Director of Credit Risk Management

Job Summary Populus Financial Group is seeking a Director of Credit Risk Management, a strategic and analytical leader responsible for shaping and executing Populus Financial Group’s enterprise credit risk strategy across all lending portfolios. This role ensures the company’s credit policies, models, and risk decisioning frameworks are data-driven, forward-looking, and aligned with the organization’s growth, profitability, and compliance objectives. The Director leads a high-performing team of credit risk professionals and partners closely with Finance, Lending, Marketing, and Technology to ensure balanced, predictive, and profitable lending outcomes. The role combines deep technical expertise in credit risk modeling with strategic vision, innovation, and thought leadership in emerging risk technologies. Major Responsibilities Develop and execute a strategic roadmap for credit risk management that aligns with corporate strategy, portfolio performance, and risk appetite. Act as the thought leader for credit risk, guiding model development, policy design, and analytics in line with enterprise goals. Design, implement, and continuously refine credit policies and decisioning frameworks that are agile, compliant, and performance focused. Oversee underwriting model governance, including monitoring, validation, recalibration, and drift management to ensure accuracy and portfolio stability. Champion innovation through AI, machine learning, and alternative data to enhance predictability and credit quality. Continuously evaluate and optimize credit waterfalls and origination strategies to maximize efficiency, profitability, and controlled risk. Lead portfolio forecasting, early warning, and stress testing processes to identify vulnerabilities and mitigate emerging risks. Partner with Finance, Product, and Marketing to align pricing, policy, and acquisition strategies with risk-adjusted profitability goals. Oversee credit risk aspects of direct mail and acquisition programs, ensuring predictive targeting, compliance, and performance optimization. Lead the development, testing, and rollout of new underwriting and portfolio management models across products and channels. Maintain strong model governance frameworks with transparency, version control, and performance accountability. Identify and integrate new data sources—including behavioral, transactional, and digital identity data—to improve model accuracy and portfolio insights. Define and monitor key risk indicators (KRIs) and performance metrics to track portfolio and model health. Provide leadership with strategic insights on credit trends, portfolio health, and emerging risks through analytics and reporting. Collaborate with Compliance, Legal, and Internal Audit to ensure all credit policies and practices meet regulatory and governance standards. Lead, mentor, and develop credit risk and data science teams to build capability and a culture of continuous learning and innovation. Represent Credit Risk in enterprise committees and contribute to company-wide risk and growth strategies. Partner with Loan Servicing, Collections, Fraud Strategy and Operations to align credit and fraud frameworks, balancing risk mitigation with customer experience. Integrate fraud indicators and identity data into underwriting models and acquisition strategies. Monitor emerging fraud trends and lead initiatives to strengthen predictive fraud controls through advanced analytics and real-time data. Key Competencies Strategic and Analytical Thinking Leadership & Talent Development AI and Machine Learning Application in Credit Risk Portfolio Optimization & Forecasting Model Governance and Validation Expertise Business Acumen and Financial Literacy Cross-Functional Collaboration and Influence Change Leadership and Innovation Ethical Judgment and Risk Discipline Fraud Risk and Identity Management Expertise Minimum Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Statistics, or related field (Master’s or MBA preferred). 7+ years of experience in consumer lending or credit risk management with 3+ years in a leadership capacity. Proven experience managing underwriting and portfolio risk strategies for large-scale lending businesses. Strong background in credit modeling, AI/ML integration, and model lifecycle management. Experience with new data source identification, validation, and integration to improve model predictability. Demonstrated success developing and managing strategic roadmaps for credit risk organizations. Deep understanding of regu