Head of Operations

ABOUT HAPPY MONEY

Happy Money is a consumer finance company that empowers people to achieve their goals through responsible lending. With its fully-digital platform, Happy Money partners with credit unions, banks, and asset managers to originate high-quality loans, unlocking balance sheet diversification and scale. 

Backed by leading investors like TruStage Ventures, Happy Money provides a turnkey acquisition, underwriting, and originations channel for financial institutions to grow as a force for good in their communities. Together with their capital partner network, Happy Money has originated over $6 billion in loans representing more than 300,000 individuals who have taken greater control of their financial futures. Learn more at happymoney.com.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking an execution-focused Head of Operations to lead our Loan Processing, Member Experience, Collections, Verifications, and Fraud teams. Reporting directly to the VP of Strategy and Operations, you will have full ownership of the entire operations function, including managing operational teams, driving initiatives to enhance efficiency and effectiveness, optimizing the applicant experience, and overseeing key third-party vendor relationships.

This role is instrumental in delivering a seamless, secure, and highly efficient lending experience, with significant emphasis placed on collections effectiveness, streamlining the applicant verifications  process, and driving improvements in application-to-funding pull-through rates. You’ll ensure robust risk controls, continuously improve operational processes, and collaborate cross-functionally to scale operations and implement strategies that balance growth, efficiency, customer satisfaction, and rigorous risk management.

• Own and Drive Operational Strategy: Define, track, and evolve critical performance metrics across operations, prioritizing scalability, efficiency, and execution. Proactively optimize processes that enhance verification efficiency, increase pull-through rates, and elevate the applicant and borrower experience.
• Optimize Loan Application and Verification Processes: Lead efforts to streamline and accelerate the application-to-funding journey. Implement best-in-class verification processes that reduce friction, increase conversion, and support scalable growth.
• Enhance Collections and Servicing: Lead the development and continuous refinement of collections strategies to improve performance , reduce losses, and maintain exceptional customer interactions throughout the repayment lifecycle.
• Strengthen Risk and Fraud Controls: Partner closely with the Risk team to oversee verifications processes and fraud prevention. Ensure effective risk management while enabling efficient and improved customer experiences.
• Elevate the Member and Applicant Experience: Advocate strongly for the Voice of the Customer, ensuring every interaction—from initial application to loan servicing—is frictionless and supportive. Continuously measure and enhance customer satisfaction while balancing growth, risk, and operational efficiency.
• Vendor and Partner Management: Fully own relationships with third-party service providers, ensuring vendors effectively support collections, underwriting verification processes, fraud detection, and customer service objectives. Ensure strong performance accountability with all external partners.
• Build a Culture of Operational Excellence: Recruit, mentor, and develop operational leaders and their teams, creating a culture focused on accountability, execution, efficiency, and data driven decision making.
• Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Actively collaborate with Risk, Compliance, Product, Engineering, and Finance teams to align operations with broader company objectives, ensuring seamless integration and execution of strategic initiatives.
• Drive Process and Technology Improvements: Proactively identify and implement automation, AI-driven solutions, and advanced analytics that significantly improve operational efficiency, pull-through rates, collections effectiveness, and the overall customer experience.
• Ensure Compliance and Robust Risk Management: Maintain rigorous compliance practices and embed strong risk controls within loan operations, verifications, servicing, and collections.

• 10+ years of experience in loan operations, servicing, verifications, and collections, with deep expertise in collections and proven experience optimizing verification processes and improving pull-through rates.
• 5+ years of senior leadership experience managing high-performing operational teams, demonstrating success in developing talent and fostering accountability and high performance.
• Track record of optimizing and scaling operations, specifically enhancing collections processes, verification efficiency, and application-to-funding conversion.
• Strong experience overseeing operational processes related to fraud prevention, verification, and customer support, with demonstrated capability in balancing exceptional customer experiences with risk management and operational efficiency.
• Proven ability to effectively balance growth initiatives with rigorous compliance and risk management in regulated financial environments.
• Customer-focused mindset, ensuring all applicant and borrower interactions remain efficient, supportive, and frictionless throughout their lending journey.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Operations Management, or related field required.

• Experience in FinTech, consumer lending, personal loans, or high-growth financial services companies.
• Proven success scaling operations and successfully implementing automation or AI-driven technologies.
• Prior experience collaborating or working closely with credit unions, banks, or other financial institutions.

• Generous medical, dental, and vision insurance options and coverage on Day 1
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital Indemnity Insurance options
• Basic Life and AD&D with optional voluntary coverage
• 401k Plan with a matching contribution 
• Generous PTO
• Monthly Health and Wellness Days
• 12 Weeks Paid Parental Leave
• Company-paid short & long term disability and life insurance
• Monthly tech stipend to help cover expenses for remote work
• Happy Money is a 100% fully distributed workforce
• Access to BenefitHub Discount Marketplace

• Employee Assistance Program with Travel Assistance
• Discounted Pet Insurance