Consumer Lending Underwriter

Kansas City Credit Union; Kansas City (MO); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Kansas City Credit Union is seeking a Consumer Lending Underwriter to render timely, well-documented decisions on consumer loan applications, including auto and unsecured products. You will evaluate risk factors and structure terms within policy guidelines, using decisioning tools as needed.

The role emphasizes documentation, adherence to fair-lending rules, and collaboration with loan specialists to maintain service levels and accurate records.

Qualifications

• Three+ years of consumer lending or underwriting experience.
• Experience analyzing credit reports, income, cash flow, and collateral.
• Familiarity with fair-lending expectations and consumer-credit regulations.
• Proficiency with loan- origination systems and scorecard tools.

Responsibilities

• Review and decide on direct and indirect consumer loan applications (auto, personal, credit card, etc.).
• Document credit rationale, conditions, and action reasons clearly.
• Maintain timely loan-system records and participate in reviews/audits.
• Train staff and suggest workflow or policy improvements to leadership.

Skills

Credit analysis

Underwriting

Written communication

Time management

Education

Bachelor's degree in business/finance or related field

Tools

Loan origination system

Core platform

Credit-bureau tools

Automated decisioning/scorecards

Job description

Position Summary

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Consumer Lending Underwriter is responsible for timely, consistent, and well-documented decisions on direct and indirect consumer loan applications, along with selected loan-operations and portfolio-monitoring duties.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Credit Analysis and Decisioning

• Review and decision direct and indirect consumer loan applications, including auto, personal, credit card, share-secured, and other consumer products assigned to the centralized underwriting queue.
• Evaluate credit history, income, debt obligations, collateral, loan-to-value, term, member relationship, and other relevant risk factors; approve, conditionally approve, counteroffer, or decline within delegated authority.
• Structure loan amount, down payment, term, collateral, pricing, and stipulations in accordance with lending policy and product guidelines; use automated decisioning and scorecards as decision-support tools.
• Identify fraud indicators, inconsistent application information, identity concerns, and unusual activity; pause decisioning and elevate concerns through established channels.

Decision Quality, Documentation, and Compliance

• Document the credit rationale, conditions, exceptions, overrides, and adverse-action reasons clearly and accurately.
• Apply lending policy consistently and comply with applicable consumer-lending, fair-lending, and member-protection requirements; elevate compliance concerns promptly.
• Verify that required supporting documentation and underwriting stipulations are satisfied before final approval or handoff for closing and funding.
• Maintain complete and timely loan-system records and participate in loan reviews, audits, examinations, and corrective-action work involving consumer credit decisions.

Workflow and Lending Operations Support

• Manage the underwriting queue to established service levels, prioritize time-sensitive indirect and member-facing requests, and communicate delays or missing information promptly.
• Communicate decisions, conditions, counteroffers, and structure guidance clearly to Consumer Loan Specialists and member-service staff.
• Perform assigned post-decision quality checks and support exception tracking, procedure maintenance, lending-system testing, and resolution of application or documentation issues.
• Train staff on application quality and lending requirements and recommend workflow, policy, scorecard, and system improvements to the Chief Operating Officer.

Portfolio Monitoring and Risk Reporting

• Monitor approval, decline, counteroffer, exception, override, and turnaround-time trends and report meaningful findings to the Chief Operating Officer and management.
• Review early-payment defaults, delinquency, charge-offs, collateral performance, dealer trends, and loan vintages to identify emerging underwriting concerns.
• Assist with periodic validation of underwriting guidelines, pricing tiers, decision models, policy limits, and delegated authority.
• Identify concentrations, repeat exceptions, documentation weaknesses, or adverse trends; recommend corrective action and maintain the confidentiality of member and credit information.

Decision Authority and Escalation

The position may make consumer credit decisions only within authority formally delegated under Board-approved lending policy.

• Applications within delegated authority: decision independently and document the rationale.
• Policy exceptions, amounts above delegated authority, new or unusual products, material fraud concerns, or unresolved compliance questions: elevate to the Chief Operating Officer before approval.
• Maintain independent credit judgment and do not allow loan-production goals or sales pressure to influence decisions.
• The underwriter may not approve a loan involving the underwriter, an immediate family member, or another conflict of interest; those applications must be reassigned.

Performance Expectations

• Meets established turnaround-time standards while maintaining decision quality and member service.
• Produces complete, accurate, and consistently documented credit decisions with minimal avoidable rework.
• Maintains policy-exception and override rates within approved risk appetite and supports acceptable early-delinquency, first-payment-default, and loss performance.
• Maintains accurate adverse-action reasons, stipulations, and loan-system records with no material repeat audit or examination findings.
• Demonstrates sound independent judgment, constructive partnership with sales staff, and appropriate escalation of uncertain or higher-risk decisions.

Required Qualifications

• Three or more years of progressively responsible consumer lending or underwriting experience, with meaningful experience in auto and unsecured lending.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze credit reports, income, cash flow, debt obligations, collateral, risk-based pricing, and loan structure.
• Working knowledge of direct and indirect consumer lending, lending documentation, fair-lending expectations, and applicable consumer-credit regulations.
• Experience using a loan origination system, core platform, credit-bureau tools, and automated decisioning or scorecard solutions.
• Strong written communication, attention to detail, time management, independent judgment, confidentiality, and ability to explain decisions clearly and respectfully.

Preferred Qualifications

• Credit union or community financial institution experience, including direct and indirect auto underwriting.
• Experience with loan quality control, post-booking review, portfolio reporting, or lending-system testing.
• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, accounting, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience; lending or underwriting certification is a plus.

Core Competencies

• Credit judgment
• Analytical thinking
• Risk-based decisioning
• Fair and consistent treatment
• Documentation discipline
• Member focus
• Collaboration
• Accountability
• Confidentiality
• Continuous improvement

Physical and Work Requirements

This position regularly uses a computer and other office equipment, communicates by telephone and electronic channels, reviews detailed financial information, and may remain seated for extended periods. The employee must be able to perform the essential functions of the position, with reasonable accommodation when required by applicable law.

Acknowledgment and Disclaimer

This job description summarizes the position's primary duties and expectations. It is not an employment contract and does not limit Kansas City Credit Union's ability to assign other duties consistent with the role, operational needs, and applicable law. Duties, authority, and reporting relationships may be revised as the organization evolves.