About the Role

Happen Bank is seeking a General Manager of Mortgage Lending to build, launch, and scale a differentiated home lending business, beginning with home equity products. This leader will have end-to-end responsibility for the business, including strategy, product design, launch execution, growth, profitability, and the overall customer experience.

As the business owner for the mortgage lending P&L, you will partner closely with Product, Technology, Credit Risk, Marketing, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Operations, and external partners to deliver a scalable, high-performing lending business. You will define the long-term vision, operating model, and customer experience while balancing growth, risk, and operational excellence.

A key focus of this role is developing a compelling home equity offering and delivering a seamless customer experience across the entire lending lifecycle—from application and underwriting through closing, funding, servicing, and payoff.

You'll also lead the strategy for white-label and partner-enabled capabilities, ensuring Happen Bank delivers a consistent, high-quality experience while maintaining strong ownership of customer outcomes. As the business grows, you'll help shape how home lending products are integrated into Happen Bank's broader digital ecosystem, serving our existing base of more than 5 million members.

What You'll Do

Business Strategy & Growth

• Define and execute the long-term strategy and business plan for Happen Bank’s mortgage lending business, beginning with home equity products
• Own the mortgage lending P&L, delivering against growth, profitability, credit, and return objectives
• Develop business forecasts and performance frameworks that connect customer acquisition, portfolio performance, and financial outcomes
• Build the roadmap for expanding the business over time, including additional home equity and first mortgage products
• Recommend investments, product enhancements, and growth opportunities that strengthen long-term business performance

Product & Customer Experience

• Lead the development of a differentiated home equity value proposition that delivers a simple, transparent, and efficient customer experience
• Own the customer journey across application, underwriting, valuation, closing, funding, servicing, and payoff
• Establish performance standards for customer experience, operational excellence, and service quality
• Use customer feedback, servicing data, operational metrics, and funnel analytics to continuously improve product performance and customer outcomes
• Partner with Product, Marketing, and Brand teams to optimize cross-product journeys and deliver a consistent Happen Bank experience

Strategic Partnerships

• Evaluate, select, negotiate, and manage strategic partners supporting technology, underwriting, processing, servicing, closing, and other mortgage capabilities
• Establish governance frameworks, service-level agreements, performance reporting, and escalation processes that ensure strong execution
• Hold partners accountable for customer experience, operational quality, compliance, and financial performance
• Maintain sufficient internal expertise and oversight to ensure Happen Bank retains ownership of customer outcomes while leveraging external capabilities

Credit, Risk & Portfolio Performance

• Partner with Credit Risk to define underwriting strategy, pricing, portfolio management, and risk appetite
• Monitor portfolio performance across originations, delinquencies, losses, prepayments, utilization, and concentrations to ensure sustainable growth
• Balance growth opportunities with credit quality, capital efficiency, regulatory expectations, and long-term profitability
• Support disciplined testing and continuous optimization of pricing, credit strategy, product features, and distribution channels

Leadership & Business Execution

• Build and develop the organization, operating model, and capabilities required to scale the mortgage lending business over time
• Partner across Product, Technology, Risk, Finance, Marketing, Operations, Legal, Compliance, and external partners to align priorities and deliver business outcomes
• Establish an operating cadence that includes business reviews, partner governance, portfolio monitoring, roadmap management, and executive reporting
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement while building strong cross-functional partnerships

About You

• 13+ years of leadership experience in mortgage lending, home equity lending, or a related secured consumer lending business; bachelor’s degree in a related field; or equivalent combination of education and work experience
• Demonstrated success building, launching, or significantly scaling mortgage, home equity, or HELOC products
• Proven ownership of a lending P&L, including growth strategy, pricing, credit performance, operating expenses, and profitability
• Deep understanding of lending economics, portfolio management, and the drivers of risk-adjusted returns
• Experience leading products across the full customer lifecycle, from acquisition and application through servicing and payoff
• Experience working with white-label platforms, fintech partners, mortgage technology providers, sub-servicers, or outsourced fulfillment partners
• Proven ability to manage strategic partnerships while maintaining strong internal ownership of customer experience, compliance, operational performance, and business outcomes
• Strong understanding of digital lending funnels, including application conversion, underwriting, closing, funding, servicing, and customer retention
• Ability to influence executive stakeholders and drive alignment across Product, Technology, Credit Risk, Marketing, Finance, Operations, Legal, and Compliance
• Strong commercial judgment with the ability to balance customer value, operational execution, regulatory requirements, and long-term business performance
• You build organizations that evolve by embedding AI capabilities into how strategy is developed and executed. You foster responsible AI adoption that improves customer outcomes, operational efficiency, and business performance while maintaining strong governance, compliance, and data integrity
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to influence executive leaders, strategic partners, regulators, and cross-functional stakeholders

The successful candidate will be:

• A true business owner: Takes accountability for the entire outcome rather than a narrow functional component
• Customer-obsessed: Holds every stage of the experience to a high standard, including those delivered by partners
• Commercially rigorous: Understands the economics beneath growth and makes decisions based on sustainable risk-adjusted profitability
• Operationally hands-on: Can move fluidly between long-term strategy and detailed launch execution
• Partnership-savvy: Knows how to build productive external relationships without surrendering accountability or control
• Decisive and collaborative: Creates alignment, makes difficult tradeoffs, and moves complex initiatives forward
• Comfortable building from zero: Thrives in an environment where the strategy, operating model, product, and team are still being created

Work Location
San Francisco, New York

The above locations are eligible offices for this role. The locations have been determined to foster in-person collaboration with this role’s team or the related business lines. We utilize a hybrid work model, and our teams are in-office Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. In-person attendance is essential for this role’s success, and remote placement will not be considered. Happen Bank offers relocation, based on actual job level.

Time Zone Requirements
Local hours (PT, ET)

While the position will primarily work local hours, Happen Bank is headquartered in Pacific Time and our ideal candidate will be flexible working across time zones when necessary.

Travel Requirements
As needed travel to Happen Bank offices and/or other locations, as needed.

Compensation
The target base salary range for this position is 250,000-280,000. The base salary of the role will be determined by job-related knowledge, experience, education, skills, and location. Base salary is just one part of Happen Bank's Total Rewards package. You may also be eligible for long-term awards (equity) and an annual bonus (which is based on company performance, employee performance and eligible earnings).

We’re creating new financial services solutions for our members based on fairness, simplicity, and heart, and we treat our employees the same way. We offer a competitive benefits package that includes medical, dental and vision plans for employees and their families, 401(k) match, health and wellness programs, flexible time off policies for salaried employees, up to 16 weeks paid parental leave and more.

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