Strategic Credit Leader & Portfolio Risk Architect

ThinkingAhead; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

ThinkingAhead seeks a Chief Credit Officer to lead the company’s credit strategy, underwriting standards, and portfolio risk management. This executive role guides evaluations, approvals, and governance across underwriting, policy, and risk reporting.

The CCO will oversee the credit lifecycle, collaborate with leadership, and drive disciplined processes to maintain portfolio quality and compliance with lender requirements.

Responsibilities

• Oversee underwriting for new loan opportunities, renewals, amendments, and restructurings.
• Review and approve credit memoranda, borrower financial analysis, collateral analysis, cash flow projections, and risk assessments.
• Ensure credit decisions are supported by appropriate financial, operational, collateral, and legal diligence.
• Evaluate borrower management teams, business models, industry trends, liquidity, leverage, and repayment capacity.
• Structure transactions to appropriately balance borrower needs, collateral protection, risk, and return.
• Develop, maintain, and enforce credit policies, underwriting guidelines, approval authorities, and risk-rating methodology.
• Ensure policies remain appropriate as the company grows and market conditions change.
• Create consistent standards for collateral eligibility, advance rates, covenant requirements, reserves, reporting, and monitoring.
• Identify gaps in credit processes and implement improvements to increase efficiency, consistency, and risk control.
• Monitor portfolio performance, borrower trends, collateral coverage, covenant compliance, delinquencies, and credit deterioration.
• Identify emerging risks and recommend proactive actions to protect the company’s capital.
• Oversee portfolio reviews, watchlist reporting, risk ratings, and problem-loan management.
• Review borrowing base certificates, field exam results, appraisals, financial statements, and other borrower reporting.
• Partner with portfolio management and operations teams to ensure ongoing compliance with loan terms and collateral requirements.
• Lead or participate in credit committee meetings and present recommendations on new deals, renewals, amendments, and exceptions.
• Provide clear, concise credit reporting to senior management, the board, investors, bank partners, and other stakeholders.
• Track and report key credit metrics, including portfolio quality, concentration risk, exceptions, delinquencies, non-performing loans, charge-offs, and covenant defaults.
• Document credit decisions, approvals, policy exceptions, and risk mitigants.
• Oversee troubled credits, default management, workout strategies, restructurings, and liquidation plans.
• Work with legal counsel, collateral specialists, and management to protect the company’s position.
• Recommend reserves, charge-offs, amendments, forbearance agreements, or enforcement actions when appropriate.
• Ensure timely escalation of borrower issues and credit deterioration.
• Ensure lending practices comply with applicable laws, regulations, internal policies, investor requirements, and bank facility requirements.
• Support audits, examinations, due diligence reviews, and lender/investor reporting.
• Maintain strong documentation standards for credit files, approvals, amendments, policy exceptions, and ongoing monitoring.
• Help strengthen internal controls around credit approval, collateral monitoring, and portfolio oversight.

Job description

ThinkingAhead seeks a Chief Credit Officer to lead the company’s credit strategy, underwriting standards, and portfolio risk management. This executive role guides evaluations, approvals, and governance across underwriting, policy, and risk reporting.

The CCO will oversee the credit lifecycle, collaborate with leadership, and drive disciplined processes to maintain portfolio quality and compliance with lender requirements.