First Line of Defense

The First Line of Defense, Credit Risk Manager will be responsible for the continuous development of the Quality Assurance and Quality Control process within the Private Bank Commercial Lending Portfolio, for the assessment of risk within the portfolio and managing reporting requirements for the team.  Specifically, the First Line of Defense Risk Governance Responsibilities will include:

• Develop and execute QC/QA control monitoring and testing plans for the Private Bank’s Commercial Portfolio lending workflow including testing for adherence to regulatory standards, safe and sound lending practices and adherence to procedures. Performing quality control reviews of loan transactions, lending files, and operational processes. Validate accuracy, completeness, and compliance with regulatory and internal policy requirements. Identify errors, deficiencies, or control breaches and document findings.
• Analyze defects, non-conformances, and deviations. Investigate root causes and implement corrective. Identify opportunities to prevent defects.
• Report quality findings and escalate issues as needed.
   

Risk Identification & Assessment:

• Support the identification, measurement, and mitigation of credit risks within the Commercial Portfolio, ensuring alignment with enterprise risk frameworks, strategies, and regulatory expectations. Support in the monitoring and reporting on asset quality metrics, KRIs and KPIs and trending to ensure process effectiveness. Develop and execute inspection and testing plans.

Business Line Risk Advisory:

• Support and partner with business leaders on targeted initiatives to address specific risk issues working with risk partners, business line owners and operational professional across the enterprise; analyze and quantify risk exposures, evaluate mitigation strategies, and develop actionable remediation plans.

Governance & Control Framework:

• Implement and maintain internal governance processes to strengthen risk oversight, enhance accountability, and ensure consistent adherence to policies and standards.

Strategic Risk Insights:

• Provide a forward-looking risk perspective on business strategies, identifying potential vulnerabilities while enabling informed decision-making and strategic opportunities.

Data Analysis & Reporting:

• Synthesize complex data into meaningful insights; perform risk-based analysis to evaluate control effectiveness and inform business and risk management strategies.

Process Improvement:

• Conduct reviews of current policies and procedures to identify control gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities for optimization and enhanced risk management practices.
   

Risk Culture & Awareness:

• Promote a strong risk culture by delivering training, education, and consultative support, fostering accountability and awareness across all levels of the organization. Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Business Line, Risk Partners, Credit Review, Compliance, etc.) to embed quality into workflows.
• Act as a 1^st Line Credit Risk subject matter expert and serving as liaison interfacing with business and risk partners.
• Work closely with Credit Risk Analytics in the development of management reporting.
   

Qualifications & Education Requirements

• 3 years of experience with Portfolio Management, Credit Risk and/or Credit Review issue management.
• Bachelor’s degree, Accounting, Business, economic or equivalent field or equivalent work experience. 
• 7 years’ experience in analytical and problem-solving skills with focus on Commercial & Industrial loans, Commercial Real Estate loans and Private Equity/Venture Capital loans (root cause analysis, data interpretation), preferred
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy required.
• Effective communication and writing skills with the ability to influence change and drive continuous improvement, required.
• Familiarity with Loan Documentation preferred.
   

Work Structure:
Hours per Week: 40 hours
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday
Open to Applications for Boston, MA or Johnston, RI Locations

Pay Transparency:
The salary range for this position is $117,000 - $153,000 per year, plus an opportunity to earn an annual discretionary bonus. Actual pay is based on various factors including but not limited to the budget, work location, and relevant skills and experience.

• We offer competitive pay, comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, maternity/paternity leave, flexible work arrangements, education reimbursement, wellness programs and more. Note, Citizens’ paid time off policy exceeds the mandatory, paid sick or paid time-away policy of every local and state jurisdiction in the United States. For an overview of our benefits, visit https://jobs.citizensbank.com/benefits