Credit Manager- Mortgage Lending

Job Description

Role Purpose

The Credit Manager is responsible for leading and overseeing the overall performance, governance, and strategic direction of the Credit and Lending Operations teams, including Loan Officers, Loan Assistants, and Team Leaders.

This role ensures that credit assessment, loan processing, and operational support functions are delivered with the highest standards of quality, compliance, efficiency, and service delivery in accordance with Australian lender policies, NCCP obligations, and internal SOPs.

The Credit Manager is accountable for credit governance, operational performance, risk management, and team capability development across the lending operations function.

In general, this role consists of 40% strategic leadership and governance, 25% operational management, 20% stakeholder coordination, and 15% performance reporting and continuous improvement.

The Credit Manager acts as the key escalation point for complex credit scenarios, operational issues, and cross-team coordination, ensuring that business targets, compliance requirements, and service standards are consistently achieved.

Eligibility & Experience

• Minimum 24 months’ experience as a Credit Team Leader or equivalent leadership role within Australian mortgage lending environment
• Proven experience in:
• Leading multi-functional credit teams
• Operational performance management
• Stakeholder coordination across brokers, lenders, and internal teams
• Coaching and developing high-performing teams
  

Key Responsibilities

• Credit Team Leadership & Organizational Management
• Lead and manage the Credit Team Leaders, Loan Officers, and Loan Assistants across lending operations.
• Establish clear operational priorities, team structures, and performance expectations.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and guidance to Team Leaders to ensure effective team management and operational execution.
• Conduct regular leadership meetings with Team Leaders to review operational performance, challenges, and improvement opportunities.
• Ensure a strong credit culture focused on accountability, quality, and compliance across the organization.
• Business Performance & Operational Oversight
  
  

Accountable For Overall Credit Operations Performance Across

Productivity

• Ensure lending operations teams meet agreed application throughput and service capacity targets.
• Monitor workflow volumes, pipeline management, and case allocation efficiency.
  
  

SLA Delivery

• Ensure all credit assessment and loan processing activities meet internal SLA and turnaround expectations.
• Identify bottlenecks and implement corrective actions to improve operational efficiency.
  
  

Approval Performance

• Monitor credit approval outcomes and trends to ensure alignment with business performance targets.

• Credit Governance & Compliance Management
• Maintain oversight of credit decision quality and adherence to:
• NCCP regulatory obligations
• Lender credit policies
• Internal credit approval SOPs
• Ensure zero tolerance for critical compliance breaches across lending operations.
• Act as the senior escalation point for complex credit scenarios, policy interpretation, or high-risk lending cases.
• Work closely with Compliance and Audit teams to support internal reviews and regulatory readiness.
• Operational Strategy & Process Optimization
• Continuously evaluate credit and loan processing workflows to identify operational improvements.
• Drive standardization and efficiency across:
• credit assessment processes
• loan processing workflows
• internal SOPs and training frameworks
• Lead implementation of operational changes including:
• new lender integrations
• system improvements
• workflow automation initiatives.
• Data Analysis & Performance Reporting
• Oversee operational performance reporting including:
• daily pipeline reporting
• weekly operational dashboards
• monthly credit performance reports.
• Analyze key operational metrics including:
• productivity levels
• SLA performance
• approval ratios
• quality and compliance outcomes.
• Provide strategic insights and performance updates to senior management.
• Stakeholder & Cross-Team Coordination
• Act as the primary credit operations contact for:
• brokers
• business managers
• lender representatives
• internal leadership teams.
• Ensure effective communication between credit teams, operations teams, and external stakeholders and BDMs.
• Resolve escalations related to credit decisions, processing delays, or operational issues.
• Team Capability Development & Talent Management
• Lead recruitment, development, and succession planning within the Credit and Lending Operations teams.
• Establish structured coaching, training, and knowledge-sharing programs to strengthen team capability.
• Risk Management & Escalation Handling
• Oversee risk identification across credit assessment and loan processing activities.
• Ensure complex or high-risk lending scenarios are reviewed with appropriate governance and documentation.
• Support Team Leaders in resolving operational escalations and high-priority cases.
  

Skills: leadership,operations,processing,teams,loan,assessment,management,credit,risk,compliance