Senior Credit Administrator

Job Summary
The Senior Credit Administrator works closely with Bank of the Sierra's Mortgage Banker Finance ("MBF") business line relationship managers, credit underwriters, and business executives to provide early credit input into new "prescreen" lending opportunities and guidance on proper credit structures in facility renewals, modifications, extensions and transactional exception requests. This position is a leadership role within the Credit Administration department and the overall Bank. The Senior Credit Administrator's primary responsibility is to oversee, review, and consistently adjudicate new credit requests as well as review the existing portfolio to ensure that it is consistent with the board-approved credit risk appetite.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned as necessary.

• Fosters, trains, mentors, and leads through example a strong credit risk culture within the Bank.
• Use delegated credit authority to review and properly credit structure and consistently adjudicate new "prescreen" potential credit requests, formal credit approval requests, loan renewals, extensions, modifications and transactional exception requests.
• As requested by the CCO, assists in managing strategic and special projects, ensuring that all projects and reports are completed accurately and on a timely basis.
• Attend and may present loan approval recommendations and special reports to the Bank's Management Credit Committee.
• Work with external auditors, regulators, loan review parties, and other internal bank departments as requested and needed.
• Stays informed and proficient in all applicable regulatory guidance and Bank policies and procedures and serves as the Bank's authority to communicate and train relevant personnel in MBF credit-related activities.
• Additional responsibilities are available, based on candidate experience and skills.
• Specific duties with regard to the Mortgage Banker Finance business:
• Continuous monitoring of Mortgage Banker Finance customer/seller and investor take-out exposures.
• Review and Approve customer/seller transactional exception requests.
• Ensure that borrower financial covenants remain in compliance. When there are exceptions, communicate timely with the CCO and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Review Master Repo Agreements and Credit Annexes for new customers.
• Regularly review our base legal template, credit advance rates, standard borrower covenants, and curtailment schedules, to ensure that they remain relevant for our business and the macro-economic environment.
• Work closely with the MBF business and CCO to develop new products, programs, and business expansion strategies.
• Regularly, review the WLS system settings and calibrations and standard reports as well as the MBF team's operational monitoring and controls.
• Continually evaluate the effectiveness of current MBF underwriting and portfolio monitoring practices, as well as the ongoing relevancy of MBF credit policies and procedures.

The Senior Credit Administrator role is a corporate credit role that ensures independence and carries delegated credit authority to approve transactions based on experience and the demonstrated accuracy and consistency of proper credit approvals. The Senior Credit Administrator will have oversight responsibility for certain product and or business units, making sure that the business unit credit functions fulfill their credit responsibilities, which include: 1) "Knowing Your Customer", 2) properly underwriting new loans, 3) ensuring loan covenants and loans structures are consistent with bank lending guidelines, 4) ensuring that the business units are managing delinquent loans in a timely manner, 5) overseeing the portfolio loan review process to ensure that loans receive proper ongoing review, 6) ensuring that individual loans are properly risk rated at all times, 7) immediately notifying the Chief Credit Officer and/or Special Assets if a problem is encountered with a borrower or loan, 8) staying current and informed of industry, product and regulatory developments, and 9) working on strategic projects assigned by the Chief Credit Officer.

Supervisory/Training Responsibilities
May be asked to assist the CCO in supervising other Credit Administrators and/or Credit Administration staff members, ensuring that all assigned responsibilities are managed effectively and that the Credit Administrators and/or Credit Administration staff members are properly trained.

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, skills, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education And/Or Experience
A minimum education requirement is to include a bachelor's degree (BA or BS) and ten years of related experience and/or training or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Additional academic credentials would be a plus.

The Senior Credit Administrator is expected to have broad industry and loan product knowledge, which would primarily include all sectors within non-owner occupied commercial real estate lending and C&I lending. Credit experience in any of the following additional sectors would be a plus: SBA, Residential Mortgages, Small Business, Agriculture, Structured Loans, and Equipment Finance or Leasing. This role could involve managing and mentoring staff within the Credit Administration department as well as communicating actively with Finance, Compliance, Risk Management, Loan Operations, and other teams within the Bank.

Credit Analysis And Language Skills

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret business and guarantor financial reports and legal documents. Must be able to translate customer financial and operating metrics into an appropriate loan structure supported by relevant covenants designed to protect the Bank, should the customer experience a material adverse change.
• Proficient with all aspects of WLS, Jack Henry, Funding Shield, Smartsheet, Sharepoint, MS Word, MS Excel, MS Outlook, and the Internet.
• Ability to understand multi-year financial and operating trends. Be able to calculate business and guarantor financial and debt service ratios, as well as operating and performance ratios. Understand how a company is performing relative to peer and industry benchmarks.
• Ability to determine whether the Bank should approve or deny a credit application based on the Bank's risk appetite, Strategic Plan, Bank credit policies and procedures and the five "Cs" of Credit—Character, Capacity, Collateral, Capital, and Conditions.
• Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, employees, or members of the business community.
• Ability to respond to the Bank's Business Unit Leaders and other Bank Senior Officers to effectively convey the Bank's credit policies and procedures and general regulatory requirements.
• Ability to effectively present information to top management, public groups, and/or Boards of Directors both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to be an effective listener and communicator.

Mathematical Skills

• Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference.
• Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.

Reasoning Ability

• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and sift through information and data to draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

Physical Demands
The physical demands described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit. The employee is frequently required to talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to ten pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment
The work environment characteristics described herein are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet, with work performed in an office or at-home environment.

Bank of the Sierra is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.