Director of Consumer Operations at Watercress Financial Group LLC – West Des Moines, Iowa

The Executive Director of Operations is a senior leadership role responsible for driving end-to-end operational excellence across the consumer lending lifecycle. This individual oversees critical functions such as underwriting support, servicing, collections, and funding operations, ensuring they operate efficiently, compliantly, and at scale to support the company’s growth objectives.

Sitting at the intersection of strategy and execution, this role translates business goals into operational plans, aligning people, processes, and technology to deliver measurable outcomes. The Executive Director of Operations plays a pivotal role in shaping and optimizing the operating model, leveraging data-driven insights to improve performance, reduce risk, and enhance the customer experience.

This leader partners cross-functionally with Risk, Compliance, Product, Analytics, Finance, and Technology teams to implement scalable processes, strengthen controls, and enable innovation within a highly regulated environment. They are also responsible for building and developing high-performing teams, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and customer-centricity.

Ultimately, the role is accountable for ensuring operational readiness and scalability, balancing efficiency, risk management, and customer outcomes while supporting the organization’s long-term strategic vision.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Operational Leadership

• Oversee one or more core functions within the lending lifecycle (e.g., servicing, collections, merchant funding operations, underwriting support, etc.)
• Lead and develop a team of managers and/or supervisors, ensuring strong leadership at all levels
• Driving talent strategy includes hiring, development/training, succession planning, and organizational design
• Align operational capabilities with company growth targets, product strategy, and risk appetite ensuring clear operational plans, goals, and KPIs
• Drive accountability for performance across productivity, quality, and customer outcomes
• Serve as a key advisor to executive leadership on operational performance and scalability

Performance Management & Analytics

• Own and monitor key operational metrics (e.g., conversion rates, cycle times, delinquency, loss mitigation outcomes)
• Leverage data to identify trends, root causes, and opportunities for improvement
• Direct the build / refinement of reporting frameworks and deliver insights to senior leadership
• Create/maintain staffing forecast model to project required staffing levels ensuring staffing levels are in place ahead of demand.

Process Optimization & Scaling

• Champion automation, digital transformation, and technology enablement across operations
• Identify and lead initiatives to streamline processes, reduce manual effort, and improve scalability
• Collaborate cross functionally with other departments to implement system enhancements, automation, and tooling improvements
• Standardize workflows and ensure consistent execution through SOPs and training

Risk, Controls & Compliance

• Ensure operations adhere to all regulatory requirements and internal policies
• Partner with Compliance and Risk to implement controls, monitoring, and audit readiness practices
• Proactively identify operational risks and implement mitigation strategies

Customer Experience & Quality

• Champion a high-quality, customer-centric experience across all touchpoints
• Monitor QA results, complaints, and feedback to drive continuous improvement
• Balance operational efficiency with customer satisfaction and regulatory expectations

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as a key liaison between Operations and cross-functional teams (Risk, Product, Finance, Compliance)
• Provide frontline insights to inform credit policy, product design, and servicing strategies
• Support change management efforts for new initiatives, policies, or systems

Vendor & Workforce Management

• Oversee third-party vendors if applicable

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in consumer lending, financial services, or fintech operations
• 5+ years of people management or team leadership experience with multi-functional teams
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements (e.g., CFPB, FDCPA, FCRA, UDAAP)
• Experience working with lending systems, CRM platforms, or workflow tools
• Deep knowledge of the consumer lending lifecycle (origination, underwriting, servicing, collections)
• Demonstrated success implementing process improvements and automation

Preferred Experience:

• Experience in high growth consumer lending; experience with mid-stage fintech or digital lending platform a plus
• Background in unsecured consumer lending (personal loans, credit cards, POS financing)
• Experience implementing automation, AI tools, or workflow systems

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence across levels
• Exceptional leadership and team-building abilities
• Highly analytical and data-driven decision maker
• Expertise in process improvement and operational excellence
• Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration
• Strong communication skills, including executive-level reporting
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, evolving environment