What are the responsibilities and job description for the Mortgage Processing Leader position at Northern Mortgage?
Location: [Remote / Hybrid / Branch-Based]
Employment Type: Full-Time
Position Overview
The Mortgage Processing Leader serves as the critical link between branch production teams and corporate operations. This role combines hands-on processing leadership with compliance oversight, and performance optimization. The ideal candidate is a seasoned mortgage professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment, understands agency and investor guidelines, and excels at driving consistency, quality, and accountability across multiple branches and states.
Key Responsibilities
Branch Liaison & Processing
- Act as the primary operational point of contact for assigned branches
- Translate corporate policies, procedures, and investor requirements into practical branch-level execution
- Proactively identify workflow gaps, training needs, and communication breakdowns
- Partner with Sales Leadership to support branch growth while maintaining operational integrity
- Lead regular pipeline, performance, and issue-resolution meetings with branch leadership
Knowledge of Operations
- Help establish and enforce standardized processing workflows, turn times, and documentation quality
- Oversee pipeline flow from application through clear-to-close, ensuring service-level commitments are met
- Resolve escalated loan issues involving income, assets, credit, property, or investor overlays
- Collaborate with underwriting, closing, and secondary to ensure seamless file movement
Compliance, Quality & Risk Review
- Ensure loans are processed in compliance with current FNMA, FHLMC, FHA, VA, USDA, state, and investor guidelines
- Monitor adherence to TRID, fair lending, and internal audit standards
- Support pre-funding and post-closing quality control initiatives
- Assist in remediation of audit findings, repurchase requests, or investor conditions when applicable
- Maintain strong documentation standards to reduce defects, conditions, and suspense items
Performance & Reporting
- Track and report on pipeline metrics including turn times, fallout, condition rates, and clear-to-close performance
- Identify trends impacting branch productivity or loan quality and implement corrective action plans
- Support onboarding of new branches, loan officers, and processing staff
- Recommend operational enhancements, technology improvements, and workflow efficiencies
Qualifications
Required
- Minimum 5 years of mortgage processing experience
- Prior leadership or management experience within mortgage operations or processing
- Strong working knowledge of agency and government loan programs
- Proven ability to manage multiple pipelines and competing priorities
- Excellent communication, conflict-resolution, and coaching skills
- High attention to detail and able to create and present trainings
Preferred
- Experience supporting multi-branch or distributed sales environments
- Encompass and automated technology experience a plus
What We Offer
- Competitive salary plus performance-based incentives
- Growth-oriented leadership role with direct impact on branch success
- Collaborative culture focused on quality, accountability, and service
- Comprehensive benefits package including health, PTO, and retirement options
- Opportunity to shape operational standards and support scalable growth
Why Join Us
This role is ideal for a mortgage professional who enjoys bridging the gap between sales and operations, driving excellence, and being viewed as a trusted partner across the organization—not just behind the scenes.