Head of Credit & Fraud

The posting, as Happy Money wrote it

ABOUT HAPPY MONEY

Happy Money is a consumer finance company that empowers people to achieve their goals through simple, transparent loans funded by trusted financial institutions. Through its proprietary lending platform, Hive, Happy Money delivers a fully digital experience that simplifies borrowing for consumers and helps credit unions, banks and asset managers diversify balance sheets and scale with confidence.

Happy Money’s end-to-end loan origination and participation programs provide partners with turnkey access to high-performing assets, underpinned by disciplined credit expertise and robust risk management. Together with its lending partners, Happy Money has originated more than $7 billion in loans to help nearly 350,000 people take greater control of their financial futures. Learn more at happymoney.com. View our Employee Privacy Policy here.

Happy Money is a 100% fully distributed company. Remote work doesn’t mean less work, we work full-time jobs and show up to them fully every day. To learn more about our values and the way we work, review our Happy Money Way Overview!

ABOUT THE ROLE

Happy Money is looking for a Head of Credit & Fraud to own credit and fraud risk strategy for our lending business. Reporting to the Chief Risk & Analytics Officer, you will set credit and fraud policy, lead the team and be the senior credit voice with our Executive Leadership Team and capital partners. You will balance growth and losses to maximize risk-adjusted returns through the credit cycle and build business cases that show a clear, achievable path to profitable implementation. You are highly data driven and committed to testing and learning. You bring the executive presence to explain credit decisions clearly to leaders, partners and investors, and you are happy to dig into the data yourself when the work calls for it.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Credit & Fraud Strategy

• Own credit and fraud strategy and policy across the customer lifecycle, from acquisition and underwriting through account management, to maximize risk-adjusted returns and manage losses through the credit cycle
• Set credit risk appetite with the Chief Risk Officer and translate it into clear credit policy, approval criteria and loss targets
• Balance loss rates, approval rates and conversion to grow profitably, and lead the rollout of growth initiatives, measured against credit and profitability targets
• Run a disciplined test-and-learn agenda across credit and fraud strategies, with clear success metrics and regular readouts
• Own credit performance monitoring, vintage analysis and early-warning indicators, and partner with Data Science and Finance on loss forecasting and model governance
• Spot credit and fraud risks early, including shifts in consumer credit health and new fraud patterns, and respond with timely policy and control changes
• With Legal & Compliance, make sure credit and fraud policies meet regulatory, fair lending and partner requirements

Leadership
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d effectively

• Experience presenting substantiating data-driven strategic decisions to C-suite executives, boards and external partners or investors with a high degree of influence
• Direct experience working with capital partners, bank partners, lenders or investors on credit performance, due diligence or credit program design
• Track record of working across Product, Engineering, Data Science and Operations to build and scale credit and fraud decisioning processes and systems
• Working knowledge of consumer lending regulation, including fair lending (ECOA / Regulation B), FCRA and model risk management
• Highly data driven, with the technical fluency to challenge models, analyses and dashboards directly
• Experience balancing individual contributions with people-management needs across an organization and knows when to transition from strategy to execution (and vice-versa)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience at a fintech or smaller financial services company, where leaders combine strategy with hands-on execution
• Experience in unsecured consumer lending, such as personal loans or credit cards
• Experience with bank or credit union partnership models, forward flow or loan sale programs
• Experience writing a credit policy as part of a new product launch
• Experience managing a consumer lending portfolio through a credit downturn
• Advanced degree (MBA, or MS / PhD in a quantitative field)

BENEFITS & PERKS

• Generous medical, dental, and vision insurance options
• Eligible for Annual Bonus
• 401k Plan with a matching contribution
• Financial wellness suite with high-yield savings, credit building, and home buying support
• Generous PTO including sick leave, vacation, volunteer, and more
• Paid Parental Leave
• Company-paid short & long term disability and life insurance
• Monthly tech stipend to help cover expenses for remote work
• Happy Money is a 100% fully distributed workforce within the USA

Base Salary Range
$220,000 — $260,000 USD