Brewery Credit Union | Vice President of Lending

Brewery Credit Union is seeking a confident, forward-thinking leader to serve as its next Vice President of Lending. This is an opportunity to build on a strong community-focused foundation while bringing new ideas, modern lending practices, and fresh energy to an established lending operation.

Founded in Milwaukee in 1934, Brewery Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative dedicated to providing superior financial service while economically empowering its members and community. As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Brewery is committed to expanding access to affordable financial services and helping members overcome financial challenges - even when their credit history isn't perfect.

Reporting directly to the President/CEO, the VP of Lending will oversee consumer lending, mortgage lending, and collections while helping shape the credit union's lending strategy for its next stage of growth. With recent expansion and opportunities to improve lending processes, this leader will bring the vision, initiative, and follow-through needed to modernize operations, strengthen underwriting, and expand lending opportunities for members.

The VP of Lending will lead the development and execution of lending strategies that balance sustainable growth, responsible risk management, operational efficiency, and member impact. While overseeing mortgage and collections operations, this leader's primary focus will be strengthening consumer lending through improved underwriting, smarter processes, technology, and new product opportunities.

A key priority will be evaluating existing practices and identifying opportunities to improve how loans are underwritten, processed, and delivered. This may include exploring centralized underwriting, streamlining workflows, establishing meaningful performance measures, and introducing lending solutions that support growth while maintaining solid credit standards.

Brewery's CDFI mission is central to this role. The successful candidate will understand how to responsibly lend to individuals with limited, imperfect, or low credit scores by applying thoughtful underwriting, risk-based lending strategies, and a clear understanding of each member's circumstances. The goal is not simply to approve more loans - it's to expand access to fair, affordable credit while protecting the long-term health of the credit union.

Equally important, this leader must earn the trust of an experienced team and lead change with confidence, transparency, and respect. Success will require listening and learning before making changes, building credibility through follow-through, and helping employees understand how new approaches can strengthen both their work and the member experience.

The ideal candidate is an experienced lending leader with a strong background in consumer lending and underwriting, along with the ability to introduce new ideas, improve processes, and lead teams through change. Previous leadership experience in financial services is required, and a bachelor's degree in business administration or a related field is preferred.

The successful candidate will bring:

• Strong experience in consumer lending and underwriting, including lending to borrowers with challenged or limited credit histories
• A demonstrated ability to balance loan growth, portfolio performance, delinquency, charge-offs, and responsible risk management
• Experience evaluating and implementing lending technology, process improvements, and more efficient underwriting practices
• The initiative to identify opportunities, develop practical solutions, and follow through on implementation
• Experience developing lending…