What are the responsibilities and job description for the Servicing Operations Lead - Document Custody position at Citizens?
Description
Job Summary
The Document Custody Team Lead is responsible for providing day-to-day leadership support and workflow coordination for a team of Document Custody Specialists while serving as a subject matter expert in mortgage collateral documentation and investor requirements. This role supports the review, certification, tracking, storage, and management of mortgage collateral documents to ensure compliance with investor, regulatory, and internal standards. The Team Lead acts as the primary escalation point for operational issues, drives workflow prioritization, supports quality and audit readiness activities, and partners with leadership to improve operational performance and control effectiveness.
Key Responsibilities
Equal Employment Opportunity
Citizens, its parent, subsidiaries, and related companies (Citizens) provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all colleagues and applicants for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, citizenship, physical or mental disability, perceived disability or history or record of a disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, genetic characteristic, marital or domestic partner status, victim of domestic violence, family status/parenthood, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, pregnancy/childbirth/lactation, colleague’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by federal, state and/or local laws. At Citizens, we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that enables all colleagues to bring their best selves to work every day and everyone is expected to be treated with respect and professionalism. Employment decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, performance and capability.
Why Work for Us
At Citizens, you'll find a customer-centric culture built around helping our customers and giving back to our local communities. When you join our team, you are part of a supportive and collaborative workforce, with access to training and tools to accelerate your potential and maximize your career growth
Job Summary
The Document Custody Team Lead is responsible for providing day-to-day leadership support and workflow coordination for a team of Document Custody Specialists while serving as a subject matter expert in mortgage collateral documentation and investor requirements. This role supports the review, certification, tracking, storage, and management of mortgage collateral documents to ensure compliance with investor, regulatory, and internal standards. The Team Lead acts as the primary escalation point for operational issues, drives workflow prioritization, supports quality and audit readiness activities, and partners with leadership to improve operational performance and control effectiveness.
Key Responsibilities
- Coordinate and prioritize daily team workloads to ensure service level objectives and operational deadlines are met.
- Serve as a subject matter expert and first point of escalation for complex document custody issues and exception resolution.
- Provide guidance, training, and support to team members on document custody processes, investor requirements, and operational procedures.
- Monitor team production, workflow queues, and aging inventories to ensure timely completion of work.
- Facilitate cross-training and knowledge sharing to improve operational coverage and sustainability.
- Partner with management to communicate priorities, identify resource needs, and support departmental initiatives.
- Review and validate original mortgage collateral documents including Notes, Mortgages, Assignments, Modifications, Title Policies, and related instruments.
- Ensure completeness, accuracy, and compliance with investor, regulatory, and internal requirements.
- Coordinate document certification, custodial transfers, servicing transfers, collateral retrieval requests, and document release activities.
- Maintain accurate collateral tracking and status reporting within custody systems and repositories.
- Ensure secure handling, storage, transportation, and retrieval of physical and electronic collateral.
- 3–5 years of experience in Mortgage Document Custody, Collateral Management, or Mortgage Servicing Operations
- Strong knowledge of mortgage collateral documentation and investor requirements.
- Experience reviewing and resolving document exceptions and custody-related issues.
- Demonstrated ability to lead workflow, influence peers, and provide operational guidance in a highly regulated environment.
- Working knowledge of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, and mortgage servicing requirements.
- Strong understanding of mortgage collateral documentation, including Notes, Mortgages, Assignments, Modifications, and Title instruments.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Proficiency in document management systems, Microsoft Office applications, SharePoint, and reporting tools.
- Ability to prioritize work, manage competing deadlines, and lead through influence.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Citizens, its parent, subsidiaries, and related companies (Citizens) provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all colleagues and applicants for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, citizenship, physical or mental disability, perceived disability or history or record of a disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, genetic characteristic, marital or domestic partner status, victim of domestic violence, family status/parenthood, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, pregnancy/childbirth/lactation, colleague’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by federal, state and/or local laws. At Citizens, we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that enables all colleagues to bring their best selves to work every day and everyone is expected to be treated with respect and professionalism. Employment decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, performance and capability.
Why Work for Us
At Citizens, you'll find a customer-centric culture built around helping our customers and giving back to our local communities. When you join our team, you are part of a supportive and collaborative workforce, with access to training and tools to accelerate your potential and maximize your career growth