Director, Lending & Credit Risk Analytics

Role Overview

The Director of Lending & Credit Risk Analytics is a senior, customer facing analytics leader within ValidiFI’s Data Science organization. This role owns lending and credit risk interpretation across the company, with a primary focus on non-prime and alternative credit use cases.

Operating with a high degree of autonomy, the Director serves as the day to day owner of lending analytics while partnering directly with the VP of Data Science on priorities and direction.

Initially, this role will operate in a player/coach capacity—directly leading and contributing to complex customer analyses while managing a small, established Customer Analytics pod. Over time, the emphasis will shift toward team leadership, standards setting, and strategic oversight as the pod scales.

The role is expected to oversee analytics workflows within ValidiFI’s current analytics environment, including SQL based data stores and Power BI reporting, with Excel used for exploratory analysis, validation, and client specific data cuts. Familiarity with analytical languages such as R (and similar tools) is beneficial but not required.

The Director must also be fluent in core data science concepts and metrics (e.g., AUC, KS, lift, stability, and model drift) in order to credibly engage with data science teams, challenge interpretations, and translate model behavior into business relevant insights.

The role establishes lender credibility, ensures analytical defensibility, and creates management leverage so that lending driven analytics do not funnel through a single executive leader.

In addition to customer delivery, this role is expected to drive insighted evolution of ValidiFI’s risk platform by shaping new or enhanced features within the company’s suite of risk models based on lender needs, observed data signals, and real world decisioning gaps.

Core Responsibilities

Lending & Credit Risk Leadership

• Serve as ValidiFI’s internal authority on lending, underwriting, fraud, and credit‑risk analytics, with deep domain fluency in non-prime and alternative lending
• Ensure analyses reflect how lenders actually evaluate risk, including loss exposure, fraud risk, approval and conversion lift, and early‑life performance indicators
• Act as the final interpretive checkpoint for customer‑facing lending analyses prior to delivery
• Review and approve analytical outputs for accuracy, relevance, and real‑world defensibility

Customer Analytics Management

• Own prioritization, scoping, and execution of customer‑driven analytical requests
• Lead, mentor, and develop Customer Analytics team members (current and future)
• Establish repeatable analytical frameworks for common lending use cases (e.g., approval optimization, fraud segmentation, early delinquency indicators)
• Set standards for analytical rigor, documentation quality, and narrative consistency

Cross‑Functional Partnership

• Partner closely with Sales, Client Success, Product, and R&D on lender‑specific questions and insights
• Translate lender feedback into structured input for R&D, highlighting gaps between model output, lender interpretation, and real‑world decision constraints
• Influence product roadmap priorities and go‑to‑market messaging based on lender realities and market norms

Strategic & Platform Ownership

• Serve as the public and internal face of ValidiFI’s data studies and lending analytics strategy
• Drive conversations and recommendations around new or enhanced risk model features and capabilities
• Ensure consistency, credibility, and defensibility across all lender‑facing analytical work

Required Qualifications (Non‑Negotiable)

Experience & Domain Expertise

• 7–10+ years of experience in lending, credit risk, fraud analytics, or financial risk
• Direct experience supporting banks, fintech lenders, or non‑prime / alternative credit providers
• Deep understanding of underwriting and credit policy design, fraud detection techniques, portfolio monitoring, and early‑risk indicators
• Familiarity with regulatory and compliance considerations relevant to lending

Analytical & Technical Judgment

• Does not need to be a career data scientist, but must command technical credibility when engaging with senior data scientists, risk modelers, and quantitative teams
• Able to challenge, defend, and refine analytical conclusions in technical discussions without defaulting to theory or abstraction
• Demonstrated ability to distinguish meaningful, decision‑relevant signals from noise or false positives
• Proven ability to evaluate model performance in terms of real‑world business impact, not just statistical metrics
• Ability to combine quantitative outputs with real‑world lending judgment to produce conclusions that withstand scrutiny from both technical and business stakeholders

Leadership & Communication

• Strong ability to translate complex analytics into clear, lender‑ready narratives
• Proven track record telling believable, defensible risk stories aligned to real underwriting, fraud, and portfolio behaviors
• Prior people leadership experience or clear readiness to manage and mentor others
• Confident communicator with executives, customers, and internal stakeholders; willing and able to push back when analytics do not reflect real‑world risk behavior

What Success Looks Like

• Increased lender trust and confidence in ValidiFI’s analytics
• Consistent delivery of clean, defensible, decision‑relevant customer analyses
• Reduced dependency on senior analytics leadership for lending interpretation
• Clear separation between customer‑facing analytics and R&D model development
• Strong alignment between analytics, product, and go‑to‑market teams

Ideal Candidate Summary

A seasoned lending and credit risk leader who understands how analytics are actually used in high stakes lending decisions and is comfortable operating in high velocity, high data volume non‑prime and alternative credit environments, including near real time decisioning. This individual thrives in fast‑moving portfolios with frequent decisioning, rapid feedback loops, and evolving risk signals, and can translate large‑scale analytical outputs into clear, defensible guidance for lenders and internal stakeholders. The ideal candidate operates autonomously with confidence and elevates ValidiFI’s credibility and influence in the non‑prime lending market from day one.

About ValidiFI

ValidiFI is a growing fintech company based in Alpharetta, GA specializing in innovative data solutions that help organizations verify financial information with accuracy and confidence. With a team of 40+ employees, we combine a fast‑paced, entrepreneurial environment with the stability of an established data services provider.

What you’ll get from us

A team where you can make an impact, and where you and your experience are valued. We offer comprehensive compensation and healthcare packages, 401k matching, and flexible time off.

No agencies please. ValidiFI provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin, citizenship, veteran’s status, age, disability status, genetics or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.

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