Director of Lending and Servicing

TITLE: Director of Lending and Servicing

DEPARTMENT: Lending

REPORTS TO: Vice President of Lending and Servicing

FLSA: Exempt

SALARY RANGE: $110k - $125k

About the Center

The Center for New York City Neighborhoods, Inc. (the “Center”) is a not-for-profit that promotes and protects affordable homeownership so middle- and working-class families can build strong, thriving communities. We meet the diverse needs of homeowners by offering free, high-quality housing counseling and services, coordinating a network of service providers across the city, and providing free or low-cost loans for homeownership.

Through its work, the Center supports and expands homeownership across New York by developing programs that focus on underserved communities. We have successfully delivered over $500 million to homeowners in several state-wide interventions, in response to physical, financial, and health crises, working with both the city and state to expand protections for New Yorkers. By helping homeowners individually and systematically, the Center achieves lasting change. To date, the Center, together with its partners, has helped more than 250,000 low- and moderate-income (LMI) families with a median annual income of $46,000 keep their homes and gain financial stability, preserving over $10 billion in neighborhood property value across New York.

Position Summary

The Director of Lending and Servicing, reporting to the Vice President of Lending and Servicing, will be responsible for the successful operation of multiple mission-driven lending programs, including loan origination and mortgage servicing operations, and a team of 10 staff. The Director of Lending and Servicing must be a flexible, proactive, and initiative-taking professional with substantial experience in successfully facilitating the operation of residential lending programs and managing a team. The Director of Lending and Servicing must also have a proven track record of playing an integral role in the implementation of systems, policies, and strategies on a departmental level, and will work with the senior management team in supporting existing lending programs and servicing.

This position will have a strong emphasis on staff development, including building strong managers within the team and providing training opportunities for the full team. The Director of Lending and Servicing will also manage internal and external compliance and vendors and serve as the manager of all aspects of existing and new loan products and programs.

This is a full-time, exempt position. This is a hybrid role intended for candidates within commuting distance from our office.

Core responsibilities include:

• Provide oversight of loan intake, origination, processing, underwriting, closing, and servicing activities.
• Immediately apply and serve as the NYS Department of Financial Services-approved Qualified Individual for Sustainable Neighborhoods’ Mortgage Banker license.
• Collaborate with senior managers about staff hiring and personnel issues as needed.
• Track deliverables and prepare dashboards and reports for internal and external needs.
• Continuously improve policies and practices to meet program goals and deliverables and deliver positive outcomes for homeowners.
• Manage successful completion of state and federal compliance, licensing, reporting, and certification processes.
• Lead Servicing operations, including oversight of new loan interface, compliance, and loss mitigation process.
• Lead the implementation of new residential 1-4 family lending programs as opportunities arise or are presented.
• Manage procedures, loan documentation, and outreach materials for all lending programs to ensure continuity, transfer of knowledge, and accuracy.
• Learn from peer institutions and adopt best practices for lending operations.
• Identify areas for improvement and/or innovation on current lending and servicing operations.
• Management oversight of the lending team.
• Serve as BytePro and The Mortgage Office Administrator.

Key responsibilities include:

• Directly supervise the servicing team, lending team, management, and staff.
• Provide oversight, direction, and support to the underwriting management and staff adhering to loan origination - underwriting compliance requirements.
• Supervise all application and lending compliance activities of internal staff and managers.
• Manage implementation and updates of loan programs and loan product policies and procedures.
• Manage any outside consultants and third-party vendors for online application, underwriting, loan closing, and other program services.
• Responsible for quality control of the lending programs.
• Lead and support LOS platform updates and LOS administration.
• Lead and support the onboarding and subsequent updates and administration of the new servicing software.
• Lead efforts to secure a new LOS system that better supports the loan origination process and is compatible with the other related technology used throughout the agency.
• Partner with other Center teams on funder management and tracking loan program outcomes.
• Assist the Vice President of Lending and Servicing with the application and activation of secondary market outlets for loan products as needed.
• All duties as assigned by the Vice President of Lending and Servicing.

Skills & Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum ten (10) years of verifiable experience in the business of making residential mortgage loans, including credit analysis and underwriting, and mortgage servicing knowledge or equivalent educational or work experience;
• Significant (at least 10 years) staff management and supervisory responsibilities and a proven ability to lead.
• Preferred to currently possess or have the qualifications and ability to immediately apply for a Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) license.
• Possess qualifications of at least five years of lending or underwriting experience; be able to obtain necessary employer letters of professional references; complete and clear the required personal and financial questionnaire; and be willing to immediately apply for approval to serve as a Qualified Individual for the New York State Department of Financial Services Mortgage Banker License.
• Experience working with origination and/or servicing CRMs.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated success in innovative leadership, project planning and implementation, problem-solving, judgment, and decision‐making.
• Understanding of various alternative loan and grant funds.
• Familiarity with issues related to Residential lending regulatory compliance requirements, foreclosure, and mortgage servicing compliance regulations.;
• An energetic and flexible team player.
• Experience with Google and Microsoft Office suites required. Experience with Salesforce.com or other CRM platforms preferred.

Values:

• Demonstrate Ownership by showing initiative, acting conscientiously, and putting team results above individual accomplishments.
• Demonstrate a Growth Mindset through resilience, engaging in expansive thinking, and showing curiosity.
• Works collaboratively by demonstrating the ability to work in teams, exhibiting emotional intelligence, and having positive energy.

Salary

We offer a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package.

Application

To apply for this position, please submit your cover letter with salary requirements, resume, at least 3 references, and contact information to our website, . Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Applicant review will continue until the position is filled.

This is a full-time, exempt position. This is a hybrid role intended for candidates within commuting distance from our office.

The Center strongly encourages Section 3 residents to participate in this hiring effort. Information to determine if you are a Section 3 resident can be obtained by contacting [email protected] .

Persons requiring reasonable accommodation to participate in this hiring effort are requested to contact [email protected].

We thank you for your interest in career opportunities with the Center for NYC Neighborhoods.

The Center for NYC Neighborhoods is an equal opportunity employer. We recruit, hire, upgrade, train, and promote for all positions and job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, marital, veteran or disabled veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other status as a member of any other legally protected group or activity.

To learn more, visit cnycn.org