Best Egg

Managing Director, Credit Risk – 2nd Line of Defense

Best Egg

full-time

Posted on:

Location Type: Hybrid

Location: Wilmington • United States

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Salary

💰 $250,000 - $290,000 per year

Job Level

Lead

About the role

  • Establish and maintain credit risk appetite, lending guardrails, and buy-box frameworks, including thresholds for approval rates, loss, concentration, and portfolio mix.
  • Independently review, assess, and challenge all material credit strategy, policy, and model changes proposed by the First Line of Defense for conceptual soundness, empirical support, and alignment with risk appetite.
  • Ensure compliance with internal policies, regulatory expectations, and model risk management standards.
  • Independently analyze portfolio performance across products, segments, channels, and vintages, including early warning indicators, loss emergence, and tail risk.
  • Conduct end-to-end credit risk assessments, incorporating underwriting, customer management, collections, and recovery outcomes.
  • Monitor consumer behavior trends, macroeconomic indicators, and external risk signals to identify current and emerging credit risks.
  • Partner with Finance and Analytics to review loss forecasts, stress scenarios, and capital/liquidity implications.
  • Own the development, maintenance, and governance of recession, credit tightening, and liquidity playbooks.
  • Define leading indicators, triggers, and thresholds that inform when credit tightening or risk mitigation actions are required.
  • Regularly test and refresh stress scenarios to ensure portfolio resilience under adverse economic, consumer, or geopolitical conditions.
  • Provide clear, actionable recommendations to senior leadership during periods of stress or uncertainty.
  • Identify key areas of elevated or emerging risk and work collaboratively with the First Line of Defense to mitigate risk while preserving business objectives.
  • Ensure material risks are appropriately documented, escalated, and tracked through remediation.
  • Provide effective challenge while maintaining strong, constructive partnerships with product and credit leaders.
  • Ensure group credit policies, standards, and risk governance frameworks are consistently applied across consumer lending products.
  • Provide oversight of controls related to guardrails, underwriting standards, model usage, and strategic risk decisions.
  • Support regulatory exams, internal audits, and model reviews related to credit risk.
  • Prepare executive- and board-level materials summarizing portfolio health, key risks, and recommended actions.
  • Act as a trusted senior advisor to executive leadership on credit risk matters.
  • Build and lead a high-performing 2LOD credit risk team with strong analytical depth and sound judgment.
  • Foster a culture of transparency, independence, and constructive challenge.
  • Communicate complex credit risk topics clearly and credibly to non-technical stakeholders, including senior executives and board members.

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA, MS, PhD) preferred.
  • 12+ years of progressive experience in credit risk management within consumer lending. At least 5 years bank experience, including interacting with bank regulators, strongly preferred.
  • Minimum of 5 years management experience leading a risk, compliance, or credit-related team of professionals.
  • Demonstrated senior leadership experience in a Second Line of Defense, Risk Management, or Model Risk role.
  • Proven experience designing, building, and scaling an independent Second Line of Defense credit risk function from the ground up, including establishing governance frameworks, policies, reporting, and effective challenge where no formal 2LOD credit risk infrastructure previously existed.
  • Deep expertise in underwriting models, credit policy, portfolio analytics, loss forecasting, and fair lending principles.
  • Strong understanding of consumer credit products (e.g., personal loans, credit cards, secured lending).
  • Proven experience leading downturn preparedness, stress testing, and recession response strategies.
  • Track record of effective partnership and challenge with First Line of Defense leaders and teams.
  • Demonstrated ability to operate independently from the business, yet collaboratively, while providing effective challenge and oversight.
  • Experience engaging with state and federal banking regulators and navigating safety and soundness expectations in a bank or bank-owned fintech environment.
  • Strong ability to communicate complex credit risk issues clearly and credibly to senior management, risk committees, and boards, and influence outcomes.
  • Demonstrated ability to align fintech operating practices with bank-level enterprise risk management and governance requirements.
  • Skill in identifying emerging risks and early warnings through trend analysis, stress testing, and key risk indicators, and driving timely remediation.
  • Ability to foster a strong risk culture and influence business leaders without direct ownership of P&L or origination decisions.
  • Proven success building, scaling, and maturing credit risk functions, processes, and teams in fast-growth or transformational environments.
  • Strong analytic and strategic thinking skills.
Benefits
  • Pre-tax and post-tax retirement savings plans with a competitive company matching program
  • Generous paid time-off plans including vacation, personal/sick time, paid short- term and long-term disability leaves, paid parental leave, and paid company holidays
  • Multiple health care plans to choose from, including dental and vision options
  • Flexible Spending Plans for Health Care, Dependent Care, and Health Reimbursement Accounts
  • Company-paid benefits such as life insurance, wellness platforms, employee assistance programs, and Health Advocate programs
  • Other great discounted benefits include identity theft protection, pet insurance, fitness center reimbursements, and many more!
Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools
credit risk managementunderwriting modelscredit policyportfolio analyticsloss forecastingstress testingrecession response strategiesgovernance frameworksrisk appetite frameworksmodel risk management
Soft Skills
leadershipanalytical skillsstrategic thinkingcommunicationcollaborationinfluenceconstructive challengeindependencetransparencyproblem-solving
Certifications
Bachelor's degreeMBAMSPhD