Closing Team Leader

Closing Team Leader

At World Business Lenders (WBL), we provide flexible, short-term commercial loans backed by real estate to help small and medium-sized businesses across the United States, particularly those facing difficulties securing traditional financing. We are a fast-moving, results-driven organization focused on efficient execution, strong risk management, and protecting the company's collateral position.

About the Role

The Closing Team Leader supports the day-to-day operations of the Closing function, helping ensure loans move efficiently from Clear-to-Close through funding while meeting quality standards, internal procedures, and required service-level agreements (SLAs). This role provides hands-on leadership, guidance, and support to Closing team members, monitors workload and pipeline performance, and helps resolve operational issues that may affect closing timelines or funding. The Closing Team Leader works closely with Title, Underwriting, Credit, Processing, Valuations, Legal, and Funding to ensure closing conditions are satisfied accurately and on time. The role also supports coordination with closing attorneys, title companies, settlement agents, and other third-party partners to facilitate timely closings and protect WBL's collateral position.

What Success Looks Like

Maintain an organized, productive Closing Team with clear priorities and accountability. Ensure loans progress efficiently from Clear-to-Close through closing and funding, meeting established SLAs and quality standards. Promote accurate and complete closing documentation while minimizing delays and post-closing defects. Identify workflow bottlenecks, resolve routine operational issues, and escalate complex exceptions appropriately. Support effective coordination across internal departments and external partners while helping protect WBL's collateral position.

Closing Operations & Team Leadership

• Coordinate the day-to-day activities of the Closing Team, including workload distribution, task prioritization, and deadline management.
• Monitor the closing pipeline to ensure loans progress from Clear-to-Close through closing and funding.
• Provide guidance, coaching, training, and day-to-day support to Closing team members.
• Monitor team productivity, turnaround times, workload, and compliance with established SLAs.
• Follow up on outstanding closing conditions, missing documentation, and pending approvals.
• Review closing packages and related documentation for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with established procedures.
• Help ensure loan documents, settlement statements, payoff documentation, closing instructions, and funding conditions are properly addressed before closing.
• Assist team members in resolving routine closing issues and escalate complex exceptions when necessary.
• Coordinate with Underwriting, Credit, Processing, Valuations, Legal, Title, and Funding to address outstanding conditions and keep transactions on schedule.
• Communicate pipeline status, delays, risks, and operational concerns to management.
• Support onboarding and training for new team members and reinforce established procedures and performance expectations.

Title Coordination & Collateral Requirements

• Coordinate with the Title Team to ensure title clearance requirements are addressed before closing.
• Track outstanding title conditions, lien-related requirements, vesting issues, and other items that may affect closing readiness.
• Follow up on title commitments, title policies, lien searches, payoff information, and related documentation as needed.
• Help ensure title requirements and exceptions are resolved accurately and within established timelines.
• Coordinate with title specialists and escalate complex title defects, lien priority concerns, judgments, vesting issues, or other exceptions affecting collateral.
• Support the verification of requirements necessary to protect WBL's collateral interests and first-lien position.
• Communicate title-related delays and outstanding requirements to the appropriate internal stakeholders.

Attorney, Title & Settlement Partner Coordination

• Maintain day-to-day communication with closing attorneys, title companies, settlement agents, escrow providers, and other third-party partners.
• Follow up on pending documents, closing schedules, payoff statements, settlement figures, and other transaction requirements.
• Help resolve routine vendor and transaction-level issues that may affect closing timelines.
• Monitor partner responsiveness and communicate recurring service issues or delays to management.
• Support positive working relationships with external partners to improve coordination, turnaround times, and closing quality.

Process Improvement & Quality Control

• Follow established SOPs, checklists, workflows, and documentation standards.
• Identify recurring errors, process gaps, and workflow bottlenecks and recommend practical improvements to management.
• Perform quality checks on closing documentation and ensure identified issues are addressed before closing or funding.
• Monitor outstanding items, recurring defects, and operational trends.
• Support corrective actions and process updates designed to improve accuracy, efficiency, and consistency.
• Help maintain accurate pipeline records, transaction notes, and reporting.
• Reinforce consistent application of procedures and quality standards across the team.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure day-to-day Closing activities follow company policies, established procedures, applicable legal requirements, and relevant investor requirements.
• Verify that required closing conditions and documentation are addressed before loans proceed to closing and funding.
• Identify and escalate potential legal, title, documentation, lien, and collateral risks.
• Follow established escalation procedures for exceptions, unresolved conditions, and transactions requiring additional review or approval.
• Work with Legal, Title, and other relevant stakeholders to help resolve issues while protecting WBL's collateral position.
• Maintain appropriate documentation and communication records in accordance with company procedures.