VP, Portfolio Economics

Kafene

$225K — $325K *
Finance & Insurance
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-7 years of experience in portfolio strategy, pricing, or consumer finance
  • Expertise in SQL or similar data management tools
  • Deep understanding of consumer credit unit economics and pricing mechanics
  • Strong analytical skills combined with commercial judgment
  • Ability to work independently and take ownership of complex problems
  • Background in quant trading, risk analysis, or strategic finance

Responsibilities

  • Own and oversee portfolio profitability framework and metrics
  • Build and maintain regular reporting for portfolio economics
  • Drive pricing strategies and coordinate across functions to optimize outcomes
  • Identify underperforming segments and propose corrective measures
  • Design programs for high-value merchants to enhance profitability
  • Develop evaluation framework for bespoke program requests
  • Conduct profit tests and measure impact on funding and returns

Benefits

  • 80% of healthcare costs covered for employees and dependents
  • 401k retirement plan with employer contributions
  • Flexible paid time off from day one for work-life balance
Full Job Description
The VP of Portfolio Economics owns the question at the center of the company: are we pricing risk correctly, and is the portfolio earning what it should? You will own pricing and portfolio profitability end to end - from lease-level unit economics to merchant- and vintage-level returns - and turn that analysis into decisions risk, revenue and finance can implement.

This is a high-impact individual contributor role, reporting jointly to the CEO and CFO. As the function matures, there is potential to build a small team around portfolio economics - but the near-term job is to be hands on keys doing the work.

What You'll Do
  • Own the portfolio profitability framework: unit margins, total dollar expected returns, concentration limits - by merchant, vertical, channel, score band, and cohort
  • Build and maintain the recurring reporting for portfolio economics - projected and realized yield, cash on cash returns, expected profit by vintage, merchant cohort performance, emerging risk and concentration issues
  • Drive every lever that moves portfolio economics - pricing, markup structures, early purchase option (EPO) discounts, approval rates, approval amounts, take rates - and own the portfolio-level outcome that results. Individual levers are jointly operated by finance, risk, and revenue; this role coordinates their interaction, identifies the trades worth making, and optimizes them across functions
  • Identify where the portfolio can be improved, determine which segments, merchants, or verticals earning below target, and quantify the fix: reprice, restructure, or exit
  • Design bespoke programs for the highest-value merchants, working directly across functions to structure programs that optimize wallet share or margin to maximize EV.
  • Build and own the evaluation framework that governs bespoke program requests across the rest of the portfolio - the systematic process by which those requests get assessed, approved, or declined
  • Design and evaluate profit tests; measure elasticity, adverse selection, and the downstream impact on funded volume and returns
  • Operate with fluency within the company's data and analytics tools (Sigma and Snowflake); this is a daily, non-negotiable part of the job
  • Translate findings into concrete recommendations with a clear P&L rationale that the CEO and CFO can act on


What You'll Bring
  • You personally sort through our robust data using SQL (or equivalent) and are comfortable doing so every day - this is verified in the interview with a live analytical exercise
  • Deep working fluency in consumer credit and lending unit economics: pricing and yield mechanics, vintages, cash-on-cash, cohort dynamics; lease-to-own or specialty consumer finance experience is a strong plus
  • Analytical rigor paired with commercial judgment and a game theory mindset- you understand that pricing decisions are made against volume, merchant relationships, and funding costs, not in a vacuum
  • You thrive as a party of one - you want to own a hard problem, not manage a team or build a function on day one
  • Likely backgrounds: quant trading, pricing or portfolio strategy at a lender or fintech; credit or structured-finance investor; strategic finance at a specialty finance company; risk or data science with strong P&L orientation

How We'll Assess You

The core of the process is a live, ambiguous analytical exercise against a sanitized business dataset - a pricing or profitability problem. We're evaluating how you structure the investigation, whether you go to the data yourself, and whether you land a clear, actionable recommendation at the end.

Compensation and Benefits:
  • Base Salary: $225,000-325,000 along with an equity package
  • Healthcare: We prioritize your well-being by covering 80% of medical, dental, and vision insurance costs, including coverage for your spouse, children, and other dependents.
  • Retirement Benefits: Begin planning for your future from day one with our 401k plan.
  • Paid Time Off: We understand the importance of work-life balance. That's why we offer flexible paid time off days starting from day one of your employment.

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Kafene

  • VP, Portfolio Economics
    $225K — $325K *
    New York, NY 10025 (New York County)
    Finance & Insurance
    In-Person
  • Risk Manager
    $95K — $130K *
    Wilmington, DE 19805 (New Castle County)
    Finance & Insurance
    In-Person
  • Risk Manager
    $95K — $130K *
    New York, NY 10025 (New York County)
    Finance & Insurance
    In-Person

More Finance & Insurance Jobs

Find similar VP, Portfolio Economics jobs: