Commercial Credit Department Manager

At Community Financial System, Inc. (CFSI), we are dedicated to providing our customers with friendly, personalized, high-quality financial services and products. Our retail division, Community Bank, N.A., operates more than 200 customer facilities across Upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont and Western Massachusetts. Beyond retail banking, we also offer commercial banking, wealth management, investment management, insurance and risk management, and benefit plan administration.

Just as our employees are committed to helping our customers manage their finances, we're committed to our employees. After all, they make it happen for our customers every day.

To ensure our people can enjoy long and successful careers here at CFSI, we offer competitive compensation, great benefits, and professional development and advancement opportunities. As an equal-opportunity workplace and affirmative-action employer, we celebrate and support a diverse workplace for the benefit of all: our employees, customers and communities.

The primary responsibilities of the position are:

• Manage and coordinate the workflow and administrative functions of the regional Credit Department, working with Credit Underwriters and Commercial Lenders to ensure the timely turnaround and appropriate underwriting of credit requests.
• Coordinate and administer training of Credit Underwriters in all aspects of credit, collateral and cash flow analysis, including commercial loan documentation review, regulatory issues and loan policies/procedures.
• Oversee all aspects of personnel-related duties and assessments, including selection of new hires, establishment of annual MBO's for all Credit Underwriters, mid-year and annual performance reviews, disciplinary actions, etc.

Essential Duties include:

• Manages and coordinates the workflow and administrative functions of the Regional Credit Department by working in concert with the Credit Underwriters and Commercial Lenders to:

a. Ensure that all required loan request information is in hand to assign work to underwriters and begin the underwriting process;

b. Address any loan package informational deficiencies and/or loan request structural issues;

c. Assess the ongoing status of active and inactive credit requests, schedule completion dates for active credits and prioritize individual underwriter workloads to meet lender/customer requirements;

d. Review credit underwriting memorandums for completeness, accuracy and appropriateness of loan structure, lending conditions, assigned risk rating, etc. Discuss and resolve underwriting deficiencies or issues with Commercial Lender prior to submission of credit underwriting memorandum to appropriate lender or Loan Committee for approval.

• Coordinate the administrator's training of Credit Underwriters via the ongoing evaluation of each underwriter's credit skills and providing formalized or on-the-job training assignments to enhance and build upon their skill set.
• Oversee all aspects of personnel-related duties and assignments by:

a. Reviewing resumes, selecting qualified candidates, conducting initial interviews, selecting candidates for second interviews with Senior Credit Manager and recommending candidates for hire.

b. Preparing annual MBO's and performance assessments for review by Senior Credit Manager and conducting semi-annual and annual reviews wtih each underwriter.

c. Evaluating the ongoing performance of each underwriter and offering recommendations for salary progressions and promotions to the Senior Credit Manager.

d. Initialing and following through on disciplinary actions as prescribed by HR policy in conjunction with Senior Credit Manager.

Education/Training : Bachelors Degree in Business field of study (finance, economics, management, accounting; advanced credit analysis and loan structuring training required; management experience. All applicants must be 18 years of age or older.

Skills: Proficient reading, writing, grammar and mathematics skills along with proficient interpersonal and communication skills (both verbal and written); diversified knowledge of credit analysis techniques; loan structuring and loan documentation requirements' thorough knowledge of bank lending policies and procedures; sound management skills and the ability to work independently with moderate to minimal oversight depending on level of experience; ability to coordinate the efforts of staff and work productively with all levels of management and staff to meet credit underwriting goals; PC proficiency including Microsoft Word and Excel.

Experience: 5 to 7 years of commercial credit analysis experience along with 1 to 2 years of supervisory experience. Knowledgeable in risk assessment, credit structuring, credit administration, commercial loan documentation review and regulations that apply to commercial lending. Strong training skills and mentoring capabilities.

Compensation: Commensurate with experience plus potential for annual merit increase. In addition to your competitive salary, you will be rewarded benefits including: 11 paid holidays, paid vacation, Medical, Vision & Dental insurance, 401K with generous match, Pension, Tuition Reimbursement, Banking discounts and the list goes on!

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be required to stand, walk or sit. Use hands and fingers, handle or feel, reach with hands or arms, and speak and hear. The employee may occasionally be required to lift and or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, and the ability to focus.

The Company is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

The Company will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with a disability. If you have a physical or mental impairment and would like to request an accommodation with respect to the application process, please contact the Human Resources Department.