Chief Credit & Risk Officer Position Profile
ROLE DESCRIPTION
ABOUT BLUE
Forward-thinking people who value human connection and contribution.
The Blue Story begins in 1951 when a group of civilian personnel at FE Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming joined together to form Warren Federal Credit Union. The original members realized that together, they could help each other achieve more than they ever could on their own. That mission of people helping people has remained a core tenant of our CU even now, 70 years later.
In 2016, Warren Federal Credit Union joined together with Community Financial Credit Union of Colorado. The two credit unions shared a long history of successful growth – one in Wyoming and the other in Colorado – and decided to merge to achieve a larger presence in the region and better serve their respective members. The new entity was rebranded as Blue Federal Credit Union to reflect the Warren Air Force roots (Air Force Blue) and a deep connection to the spectacular Rocky Mountain Front Range with its open skies and clean waters.
Since the merger, growth at Blue Federal Credit Union has exploded. Over 25,000 new members were introduced to blue in the three following years from not only Wyoming and Colorado but also from dozens of other states and even distant countries like Germany, Spain, and the Philippines. Blue Federal Credit Union now has over 100,000 members worldwide and over $1.4 Billion in assets.
MISSION AND VALUES
We discover pathways to realize your possibilities.
- Boundless Optimism: We bring positivity, humor, and energy. We know there is always more.
- Unwavering Confidence: Our competence, consistency, and follow through build a foundation of trust.
- Uniquely Us: Our passion and personality energize an uncommon commitment to each other and our communities.
- Over-the-Top: We go further to make a difference, win for members, and grow Blue.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Based in Cheyenne, WY, and reporting report directly to Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Credit & Risk Officer will be responsible for developing and overseeing overall strategic risk management of the credit union including measuring and managing the aggregate risk in the loan portfolio. With oversight of the portfolio, the CCRO will ensure appropriate mitigation of risks through appropriate credit and collection policies, procedures, and processes. This individual will be responsible for overseeing the commercial, construction, mortgage and indirect lending activities. This will include credit underwriting, credit risk mitigation efforts, and credit policies and portfolios.
The CCRO will lead the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Department, which besides oversight of the risk management programs, will be responsible for Vendor Management and Contracts, Business Continuity, Audit, Security, Compliance, Insurance, Legal Affairs, and Policy Review. The CCRO monitors the business environment to predict and analyze risk outcomes. The CCRO collaborates with the CEO and executive leadership team to review and recommend lending policy and guidelines that balance the lending and growth goals of the organization with appropriate risk tolerance, considering the current and forecasted economic, regulatory, and consumer environment. Blue is a values-based and purpose-driven organization committed to making a notable impact on its members and communities. The CCRO will embody Blue’s mission and values, seeking every opportunity to inspire the entire organization to do the same as we celebrate the credit union’s unique impact. This leader must be performance-driven and able to provide measurable results. Blue is an industry leader pursuing business model innovation to achieve its ambitious ten-year differentiation strategy. This leader will contribute expertise to envision and deliver a distinctive business model that leapfrogs the competition and positions Blue to stand out as a sought-after champion delivering unparalleled value to a growing membership across an expanding region. This individual communicates Blue’s strategic direction to employees while connecting the dots to near-term efforts and the credit union’s mission, values, and intended impact. Resources to do the job require effective written and verbal communication skills, strong and proven analytical ability, advanced systems skills, demonstrated ability to collaborate with all levels of the organization, and effective and consistent leadership capability. Our ideal candidate will demonstrate the ability to be an extraordinary collaborator in development of effective lending and risk strategies and outcomes.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Astute and innovative leader, integrating risk practices into strategic planning and governance, in addition to identifying and mitigating strategic and complex risks.
- Active participant and leader engaged in our purpose driven initiatives to accomplish our 10 year vision to become our members greatest champion in realizing their possibilities while creating an organization committed to and focused on creating the greatest impact for our members and communities we serve.
- Support an internal audit function that provides assurance on the effectiveness of risk management and the strength of the control environment in an organization.
- Be adept in general management skills with broad business perspectives and a strategic mindset as a business leader.
- Develop and assess the BFCU business aligned legal and risk management strategy to ensure proper execution with an operational implementation plan.
- Educates and advocates a culture of informed risk taking and utilization of advanced risk management strategies via training programs and coaching.
- Identify current and future talent needs to ensure workforce readiness to support and enhance internal and external systems. Provides consistent performance management process with regular feedback and coaching regarding individual and team performance.
- Develop and oversee a comprehensive framework for assessing, managing and mitigating risk to inform growth-oriented business decisions.
- Directly Responsible for establishing and achieving annual lending goals for the credit union with careful consideration of risk, pricing, concentrations and portfolio management.
- Responsible for leading due diligence for potential mergers and acquisitions. Assists with comparative analysis particularly to avoid any conflicts of interest.
- Partners with the Chief Information Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Investigations regarding cybersecurity risks, data privacy risks and third-party risk to identify potential areas of vulnerability.
- Manage the design and implementation of compliance activities across the organization.
- Recommend process improvements and implement policies and procedures, which increase efficiency and provide a greater return on Credit
- Union assets. Continuously strive for quality improvement of processes and service.
- Maintain a thorough understanding of the applicable laws and court rulings regarding Credit Union matters in general, as well as collection-related matters including, but not limited to, bankruptcy and foreclosure.
- Maintain a thorough understanding of the by-laws, policies and procedures of the Credit Union and its subsidiaries. Further, remain abreast of regulatory requirements and advise management in a timely manner on needed governance and/or operational changes.
- Manage an annual budget for maximum return and lead the following teams: audit, security, risk management, legal and collections to align to the needs of the Credit Union today and tomorrow with proper workforce planning.
- Researches, evaluates and recommends changes or additions to loan programs and products, processes, or services to offer expanded benefits to member.
CRITICAL COMPETENCIES FOR SUCCESS
Conceptual Thinking:
This leader must be capable of conceiving and selecting innovative strategies and ideas. The CCRO will model abundance thinking, opening his/her team to the world of possibilities, to limitless new ideas and opportunities for Blue FCU. This individual should seek answers to complex problems by modeling how to leverage the collective intelligence of the organization. They must balance horizon one thinking – opportunities right in clear view, horizon two thinking – seeing what’s around the corner to build emerging businesses in the medium term, AND horizon three thinking – anticipating and envisioning what is possible to create the unexpected and finding the open path.
Leadership Acumen and Team Orientation:
The CCRO is charged with elevating the overall talent of the financial organization. Financial services organizations require a leader with vision who can embrace the fast-paced opportunities of the digital enterprise and overcome traditional reluctance to change in an industry where risks associated with chasing trends is high. Critical to this aim is effectively attracting, retaining and developing leaders. Through the continual improvement of coaching and performance management processes, staff training and development, and hiring, this individual will foster a culture of accountability and results. With this in mind, the company requires a hands-on, team-oriented executive who has broad-based credibility and is capable of consistently motivating people to act and perform beyond the expected. This individual will be a strong leader who possesses a comfortable coaching style and uses it strategically to improve team performance.
Results-Oriented:
With expectations for significant asset and organization growth over the next decade, the new CCRO must be performance-driven and able to provide measurable results. The successful candidate will focus on high leveraged goals and harnessing the energy of leaders at all levels in order to achieve objectives. They will be a doer, not a thinker, and be comfortable working in a lean organization and rolling up his/her sleeves to build and develop the structure and systems to enable the execution of the growth strategy.
Communication:
This individual should possess very strong communication and influencing skills, truly partnering with the leadership team. They should be comfortable, articulate, and dynamic in front of both internal and external audiences including employees, senior leadership, Board of Directors and Members. They must be direct, candid and authentic.
Organizational Resilience:
This individual demonstrates the ability to adapt, innovate, and succeed in a highly competitive environment.
Influencer:
The CCRO must possess the ability to motivate and influence others, obtaining cooperation and agreement on important outcomes via frequent, often complex, dialogues with individuals throughout the organization. This leader must be perceptive, capable of relating to employees and members at all levels, and able to convince others to pursue a course of action.
Change Agent:
Effective change management skills are also critical in an entrepreneurial, aggressively growing business environment where the organization must empower the many to attack important issues and opportunities by giving teams freedom to create extraordinary change. This leader must demonstrate tenacity and willingness to go the distance to achieve goals and drive necessary change.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
- Bachelor’s Degree in related field required, master’s degree preferred.
- Experienced negotiator.
- Ability to make key contributions to strategy and support executive decision making with analytical abilities specifically around risk and reward.
- Experience working with Boards such as presenting information and facilitating collaborative discussion around risk, audit, and compliance.
- Strong working knowledge of loan participation, purchase agreements, and secondary market investment programs.
- Executive level written and verbal communication capabilities.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Title: Managing Director
Email: blayton@comharpartners.com
Direct:+1 (239) 345-4050
Mobile: +1 (847) 722-4180
Title: Managing Director
Email: pherrerias@comharpartners.com
Direct:+1 (415) 483-4116
Mobile: +1 (415) 302-5300
