Senior Director Auto Lending, Portfolio Performance

The Team

Upstart is seeking a Senior Director Auto Lending, Portfolio Performance to lead all aspects of auto lending post origination portfolio performance. Including: auto recoveries, repossession and remarketing, debt sales, hardships, and other credit performance operational functions.

This strategic leader will closely partner with cross functional stakeholders in Product, Machine Learning, Legal / Compliance to develop and lead best in class subprime post-origination lending programs for Upstart’s Auto product. This leader will join our team to manage and improve our auto portfolio and vendor performance. This leader will be responsible for all post-origination operational strategy and performance, day to day operations for vendor oversight/selection, procedure/process design, and quality.

You will own in partnership with Upstart’s auto Product team, our post-origination portfolio and be responsible for the performance of the department. You will own relationships with our existing vendors; manage Upstart’s internal auto post-origination operations teams; analyze, report on, provide strategic recommendations, and monitor performance of Upstart’s auto portfolio performance compared to credit performance expectations; interface with executive leadership and external investors/partners about the department’s current and expected future performance; review of new vendors as needed; develop new internal departments to ensure maximum asset recovery and adherence to Upstart’s policies and procedures.

Position Location - This role is available in the following locations: Remote

Travel Requirements - Onsite reviews of vendors, industry roundtables and/or conferences (2-3 per year) and this team has regular on-site collaboration sessions. These occur approximately 3 days per Quarter at the San Mateo, CA, Columbus, OH office, or Austin, TX office. If you need to travel, Upstart will cover all travel related expenses.

How you’ll make an impact:

• Own Upstart’s Auto post-origination function including: servicing, vendors: collections, repossession, debt sales, skip tracing etc., management of internal operations teams, company relations with our third-party auto loan vendors.
• Partner with Product, ML, and Analytics to develop robust reporting and performance monitoring in partnership. Regularly report on performance to senior leadership and external investors and/or bank partners.
• Evaluate current internal practices and recommend new strategies and programs designed to improve overall auto portfolio performance.
• Ensure that day to day operational work (repo, hardships, debt sales etc.) are functioning with excellence to strategy/goals by Upstart and its third-party vendors.
• Establish performance standards for the internal team and vendors. Ensure KPIs and expectations are met and/or address any concerns with the team or 3rd party vendor. Report on issues, and make changes to ensure Upstart is maximizing its auto recoveries in a timely manner.
• Manage Upstart’s internal and external teams that support auto lending; coach and hold employees and vendors accountable for performance, deadlines, and reaching KPIs.
• Own and drive compliance risks, lead remediation process issues/ risk to a successful resolution.
• Lead projects and partner with engineering, product, legal, compliance and other key stakeholders to drive efficiencies, performance, and maximize dollars recovered.

What we’re looking for:

• Minimum qualifications:
  • 10+ years of experience leading performance of a sub-prime auto loan portfolio (collections, vendor management, repossessions and remarketing etc) - developing and executing strategies and building/ leading effective teams.
  • 10+ years experience leading teams and managing a department including building a strong organizational culture while interacting with company executives and external stakeholders.
  • Strong vendor management/selection experience, specifically with repossession, remarketing, auto-collections, and debt-buying entities.
  • Deep analytical, problem solving and planning skills. Demonstrated ability to understand and communicate performance trends and steps being taken to improve.
  • High accountability bias and sense of ownership
    
• Preferred qualifications:
  
  • Ability to think critically, prioritize tasks, make decisions and utilize resources.
  • Strong communication skills and ability to present information in a clear and concise manner to senior leadership and external stakeholders.
  • Balance ability to work fast with a high degree of accuracy and detail.

What you'll love:

• Competitive Compensation (base + bonus & equity)
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart
• 401(k) with 100% company match up to $4,500 and immediate vesting and after-tax savings
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
• Life and disability insurance
• Generous holiday, vacation, sick and safety leave
• Supportive parental, family care, and military leave programs
• Annual wellness, technology & ergonomic reimbursement programs
• Social activities including team events and onsites, all-company updates, employee resource groups (ERGs), and other interest groups such as book clubs, fitness, investing, and volunteering
• Catered lunches + snacks & drinks when working in offices

#LI-REMOTE

#LI-Director