Title: Head of Underwriting- Payments Co

Location: Jacksonville, FL/Remote

Our client is looking for a Head of Underwriting to take their underwriting processes and procedures to the next level. The Head of Underwriting will play an integral role by providing expert level underwriting and portfolio management aligned with their strategic partnerships and sponsor banks. This individual will demonstrate sound credit decisions ideology and practice, adherence to policies and procedures, and attention to SLAs while utilizing appropriate empowerment to interpret and decide merchant account acceptance. Additionally, this role will serve as an escalation point for enhanced due diligence and designated authorities within your organization.

A successful candidate should approach underwriting with a business-friendly ideology while fully adhering to all policies and regulatory requirements. This will require the individual to understand the Why behind underwriting requirements, and its respective limits/opportunities, and be able to convey that information respectfully to internal and external parties.

Responsibilities:

• Establish improved Credit Policies and Procedures adapted to traditional merchant services as well as high risk registered merchants
• Improve reporting on credit decisions and employee performance
• Mentor, manage, educate, empower, and the credit underwriting department
• Review internal and external tools to maximize performance, scalability, and ease of use in credit decision.
• Ability to determine, document, and communicate financial, reputational, regulatory, operational, and compliance risk associated to applications
• Ensure commensurate offsetting measures and mitigations are appropriately established based on the complete risk profile
• Craft policies and establish action plans for maintaining business adherence to operational risk policies and standards
• Define and execute on long-term plan for managing the largest credit risks to the company
• Work with internal teams on cross-functional risk projects
• Assessing and reacting to card brand changes, regulatory changes, etc.
• Review current risk control mechanisms to ensure strategies, directions and instructions from management are carried out systematically and effectively
• Support risk team members in their professional development and challenge them to be continual learners
• Work with executive team to further define role as needed.

Requirements:

• Risk management experience in payments/fintech
• Direct experience with merchant underwriting
• Ability to fully review and analyze financial statements and possess comprehensive knowledge of accounting principles
• Strong collaboration, communication and relationship building skills
• Experience managing and developing high performing teams
• Ability to analyze risk mitigation (i.e. merchant reserves)
• Ability to negotiate on approvals, cures, etc.
• Experience with card brand rules for chargeback thresholds, vertical specific rules, etc.