Senior Vice President, Chief Credit Officer

Background

The Low Income Investment Fund is a national non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that mobilizes capital and partners to achieve opportunity, equity and wellbeing for people and communities. For more than four decades, LIIF has invested in affordable housing, early care and education facilities, health centers, healthy food access, and community facilities that strengthen communities and improve outcomes for families.

Headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C., LIIF serves as a bridge between private capital markets and communities that have historically lacked access to investment. Through innovative lending, financing, and partnership strategies, LIIF advances equity and expands opportunity nationwide.

Summary

The Senior Vice President, Chief Credit Officer (CCO) is responsible for overseeing all credit and portfolio risk management functions for LIIF’s national lending platform.  Reporting to the President, the CCO serves as a key strategic leader responsible for maintaining a high-quality loan portfolio, minimizing credit losses, and ensuring sound credit risk management, all in support of LIIF’s mission to advance equitable community development. The CCO will oversee credit policy, underwriting standards, portfolio risk management, and asset management functions while serving as a strategic partner to lending, impact, finance, and executive leadership teams. The successful candidate will balance prudent credit risk management with LIIF’s commitment to expanding access to capital and achieving meaningful community impact.

Responsibilities

Credit Policy & Loan Approval

• Oversee credit review and approval of all loan transactions in accordance with LIIF’s Loan and Asset Concentration Policy and delegated credit authority.
• Support the management of credit and lending related policies in consultation with the LRC Chair, the CEO and President.
• Work closely with the Chief Lending Officer and President to manage the Internal Loan Committee and Lending Risk Committee.
• Provide an external perspective on emerging market, economic, regulatory, and industry trends that could impact loan originations and portfolio performance, proactively advising executive leadership and the Lending Risk Committee on potential risks and recommending strategies to mitigate Advise staff on transaction structuring and credit risk mitigation.
• Ensure alignment between credit decisions and the organization’s mission and risk
• Foster a committee-based decision-making culture that encourages thoughtful dialogue, diverse perspectives, and disciplined credit judgment.
• Drive continuous improvement of the credit function by strengthening credit processes and operations to enhance efficiency, consistency, and quality, ensuring the credit function supports LIIF’s lending objectives while maintaining rigorous underwriting standards and prudent risk oversight.

Portfolio Risk Management and Credit Performance

• Maintain accountability for the quality and long-term performance of LIIF’s loan portfolio through disciplined credit risk management, partnering with lending leadership to support mission-driven lending within an appropriate risk framework.
• Lead risk monitoring efforts through management of the Asset Management
• Oversee portfolio performance to minimize credit losses and ensure the adequacy of Loan Loss Reserves through ongoing portfolio monitoring, risk assessment, and reserve methodologies.
• Ensure implementation of portfolio risk rating systems and Loan Loss
• Proactively identify troubled loans and oversee workouts, restructurings, and resolution strategies to minimize losses and protect LIIF’s financial position.
• Lead monthly Credit Committee meetings reviewing segments of the
• Manage credit, reputational, and other portfolio-related risks, escalating emerging issues and recommending appropriate mitigation strategies to executive leadership and the Lending Risk

Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, coach, and develop the Credit Officer and Director of Asset Management, fostering a high-performing team and a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Build and strengthen LIIF’s credit capabilities by developing credit talent, providing coaching and mentorship, and overseeing ongoing training and professional development for the credit function.
• Partner with the Chief Lending Officer to design and deliver credit and underwriting training for lending staff, ensuring consistent application of credit policies, sound underwriting practices, and disciplined risk management across the organization.
• Establish and champion underwriting best practices, promoting consistency, quality, and excellence in credit analysis, loan structuring, and portfolio management.

Reporting & Analytics

• Lead the development of credit-related reporting for the Board and executive
• Coordinate reporting to S&P, AERIS, OFN, funders, and other external
• Support transparency in performance metrics and risk
• Utilize portfolio analytics and impact data to support informed decision-making and continuous improvement across the lending portfolio.

Capital Reserves & Risk Modeling

• Collaborate with the CFO to manage financial reserves under CECL and ALLL
• Lead efforts to build and implement enhanced risk rating models and stress
• Partner with executive leadership to ensure portfolio management strategies support LIIF’s long-term financial sustainability and capital stewardship objectives.

Policy & Product Innovation

• Maintain and update LIIF’s Lending
• Collaborate on product design and implementation to address market
• Support development of the Impact, Risk, and Profitability (IRP)
• Help strengthen governance structures, approval processes, and credit policies to support organizational effectiveness and consistency.

Equity in Lending

• Work with the Equity Working Group to identify and reduce bias in lending policies and practices while maintaining strong credit risk management practices
• Partner with lending, impact, and program teams to ensure equity considerations are thoughtfully incorporated into lending discussions and decision-making processes.

Requirements

• At least 15 years of experience in affordable housing finance, credit risk management, commercial lending, or community development finance or related fields.
• Demonstrated success in managing credit operations in mission-driven or regulated financial
• Experience building and developing high-performing and leading through change and complexity.
• Experience balancing mission-driven objectives with disciplined portfolio management and credit risk
• Strong familiarity with CDFI lending, nonprofit financials, and affordable housing or facilities finance (both preferred)
• Proven ability to collaborate across departments and influence senior
• A deep understanding of community development-oriented finance, particularly real estate-based lending, including complex deal structuring, risk assessment, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Expertise in analyzing financials of nonprofit organizations and real estate operations, particularly related to rental housing, special needs housing, and community facilities.
• Familiarity with federal, state, and local government capital funding sources, CDFI Fund programs, New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), and other relevant sources.
• Experience working across multiple geographic markets and national portfolios with a focus on delivering impact at scale.

Leadership Characteristics:

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Exceptional listening and relationship-building
• A collaborative and inclusive leadership style, complemented by the independence and sound judgment to make difficult, and at times unpopular, decisions that protect portfolio quality and manage risk.
• A commitment to developing talent, mentoring and fostering a culture of accountability and
• Strong strategic and analytical
• The ability to influence across functions and levels of an
• Sound judgment and thoughtful decision-
• Organizational agility and change-management
• A deep commitment to racial equity and impact in community and financial systems
• Professional maturity, humility, and
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence key stakeholders and maintain relationships with internal and external partners.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree required in Real Estate, Urban Planning, Nonprofit Management, Business Administration, or Finance.
• MBA or advanced degree in Finance, Urban Planning, or a related field

Compensation and Benefits

The compensation range for this position is $270,000-$300,000 in addition to a comprehensive benefits package.

How to Apply

If you have an interest in this opportunity, please share a resume and brief cover note to:

Neeta Mehta                                                                        Janet Albert

Partner, Bridge Partners                                                   Partner, Bridge Partners

[email protected]                           Janet.Albert@bridgepartnersllc.com