Role Description
The Divisional Underwriting Manager is responsible for leading and developing the underwriting team for a national retail mortgage lender. The role ensures consistent credit decisioning, superior service levels, underwriting quality, and compliance with agency, investor and regulatory requirements. The Divisional Underwriting Manager oversees workflow distribution, underwriting capacity, productivity, and quality metrics while supporting the organization’s growth objectives and customer experience standards.
Key Responsibilities
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Team Leadership
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Manage, coach, and develop underwriters across all product lines.
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Set performance expectations, conduct reviews, and manage hiring, onboarding, and succession planning.
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Allocate workload and staffing to meet volume fluctuations and service-level agreements.
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Foster a culture of accountability, sound judgment, collaboration and continuous improvement.
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Credit and Underwriting Oversight
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Ensure all loans are underwritten in accordance with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, USDA, state HFA/bond program, Non-QM investor, and home equity guidelines.
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Serve as the escalation point for complex credit scenarios and guideline interpretations, including oversight and response to sales scenarios and exception request submissions to credit committee.
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Oversee proper use of AUS (DU, LPA, GUS) and manual underwriting requirements.
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Partner with SVP, Underwriting to identify opportunities for process improvement, standardization, recommend staffing or workflow adjustments.
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Quality, Compliance, and Risk
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Ensure adherence to TRID, ATR/QM, Fair Lending, HMDA, and applicable state regulations to include adverse action.
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Review QC findings, identify trends, and implement corrective action and targeted training.
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Ensure timely response to QA, QC and repurchase defects related to Underwriter error.
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Manage underwriting authority levels, test case reviews, delegated authority, and conditions-clearing standards.
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Policy, Guidelines, and Training
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Adherence to Second Level Review policy and review requirements with actionable feedback to the Underwriter.
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Ensure timely implementation, communication, and training related to agency, investor, regulatory and internal policy changes.
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Recommend enhancements to underwriting policies, procedures, and credit standards.
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Conduct weekly team meetings.
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Special projects on an as needed basis.
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Operations and Performance Management
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Collaborate with Sales, Processing, Closing, to resolve pipeline issues and support lock and closing deadlines.
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Adhere to rush policy requirements.
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Support investor and agency audits, third-party reviews, and warehouse and secondary market requirements.
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Manage productivity, loan quality, suspense and re-underwrite rate.
Qualifications
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Required
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10+ years of mortgage underwriting experience, with 8+ years in a management or supervisory role.
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Direct Endorsement (DE) Underwriter status, with current FHA and/or VA underwriting authority.
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Strong working knowledge of Conventional, FHA, VA, Non-QM, bond/HFA, and equity products.
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Proven ability to lead remote or multi-location teams.
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Deep understanding of mortgage regulations, QC practices, and investor requirements.
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Excellent communication, coaching, and decision-making skills.
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Preferred
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Prior experience as a retail lender underwriting leader.
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Experience with Non-QM product design, bank statement and DSCR underwriting, and investor relationships.
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Familiarity with LOS platforms (Encompass, etc.) and AUS tools.
Core Competencies
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Credit judgment
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Leadership and coaching
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Regulatory knowledge
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Data-driven decision making
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Communication
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Collaboration
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Accountability
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