Mortgage Operations Director

Position Summary

The Mortgage Operations Director serves as the senior-most operational leader for the credit union’s mortgage business and is accountable for the end-to-end execution, scalability, and performance of mortgage operations. This role owns how mortgages move from application through post-closing, ensuring operational excellence, sound risk management, and a high-quality borrower and employee experience.

The Mortgage Operations Director is a systems-oriented leader and change agent who builds structure, develops leaders, and implements scalable processes that support consistent growth. While the role may require hands on involvement initially, success is defined by the ability to transition the organization toward disciplined execution through strong leadership, delegation, and accountability. The Director directly manages senior operational leaders - including Underwriting, Operations, Quality Control, and Lock Desk leadership - and partners closely with executive leadership to bring forward data driven recommendations, solutions, and strategic proposals.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Provide executive level leadership across all mortgage operations functions, including underwriting, processing, closing, post-closing, quality control, and lock desk operations.
• Design and maintain an operational structure capable of producing 300 loans per month without sacrificing quality, compliance, or culture.
• Establish clear ownership, escalation paths, and performance expectations across all operational teams.
• Lead the transition from hands on execution to a sustainable, leader led operating model as systems and processes mature.
• Provide leadership oversight through direct management of the Underwriting Manager.
• Ensure consistent application of credit policy, underwriting standards, and exception frameworks.
• Oversee underwriting capacity planning, file count expectations, and workflow segmentation.
• Ensure underwriting decisions balance sound risk management with responsible growth and borrower experience.
• Own operational execution through direct management of the Mortgage Operations Manager.
• Ensure accurate, efficient, and timely movement of loan files through all operational stages.
• Drive improvements in turn times, throughput, and quality by optimizing workflows and accountability.
• Partner with production leadership to reduce friction without compromising standards.
• Own Quality Control through direct oversight of the QC function.
• Ensure mortgage operations adhere to applicable regulatory requirements, including RESPA, HMDA, Fair Lending, and investor standards.
• Maintain a posture that is compliant, disciplined, and business minded—not overly cautious or risk averse.
• Monitors repurchase risk, defect trends, and audit outcomes, and implement corrective action as needed.
• Own lock desk operations and investor delivery through direct oversight.
• Ensure pricing, lock execution, and delivery processes support profitability, borrower experience, and risk tolerance.
• Maintain strong operational alignment with secondary market execution requirements.
• Partner with executive leadership on staffing models tied to volume, file count, and capacity per FTE.
• Bring forward proactive staffing recommendations based on data
• Support hiring, development, and retention of high performing operational talent.
• Partner with leadership on oversight of the mortgage technology stack, including LOS, automation tools, reporting platforms, and future AI applications.
• Drive operational readiness for automation and AI as a medium-term strategic initiative.
• Ensure systems support measurable execution, transparency, and scalability.
• Own operational performance reporting across turn times, quality metrics, cost per loan, employee capacity, and borrower experience.
• Provide clear, actionable insights that support executive decision making.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives that simplify processes, reduce waste, and improve outcomes
• Lead, coach, and develop senior operational leaders with a strong emphasis on accountability and ownership.
• Build a culture of clarity, responsibility, and continuous improvement.
• Be a disciplined delegator; developing leaders rather than absorbing issues personally.
• The Mortgage Operations Director brings proposals, recommendations, and solutions to executive leadership for final decision making.
• Final authority for credit exceptions, staffing increases, vendor changes, and major process redesign rests with executive leadership; however, success is measured by the quality and preparedness of recommendations brought forward.
• Serves as the primary operational escalation point between Operations and Production, with executive oversight.

Skills & Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of mortgage industry experience, with progressive leadership responsibility.
• Experience in mortgage operations leadership at a credit union, bank, or mortgage company.
• Proven strength in systems thinking, operational analytics, and process design.
• Demonstrated ability to lead change, modernize operations, and remove legacy inefficiencies.
• Strong people leadership skills with experience managing senior leaders.
• Comfortable operating in a growth oriented, performance driven environment.

This job description is intended to provide a high-level of general requirements for this position. It is not a complete statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements. Other duties not listed here may be assigned as necessary to ensure proper operations.