Vice President Credit Risk Jobs in Seattle, WA (NOW HIRING)

About Us

Kitsap Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative with more than 300 employees and 14 branches throughout Western Washington. We have a passion for making a positive difference. As a $2 + billion-asset credit union, we are deeply committed to our members’ financial wellbeing and the prosperity and quality of life in the communities we serve. We are proud to be led by individuals with the experience and skills to drive our organization towards our goals for strategic growth and operational excellence. Our KCU Cares Foundation program focuses on providing resources and support for those struggling with homelessness or hunger and improving the financial well-being of the people in our communities. And beyond monetary efforts, we have provided thousands of hours in staff volunteerism and in-kind support.

At Kitsap Credit Union, our success is built on trust-based relationships and personalized service. We understand our employees are key to our success. They provide the personalized service to our members and contribute to the communities where we live. We are committed to providing a supportive, mission-driven, and inclusive culture where employees can grow their careers. To learn more, visit kitsapcu.org. 

About the Role

Kitsap Credit Union is searching for a Vice President of Enterprise Credit Management. The VP of Enterprise Credit Management is a senior credit and risk leadership role responsible for enterprise-wide credit governance, commercial and business underwriting oversight, portfolio management, and second line of defense credit administration across all lending verticals.

This role is responsible for establishing and maintaining disciplined credit governance frameworks that support prudent growth, sound underwriting execution, portfolio quality, regulatory compliance, and long-term balance sheet performance. The position provides direct leadership for business and commercial underwriting and portfolio management functions while also independently reviewing consumer and real estate lending activities to ensure alignment with approved credit policy, underwriting standards, risk appetite, and established credit box parameters.

The VP of Enterprise Credit Management serves as a key strategic partner to the Chief Credit & Lending Officer and executive leadership team in monitoring portfolio trends, identifying emerging risks, strengthening underwriting governance, and supporting enterprise credit strategy initiatives.

This position requires a highly analytical and operationally sophisticated leader with deep expertise in commercial credit, consumer and mortgage risk management, portfolio analytics, credit governance, and regulatory expectations within financial institutions.

Quick Facts

Reports to: SVP, Chief Credit and Lending Officer

Employment Type: Full-time, salary, exempt, hybrid

Salary Range: $184,929.33 - $222,806.42 depending on experience

Bonus Target: 15%

Grade: 17BC

Industry: Banking

Principal Accountabilities 

Enterprise Credit Governance 

• Lead and oversee the enterprise credit management framework across business, commercial, consumer, and real estate lending.
• Establish and maintain disciplined credit governance practices that support safe and sound lending growth.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the Chief Credit & Lending Officer regarding portfolio performance, underwriting trends, concentration risk, emerging credit issues, and policy recommendations.
• Drive consistency in credit administration standards, policy adherence, exception management, and risk governance practices across all lending functions.

Business & Commercial Underwriting Leadership

• Provide direct leadership and oversight for business banking and commercial underwriting functions.
• Ensure timely, accurate, and well-structured credit analysis and recommendations for commercial and business lending relationships.
• Oversee underwriting quality, credit structuring, covenant monitoring, concentration management, and risk grading practices.
• Maintain governance around approval authorities, policy exceptions, and credit decision consistency.
• Partner with business development and lending leadership teams to balance growth objectives with prudent credit risk management.
• Support ongoing refinement of commercial underwriting standards, credit policy, and risk management frameworks.

Portfolio Management & Credit Risk Oversight

• Lead enterprise portfolio management activities across all lending portfolios.
• Monitor and analyze portfolio trends including delinquency migration, charge-off trends, concentration exposure, vintage performance, policy exceptions, and emerging risks.
• Develop and maintain portfolio reporting and analytics for executive leadership, committees, and board reporting.
• Recommend proactive risk mitigation strategies based on economic trends, portfolio performance, and market conditions.
• Support stress testing, concentration monitoring, and reserve adequacy discussions in partnership with Finance and Accounting teams.
• Oversee ongoing portfolio monitoring processes to ensure timely identification and escalation of credit concerns.

Consumer & Real Estate Lending Review (Second Line of Defense) 

• Provide independent second line of defense oversight for consumer and real estate lending activities.
• Oversee and assess the underwriting work performed within consumer and real estate lending functions to ensure alignment with approved credit policy, underwriting standards, and organizational risk appetite.
• Monitor execution of established credit box parameters and delegated authority frameworks within consumer and mortgage lending operations.
• Conduct periodic underwriting quality reviews and trend analyses to ensure consistency, compliance, and sound credit decisioning practices.
• Identify and escalate emerging risks, policy exceptions, underwriting drift, or operational concerns to executive leadership.
• Partner collaboratively with the VP of Consumer Lending and operational leadership to strengthen governance, improve consistency, and enhance portfolio performance while maintaining appropriate independence of oversight responsibilities.
• Provide independent reporting and recommendations regarding consumer and mortgage portfolio performance, underwriting trends, and risk observations.

Policy, Governance & Regulatory Compliance

• Maintain and oversee enterprise lending policies, underwriting standards, and credit governance frameworks.
• Ensure lending activities comply with applicable federal and state regulations, agency guidance, and internal policy standards.
• Recommend policy enhancements based on portfolio trends, market conditions, and regulatory developments.
• Support governance and oversight of automated underwriting systems, AI-enabled decisioning platforms, and workflow automation initiatives.
• Maintain strong documentation, audit readiness, and examination support across enterprise credit functions.
• Partner with Compliance, Internal Audit, Risk Management, and external examiners to support regulatory readiness and issue remediation efforts.

Leadership & Organizational Development

• Recruit, develop, mentor, and retain high-performing credit professionals.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, disciplined credit execution, and continuous improvement.
• Support organizational transformation initiatives focused on credit modernization, portfolio optimization, data-driven decisioning, and operational scalability.
• Establish clear performance expectations, development pathways, and succession planning within the credit organization.

Required Skills and Abilities 

• Enterprise Credit Governance
• Portfolio Risk Management
• Commercial Credit Expertise
• Consumer & Mortgage Credit Oversight
• Strategic Thinking
• Regulatory Acumen
• Executive Leadership
• Analytical Decision Making
• Process Improvement
• Change Management
• Collaboration & Influence
• Talent Development

Qualifications and Education Requirements 

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, or related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in credit administration, underwriting, portfolio management, or enterprise credit risk management within a financial institution.
• Minimum of 5 years of leadership experience managing underwriting, credit administration, or portfolio risk functions.
• Strong expertise in commercial underwriting, consumer lending, residential real estate lending, and enterprise credit governance.
• Deep understanding of financial institution regulatory expectations, safety and soundness standards, and credit risk management principles.
• Experience developing and administering lending policies, underwriting frameworks, and governance structures.
• Strong analytical, strategic planning, and executive communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications and Education 

• Credit union or regional banking experience preferred.
• Master’s degree and/or formal commercial credit training preferred.
• Experience with portfolio analytics, stress testing, concentration management, and CECL methodologies.
• Experience overseeing or governing automated underwriting systems and AI-enabled credit decisioning tools.
• Familiarity with loan participations, secondary market activities, and balance sheet optimization strategies.

Supervisory Status

This position supervises others and is responsible for being results oriented, collaborative, delegate effectively, and embrace the organization’s core values, ensuring team effectiveness.

Working Conditions 

This position will be required to work in an office environment with moderate noise levels, and, with or without reasonable accommodation is required: 

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for a minimum of 75% of the time
• Constantly operates a computer and other office productivity machines
• Occasionally ascends/descends stairs
• Constantly positions self in work environment
• The person in this position frequently communicates with peers, supervisors, vendors, and employees to exchange accurate information and answer questions
• Must be able to detect objects at a distance
• On occasion will move up to 20 pounds of office objects
• Works in an indoor office environment but expected to attend meetings in buildings that require travel in outdoor weather conditions
• Limited travel may be required for leadership meetings, examinations, training, or strategic initiatives

Our Values 

Integrity: We believe in acting with honesty, trust, and respect which are at the forefront of our daily engagement. 

Responsibility: We believe that responsibility is holding ourselves accountable for our decisions, actions, and their outcomes. 

Collaboration: We believe in the power of a diverse group of people working together to achieve a united outcome. 

Authenticity: We believe activities in actions that demonstrate our commitment to be transparent, dependable, and genuine in every day.

What We Offer 

Not only are we one of the largest credit unions in Washington State, and growing, but we are also a company that cares about its employees. We back that up for our employees by offering competitive pay and a benefits package that helps support you and your family’s lifestyle. We value our employees, and we strive to keep our benefits comprehensive and affordable. Some of our benefits include: 

Careers | Kitsap Credit Union (kitsapcu.org) 

• Free onsite parking
• Annual time off and sick time accrued
• 11 paid holidays
• 1 Personal Floating Day
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Short- and Long-term Disability, Life and AD&D Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Choose from a PPO medical plan or a High Deductible with a Health Savings Account
• 3% KCU funded Safe Harbor Contribution to your 401K
• KCU will match up to 2% of your 401K contributions
• All 401K contributions are 100% vested
• Potential annual incentive in all roles within Kitsap Credit Union
• Tuition reimbursement
• 8 hours of paid volunteer time off
• Discounts on KCU's products and services
• Enjoy unlimited ORCA transit access through KCU for less than $45 a year—your cost as an employee

We believe in the power of belonging – it’s in our DNA as a not-for-profit, member-owned cooperative. Our un-bank-like structure ensures that we remain all about people: our members, our employees, and the people in the communities where we live and work. We work hard to provide a collaborative and inclusive environment where you can grow and excel in your career.  

We are dedicated to serving our members by providing personalized experiences, convenient access, and highly competitive products and services. But it goes much deeper than that. For more than 86 years, we have been relentless about making a positive difference in our communities. We understand that when our members and communities succeed, we all succeed, and that success can’t happen without great employees.

****** Employment is contingent upon satisfactory background check. Kitsap Credit Union is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants for employment will receive consideration without regard to sex, marital status, race, color, religion, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other protected status. ******  

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