination systems, and core banking systems.
• Experience developing or improving lending policies, procedures, products, or processes preferred.
• Credit union or community banking experience preferred.

Skills & Abilities

• Strong leadership, coaching, and employee-development skills.
• Sound credit judgment and strong analytical decision-making abilities.
• Ability to use lending data and performance trends to identify opportunities and make informed decisions.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to influence and collaborate effectively across departments and levels of the organization.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• A continuous-improvement mindset and willingness to challenge existing processes when a better solution is available.
• High level of accuracy, accountability, discretion, and professional judgment.
• Ability to balance member service, lending growth, operational efficiency