Director of Enterprise Credit Risk

Director Of Enterprise Credit Risk

This position may be located at First Interstate Bank's offices in Billings, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming.

What's Important to You We know your career is just one aspect of a meaningful, complex, and demanding life. That's why we designed our compensation and benefits package to provide employees and their families with as much choice as possible.

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) in addition to paid federal holidays.
• Student debt employer repayment program.
• 401(k) retirement plan with a 6% match.
• The health and happiness of the places we call home matter to us. Learn a little more about what we do for the communities we serve and why we want YOU to be a part of it.

We encourage you to apply. Reach for what you want and tell us why your work ethic and willingness to learn make you a natural fit for #TeamFirstInterstate.

SUMMARY The Director of Enterprise Credit Risk is responsible for advancing the enterprise credit risk strategy, portfolio quality, and risk governance across all lending divisions. This position partners closely with the Chief Credit Officer to develop and execute credit policies, underwriting standards, and portfolio management routines that align with organizational objectives, regulatory expectations, and risk appetite. With a focus on disciplined execution, analytics, and collaboration, the Director strengthens risk management practices, supports prudent growth, and fosters a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Works in partnership with the Chief Credit Officer (CCO) to design and execute enterprise credit risk strategy.
• Provides direct, expert advisory support to the CCO on complex credit decisions, portfolio trends, and emerging risks.
• Serves as proxy in the CCO's absence, representing Credit leadership with senior management, committees, and regulators.
• Manages territory-based Senior Credit Officers to ensure localized credit risk management is consistent across the Bank's footprint.
• Oversees all aspects of small business lending, including production and operational support teams, such as credit underwriters.
• Acts as the primary conduit to Risk, Finance, Compliance, and Operations for enterprise credit governance and issue resolution.
• Supports talent management processes, including calibration, succession planning, and organizational design within Credit.
• Champions change initiatives that improve credit discipline, client experience, and employee experience.
• Enables the CCO to focus on strategic priorities by driving consistent execution of credit routines, governance, and remediation.
• Applies enterprise knowledge to ensure teams consistently execute policy, underwriting, and portfolio management expectations.
• Co-leads key credit meetings and offsites with the CCO, demonstrating a unified voice and mission.
• Engages with local teams to understand obstacles, prioritize them, and drive resolution.
• Oversees complex projects impacting the credit lifecycle, including originations, underwriting, monitoring, and problem loan management.
• Ensures adherence to regulatory requirements, credit policy, and risk management frameworks.
• Drives cross-line collaboration to identify and execute integrated credit solutions while maintaining risk appetite.
• Champions portfolio risk management initiatives by equipping teams with tools, insights, and routines that strengthen risk identification and mitigation.
• Leverages advanced analytics to inform strategic decisions, optimize underwriting and pricing guardrails, and identify portfolio risks and opportunities.
• Partners with product, digital, and operations teams to design data-driven enhancements that improve underwriting quality and operational efficiency.
• Monitors market trends and competitive intelligence to anticipate shifts and proactively adjust credit strategy.
• Facilitates alignment of performance metrics across lending lines to ensure accountability and transparency in credit execution.
• Oversees the development of dashboards and reporting frameworks that provide actionable insights to leadership and frontline credit teams.
• Supports enterprise-wide strategic planning by contributing expertise on concentration risk, stress testing, allowance trends, and risk considerations impacting growth.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manages a team of Senior Credit Officers.
• Leads the Business Banking Lending Center, overseeing production and operational support teams, including credit underwriters.
• Oversees specialized areas of Credit Risk Management.

QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Experience across multiple lending segments (e.g., C&I, CRE, Ag, and Small Business).
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills, with a proven ability to engage audiences effectively.
• Demonstrated ability to motivate and influence individuals and groups, building trust and credibility quickly.
• Ability to connect credit policy, underwriting, and portfolio management strategies, with a deep understanding of their combined impact on client outcomes, safety and soundness, and employee engagement.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or related field required and
• Master's Degree in Accounting, Business, Finance, Risk Management, or related field preferred
• 10+ years of senior leadership experience required and
• 10+ years of progressive credit risk and/or underwriting experience in commercial and/or community banking required and
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience with exposure across multiple levels of the organization required

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS

• Professional risk or credit certifications (e.g., CRC, FRM, CFA) preferred

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT The physical demands and work environment are representative of those that must be met or encountered to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the company provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

• Dexterity of hands/fingers to operate computer keyboard and mouse - Frequently
• Sitting - Frequently
• Standing - Occasionally
• Noise Level - Moderate
• Typical Work Hours - M-F (8-5)
• Regular and Predictable Attendance - Required

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

We offer a competitive total compensation package including base salary and benefits. The anticipated pay range for this position is $210,540 to $347,380 per year (in CO & WA) and depends on a variety of non-discriminatory factors including, but not limited to, job-related knowledge, skills and experience, education, and geographic location. Additionally, this role is eligible to receive annual discretionary cash and stock bonuses. Benefits available for this position include, but are not limited to, medical, dental, vision, short-term and long-term disability benefits and life insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, employee assistance program, 401(k), Paid Time Off (new hires accrue at .069 per hours worked which equates to approximately 18 days per year inclusive of paid sick time) and up to 11 paid Federal holidays. Please note this information is provided for those hired in Colorado and Washington only, and this role is open to candidates outside of Colorado and Washington with compensation that aligns with your location. For more information regarding our benefits, please visit