Sr. C&I Loan Officer

Arizona Federal Credit Union; Phoenix, Northern (AZ, KY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Arizona Federal Credit Union is seeking a senior C&I Lender III to source, originate, structure, manage, and close complex commercial lending opportunities. You will drive new relationship growth, portfolio quality, and member retention while coordinating with underwriting, processing, closing, and servicing teams.

The role emphasizes direct production, strategic portfolio management, and a strong borrower experience from application through closing.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field required.
• 7+ years of C&I/commercial lending experience with proven origination and structuring.
• Completed formal commercial credit training.

Responsibilities

• Sources and originates commercial and industrial loan opportunities.
• Maintains an active pipeline and follows up with borrowers and partners.
• Develops sophisticated loan structures with underwriting collaboration.
• Leads borrower discussions and presents opportunities to underwriting/leadership.

Skills

C&I lending

Relationship management

Portfolio management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Business

Commercial credit training

Tools

Sageworks

Microsoft Office

Job description

Description

Job Summary Overview

This position is responsible for sourcing, originating, structuring, managing, and closing larger and more complex commercial and industrial lending opportunities. The C&I Lender III role serves as a senior individual contributor commercial lending production position responsible for driving new relationship growth, portfolio quality, member retention, and strategic market presence for the credit union’s commercial lending division.

The C&I Lender III is expected to proactively develop new C&I lending relationships through established market relationships, referral source development, borrower outreach, internal relationship-building, and disciplined pipeline management. The primary focus of the role is direct production, complex relationship acquisition, and bringing quality opportunities forward for review and consideration.

The position will manage a larger and more complex assigned commercial loan portfolio. Portfolio management is an important part of the role; however, the primary emphasis remains sourcing new opportunities, originating new C&I relationships, and expanding high-quality commercial member relationships over time.

The role is responsible for leading borrower and referral source discussions, developing appropriate loan structures, coordinating with underwriting, processing, closing, servicing, credit administration, and other internal partners, and ensuring a sophisticated and professional borrower experience throughout the loan process.

This position is intended to serve as a senior individual contributor production role. The primary scorecard metrics for this role will emphasize funded C&I loan dollar volume, referrals to other departments, pipeline volume, and opportunities brought forward for internal consideration.

Essential Job Functions

• Sources and originates commercial and industrial loan opportunities, including working capital lines of credit, equipment financing, term loans, and other permitted commercial lending opportunities, including commercial real estate or government-guaranteed lending paths when appropriate.
• Serves as the relationship contact for new and assigned commercial borrowers from initial introduction through loan closing and fosters and deepens these relationships after closing.
• Conducts borrower discovery conversations to understand business background, ownership structure, financing needs, repayment sources, collateral, loan purpose, and overall relationship opportunity.
• Reviews and organizes borrower-provided financial information to support preliminary loan evaluation and internal underwriting review.
• Structures and advances C&I lending opportunities in alignment with credit union lending policies, risk appetite, and production strategies.
• Coordinates with underwriting, processing, closing, servicing, and other internal departments to support a seamless member experience from application through closing.
• Maintains an active pipeline of assigned commercial lending opportunities and provides timely follow-up to borrowers, referral partners, and internal stakeholders.
• Identifies opportunities to deepen existing commercial member relationships, including additional lending needs, deposit relationships, treasury management services, and partner referrals.
• Reviews loan documentation to ensure consistency with loan approval requirements and proper collateral perfection and lien position.
• Organizes and manages the loan process through internal systems, including Sageworks and other department-specific systems.
• Supports operations, risk management initiatives, and a strong control environment.
• Maintains professional and community relations to increase the credit union’s visibility and enhance new business opportunities.
• Keeps well informed of the financial industry, C&I lending trends, market conditions, and competition.
• Develops and maintains a network of referral sources.
• Ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, internal policies, procedures, and documentation standards.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.
• Leads the origination and management of larger and highly complex C&I lending relationships involving multiple entities, guarantors, collateral types, operating companies, commercial real estate, acquisition financing, partner buyouts, and government-guaranteed lending structures when appropriate.
• Serves as a senior relationship manager and trusted advisor to commercial members with complex operating, ownership, financing, and succession considerations.
• Develops sophisticated credit structures and risk mitigation strategies in partnership with underwriting, credit administration, processing, closing, servicing, and executive leadership when appropriate.
• Acts as lead presenter for significant commercial loan opportunities and communicates transaction structure, relationship strategy, repayment analysis, collateral support, and key risks and mitigants.
• Manages a larger and more complex commercial portfolio with an emphasis on profitability, member retention, credit quality, risk identification, renewal discipline, and long-term relationship growth.
• Serves as a senior individual contributor by sharing market, structuring, and relationship-management insight when appropriate, while remaining primarily focused on direct production and portfolio management responsibilities.
• Develops and maintains strategic centers of influence, including CPAs, attorneys, brokers, business advisors, community leaders, and other referral partners.

Requirements

Position Required Qualifications

Minimum Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field is required, along with seven (7) years of experience in C&I lending, commercial lending, business banking, commercial credit analysis, or related financial services, with a proven record of originating, structuring, presenting, and managing complex commercial loan relationships.

Completed formal commercial credit training is required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge of Microsoft Office. Professional written and verbal communication, problem solving, and interpersonal skills, along with the ability to produce quality work within tight time frames while managing multiple assignments.

Ability to learn and work within department-specific processing systems, including Sageworks, and other credit union lending platforms.

Ability to manage a pipeline, follow up consistently with borrowers and internal stakeholders, and maintain a high level of organization throughout the loan process.

Ability to develop and maintain commercial member relationships with the intention of fostering long-term relationship growth.

Advanced knowledge of C&I lending structures, business financial statements, tax returns, interim financial statements, projections, collateral support, guarantor analysis, global cash flow, covenant structures, and commercial credit risk mitigation.

Ability to lead complex commercial borrower discussions, coordinate cross-functional internal resources, and present lending opportunities clearly to underwriting, credit administration, loan committee, or senior leadership.

Ability to develop, retain, and expand complex commercial member relationships while driving lending, deposit, treasury management, and partner referral opportunities.

Ability to serve as a senior individual contributor, share practical structuring and relationship-management insight when appropriate, and contribute to department-level production strategy and process improvement without formal leadership responsibility.

Licenses, Training, and Certifications Required

None.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree, relevant industry certification, or additional commercial credit training.
• Prior experience with C&I lending, commercial lending, business banking, or commercial credit analysis.
• Experience managing borrower relationships, lending pipelines, financial document collection, and loan closing coordination.
• Experience with JHA, Sageworks, or similar financial institution systems.
• Advanced formal commercial credit training.
• Experience presenting significant commercial loan opportunities to loan committee or senior leadership.
• Established referral source network and demonstrated success developing centers of influence.
• Experience contributing to commercial lending process improvement initiatives or sharing practical market and structuring insight as a senior individual contributor.

Hybrid Work Environment and Physical Demands

• Work additional and flexible hours, including mornings, evenings, and weekends, as required.
• Occasional lifting, 25 pounds or less.
• Sitting and standing for extended periods of time.
• Working on a computer for extended periods of time.

NOTE: The job description is intended to be generic in nature. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. Requirements listed in the above qualifications and physical requirements are representative of the knowledge, skill, abilities, physical demands, or work environment required or encountered that must be met by an employee to successfully perform each duty and each function of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

Employees who work from home must have business operational internet to complete work tasks and communicate via video call or chat messaging systems in a dedicated workspace.