Credit Strategy Director, Home Improvement

About the Role

This role leads credit strategy and pricing for Happen Bank's Home Improvement lending segment, a key unsecured Point of Sale business within Consumer Banking. It's responsible for shaping how the bank underwrites, prices, and manages risk in this segment, balancing growth with disciplined, risk-adjusted returns. The work spans policy, analytics, and cross-functional partnership, with direct influence on how the business scales responsibly.

• Own credit risk management and pricing strategy for the Home Improvement lending segment
• Develop and refine credit policies, underwriting criteria, exposure limits, segmentation, and pricing models, including vintage loss forecasting and valuations
• Partner with cross-functional teams to shape annual operating and strategic plans
• Drive loan issuance that delivers durable risk-adjusted returns for marketplace investors and held-for-investment assets, in line with business plan and risk appetite
• Lead development of predictive models, grading systems, and experimentation to compete along an optimal risk-return frontier
• Use AI-driven tools and techniques to sharpen credit performance analysis, surface optimization opportunities, and streamline workflows, while setting a high bar for responsible, explainable use
• Implement credit strategy changes with rigorous testing and strong preventive and detective controls
• Maintain credit policy documentation and standard operating procedures in line with bank and regulatory standards
• Partner with Product, Business, Engineering, and Data Science to drive innovation and new product development
• Build monitoring systems and early warning mechanisms to manage credit and operational risk
• Direct accurate, timely credit risk reporting for Credit Committee, Board, and regulatory needs
• Coach and mentor junior team members, strengthening analytical rigor and execution across the team

• 10+ years of experience in financial services, credit risk management, pricing, portfolio analytics, or lending strategy; bachelor's degree or higher, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Deep domain expertise in unsecured lending, preferably point of sale lending or credit cards, with strong understanding of commercial value drivers
• Proven track record in credit policy development, underwriting strategy, pricing optimization, risk segmentation, loss forecasting, and portfolio analytics
• Skilled in translating credit and pricing strategy into business requirements, testing plans, controls, and production implementation
• Proficient in SQL, Python, and Tableau, with strong familiarity with advanced analytics and credit/ML models for consumer credit products
• You understand how AI and ML models interact with credit risk decision-making, including their limitations and regulatory implications, and know when a model should inform a decision versus drive it
• You set a high bar for responsible AI use in high-stakes work, with attention to data integrity, model limitations, and compliance, and you're building new workflows rather than just using existing ones
• Strong communicator and collaborator who can translate complex credit and analytical topics for a range of stakeholders
• Detail-oriented with sound judgment, a strategic mindset, and a consistent focus on measurable business results

• Advanced degree in Statistics, Finance, Economics, or a related quantitative field
• Experience mentoring or developing analytical talent in a credit or risk function

San Francisco, Lehi, New York, Boston, Remote

The above locations are eligible offices for this role. We utilize a hybrid work model, and our teams are in-office Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. In-person attendance is essential for this role’s success, and remote placement will not be considered.

Local hours (PT, MT, CT, ET). While the position will primarily work local hours, Happen Bank is headquartered in Pacific Time and our ideal candidate will be flexible working across time zones when necessary.

As needed travel to Happen Bank offices and/or other locations, as needed.

The target base salary range for…