SUMMARY
The Senior Mortgage Quality Assurance Coordinator serves as the senior technical resource for mortgage quality assurance within Citizens Home Lending (CHL). Working independently with minimal day-to-day oversight, this position leads complex and higher-risk loan reviews, evaluates the effectiveness of operational controls, and drives corrective actions from issue identification through validation of resolution. The role supports accurate loan documentation, timely processing, and adherence to applicable regulatory requirements and Bank policies throughout origination, underwriting, closing, and post-closing.
This senior individual contributor exercises judgment in assessing ambiguous findings, identifying systemic weaknesses, and recommending practical solutions. The position leads quality improvement initiatives, provides functional guidance and training to CHL staff, and prepares actionable reporting for management. Advanced mortgage expertise and strong proficiency in Encompass are required.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Leads complex, higher-risk, and non-routine mortgage quality assurance reviews, including files involving policy exceptions, unusual ownership structures, inconsistent documentation, or recurring deficiencies. Evaluates the supporting record and documents findings, risk implications, and recommended corrective actions.
- Develops and maintains the CHL quality assurance review framework, including review criteria, checklists, sampling recommendations, escalation thresholds, and documentation standards. Recommends changes to review coverage based on risk trends, business changes, and prior findings; obtains required approvals before implementation.
- Independently assesses documentation gaps, conflicting information, and control failures within established authority. Determines review priorities and required follow-up, coordinates resolution with the responsible staff, and promptly escalates material or unresolved risks to CHL management and the appropriate control functions.
- Analyzes root causes of recurring findings across origination, processing, underwriting, and closing. Develops corrective-action recommendations that address the underlying process or control weakness and reduce the likelihood of recurrence.
- Owns the CHL remediation tracking process. Documents issues, accountable owners, milestones, and supporting evidence; monitors aging and overdue actions; validates corrective-action effectiveness through targeted follow-up reviews before recommending closure.
- Leads quality assurance reviews at critical pipeline milestones. Evaluates application accuracy, verification records, disclosure documentation, approval conditions, and file completeness before underwriting and closing. Coordinates correction of deficiencies with loan officers, processors, and underwriters while preserving their responsibility for production work.
- Serves as CHL’s Encompass subject matter resource. Investigates complex workflow, data-integrity, access, and audit-trail issues; coordinates with technology teams and the vendor; recommends preventive system controls; and leads user acceptance testing and documentation of approved changes. Sets up users and personas only after required management approval.
- Leads CHL’s coordination of post-closing quality control requests and audit or examination responses. Analyzes findings, assembles supporting evidence, prepares proposed responses for management review, and coordinates remediation with Risk, Compliance, Internal Audit, and other responsible parties.
- Prepares and analyzes weekly and monthly quality reporting, including finding severity, recurring themes, remediation aging, file defects, and control performance. Presents emerging risks, business implications, and recommended actions to CHL management, with clear ownership and follow-up expectations.
- Serves as the operational lead for application decline and withdrawal controls. Reviews status accuracy and supporting records, identifies gaps in notice workflows, and coordinates adverse action content, timing, and approvals with Compliance and authorized decision-makers.
- Leads CHL vendor assessment coordination with Vendor Management. Evaluates documentation completeness, tracks unresolved requests and control concerns, prepares departmental review responses and annual certifications, and escalates material gaps to the appropriate owners.
- Leads assigned mortgage quality and process improvement projects. Defines scope, coordinates stakeholders, establishes milestones, and evaluates results. Drafts procedure revisions, strengthens preventive controls, and implements approved improvements with documented testing and staff communication.
- Provides functional leadership, coaching, and targeted training to loan officers, processors, and other CHL staff. Explains complex quality findings and control expectations, develops practical job aids, and assesses whether training and process changes reduce repeat errors.
- Maintains advanced working knowledge of mortgage requirements applicable to assigned duties, including ECOA, FCRA/FACTA, Fair Lending, HMDA, the SAFE Act, RESPA, TILA, and TRID. Partners with Compliance and Legal to assess changes and translate approved guidance into CHL procedures and review practices.
- Independently plans and performs assigned reviews, assesses finding severity within approved standards, identifies evidence needed to resolve issues and develops remediation recommendations. Leads approved projects and provides functional direction on mortgage quality practices. Escalates material risks, unresolved disagreements, suspected regulatory violations, and matters outside delegated authority. Credit decisions, policy exceptions, legal interpretations, and final regulatory determinations remain with the Bank’s authorized decision-makers.
- Provide, present, and promote the Citizens Experience to all external and internal customers.
- Other duties as assigned.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
This job has no direct supervisory responsibilities. The Senior Mortgage Quality Assurance Coordinator provides technical guidance, mentoring, training, and functional leadership on quality assurance activities and assigned projects.
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, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, or a related field preferred, or an equivalent combination of education, relevant training, and progressively responsible mortgage experience.
- Minimum seven years of progressively responsible mortgage lending experience, including at least three years directly performing mortgage quality assurance, quality control, compliance monitoring, or mortgage audit work.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.
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 and interpret and draw bar graphs.
REASONING ABILITY
Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
COMPUTER & SOFTWARE SKILLS
- To perform this job successfully, an individual should have a working knowledge of Ellie Mae/Encompass loan operating system.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook
CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS
None required.
OTHER SKILLS and ABILITIES
- Advanced knowledge of mortgage origination, processing, underwriting, closing, and post-closing controls, including documentation requirements and exception workflows.
- Strong proficiency in Encompass, including workflow analysis, reporting, data validation, access personas, and audit-trail review; ability to translate operational problems into clear system requirements.
- Strong analytical judgment and ability to distinguish isolated errors from systemic control weaknesses, prioritize by risk, and recommend sustainable solutions.
- Ability to produce clear review workpapers, management reports, procedure updates, and training materials; communicate complex findings constructively and influence corrective action without direct supervisory authority.
- Ability to manage competing priorities with minimal oversight.
- Demonstrated experience independently reviewing complex mortgage files, identifying systemic issues, developing corrective-action plans, and validating remediation.
- Experience leading process improvement initiatives and coordinating with underwriting, operations, Risk, Compliance, technology teams, and vendors. Experience providing technical guidance or training is required.
- Detailed oriented and well-organized with strong customer service and excellent communication skills are required.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an associate 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 associate is regularly required to talk or hear. The associate is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; and use hands and fingers to handle or feel. The associate is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms, and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The associate is regularly required to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, calculator and telephone and reach with hands and arms. The associate must occasionally lift and/or move up to ten (10) pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision and ability to adjust focus.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an associate encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
The work environment is usually moderate.
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