What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Vice President Risk Management position at Zenith HR?
Must Haves
- Minimum 15 years of progressive risk and credit management experience in financial services
- Hands-on experience with direct ownership of underwriting and credit strategy
- Hands-on experience in both traditional banking/financial institutions and fintech/digital lending platforms
- Deep expertise in unsecured consumer and small business lending, including credit cards and lending products
- Experience building credit strategy and policy from the ground up, including end-to-end credit risk analysis, underwriting review, and quantitative portfolio analytics
- Demonstrated experience with AI/ML applications in underwriting, fraud detection, and credit risk modeling
- Prior experience as Head of Risk, Chief Credit Officer, or equivalent senior risk leadership role in a lending organization
- Strong understanding of digital lending platforms, loan origination systems (LOS), API integrations, and fintech infrastructure
- Strong knowledge of regulatory compliance for consumer and small business lending (TILA, ECOA, FCRA, state licensing, etc.)
- MBA or equivalent advanced degree
- Ability to commute to Woodbridge, NJ 3x per week
Plusses
- Professional certifications such as FRM, CFA, or relevant risk management credentials preferred
- Experience managing risk for loan origination platforms that sell loans to capital partners or investors
- Track record navigating funding challenges and capital partner relationships
- Prior experience at a fintech startup that scaled successfully
Day to Day
*Candidates without direct experience owning and building unsecured consumer or small business credit strategy will not be considered.*
We are seeking a hands-on, strategic, and analytical SVP of Risk Management to lead all credit and risk functions for a fast-growing fintech lender. This is not an enterprise risk compliance role—it is a quantitative, credit-focused position responsible for developing, implementing, and optimizing credit strategy, underwriting policies, and risk models across unsecured consumer and small business lending. The SVP will own the end-to-end credit lifecycle, including policy creation, underwriting platform management, AI/ML model oversight, fraud detection, portfolio monitoring, stress testing, and reporting to the board and capital partners. This role requires someone who has built credit strategy from scratch, tested and optimized credit processes, and led risk and analytics functions in a lending environment.