The Vice President of Risk will lead Lobel Financial's enterprise risk function and drive the modernization of how we measure, predict, and manage risk. This leader owns credit risk strategy, risk analytics and modeling, portfolio performance, and the risk technology stack.
The ideal candidate pairs deep consumer lending experience with hands-on fluency in modern risk technologies, including machine learning models, alternative data, cloud-based analytics, and automated decisioning. They will balance growth and loss performance while maintaining strong governance and regulatory compliance.
This role reports up through the Chief Investment Officer and is a hybrid position based at our headquarters in Anaheim, California.
Key Responsibilities
Risk strategy and leadership
- Set the vision and multi-year roadmap for the risk function, aligned with the company's modernization goals.
- Lead, develop, and grow a high-performing team across credit risk, analytics, modeling, and risk operations.
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the executive team and members of the Board on risk appetite, loss forecasting, and portfolio strategy.
Credit risk and portfolio management
- Own underwriting strategy, credit policy, and approval criteria across the full credit spectrum.
- Monitor portfolio performance, including delinquency, charge-offs, roll rates, recoveries, and vintage trends.
- Partner with Collections and Servicing to optimize loss mitigation and recovery strategies.
Risk modernization and technology
- Lead the adoption of modern risk tools, including machine learning and AI-driven scorecards, alternative and bureau-plus data, and real-time decision engines.
- Modernize the risk data and analytics infrastructure, working with IT and Data teams on cloud platforms and automation.
- Introduce champion/challenger testing and rapid experimentation to continuously improve decisions.
- Strengthen fraud detection, including identity, synthetic, and income/employment fraud.
Governance and compliance
- Maintain a strong model risk management framework, including validation, monitoring, and documentation.
- Ensure models and policies support fair lending, explainability, and adverse action requirements.
- Partner with Compliance and Legal on regulatory exams, audits, and evolving consumer finance regulation.
Cross-functional partnership
- Work with Sales, Dealer Relations, Operations, and Finance to balance volume growth with credit quality.
- Translate complex risk insights into clear recommendations for business leaders.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Finance, Data Science, or a related quantitative field.
- 12+ years of experience in consumer lending risk management, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
- Proven track record of modernizing a risk function, such as deploying machine learning models, new data sources, or automated decision engines into production.
- Deep knowledge of credit scoring, underwriting strategy, loss forecasting, and portfolio analytics.
- Working knowledge of modern analytics tools and platforms (for example Python, R, SQL, SAS, and cloud data environments).
- Strong understanding of model risk management and consumer lending regulation, including fair lending and adverse action requirements.
- Demonstrated ability to lead change in an established organization and build buy-in across teams.
- Excellent communication skills, with experience presenting to executive leadership and Boards.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in auto finance, including indirect lending through a dealer network.
- Subprime or non-prime auto lending experience, with a strong grasp of the risk dynamics of this segment.
- Familiarity with auto-specific risk drivers such as deal structure, LTV, payment-to-income, vehicle valuation, dealer performance, and repossession and remarketing.
- Experience with dealer risk monitoring and fraud prevention in auto lending.
- Advanced degree (MS, MBA, or PhD) in a quantitative or business discipline.
- Experience leading a risk technology migration or vendor selection for decisioning, data, or modeling platforms.
Compensation, Location
- Location: Hybrid, headquarters in Anaheim, CA
- Compensation: $200,000 to $ 275,000 base salary, plus bonus eligibility.