[Hiring] Head of Credit Risk Operations & Collections @Charisma-Tec

Role Description

As Head of Credit Risk Operations & Collections, you will lead the strategic integration of credit risk execution and end-to-end debt recovery across our European markets. This role bridges the gap between credit risk policy and daily operational execution, ensuring that underwriting decisions, early intervention strategies, and recoveries work harmoniously to protect the balance sheet while enabling sustainable business growth. You will lead, scale, and mentor diverse, geographically distributed teams across Europe, creating a high-performance culture founded on psychological safety, data-driven operational rigor, and regulatory compliance across multiple jurisdictions.

Your area of responsibility

• Strategic Credit Risk & Collections Management
  • Own and execute the Pan-European operational strategy across the credit lifecycle: from post-origination risk monitoring to early-stage dunning, late-stage collections, and legal recovery.
  • Partner with the Credit Underwriting, Policy, and Data Science teams to continuously refine risk models and cut-offs based on operational feedback and realized default trends.
  • Formulate proactive, data-informed intervention strategies for pre-delinquent and early-arrears customer segments.
• People Leadership & Diverse European Operations
  • Lead, recruit, and empower cross-cultural, distributed teams of credit specialists, collections leads, and operational analysts across multiple European hubs.
  • Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, creating career growth pathways and a supportive environment for remote and on-site staff.
  • Set clear performance expectations, coach managers, and cultivate a sense of shared mission across borders.
• Performance, Analytics & DCA Management
  • Track and optimize core operational and portfolio KPIs, including Default Rates, NPL Ratios, Roll Rates, Cure Rates, DSO, Cost-to-Collect, and recoveries net value.
  • Build accurate capacity and volume forecasts to allocate staffing effectively across automated channels and high-touch operations.
  • Manage third-party ecosystems across Europe: establish rigorous selection, SLA monitoring, and audit frameworks for Debt Collection Agencies (DCAs), tracing services, and legal partners.
• Technology, Automation & Transformation
  • Spearhead automation initiatives across the collection journey (e.g., self-service payment arrangements, automated communication cadences, dynamic scoring for propensity-to-pay).
  • Champion the implementation and maintenance of scalable collections management systems (CMS) and modern CRM integrations.
• Governance, Compliance & Customer Fairness
  • Ensure all credit operations strictly comply with local and EU-wide statutory mandates (e.g., consumer credit directives, GDPR, local licensing guidelines, and banking compliance standards).
  • Advocate for the fair and ethical treatment of customers facing financial vulnerability, protecting brand reputation while minimizing credit losses.

Qualifications

• Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience in credit risk operations, credit management, or debt recovery within banking, FinTech, BNPL, or financial services, with 4+ years in senior leadership.
• People Leadership: Proven track record of successfully managing diverse, multicultural teams across several European markets (e.g., DACH, UK/Ireland, Southern Europe, Benelux, or CEE).
• Credit Risk Acumen: Sound grasp of credit scoring mechanisms, risk segmentation, early warning signals, and provisioning/loss modeling concepts.
• Analytical Skills: Data-fluent; adept at utilizing business intelligence tools (e.g., SQL, Tableau, Power BI, Looker) to turn complex operational data into actionable risk mitigation steps.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Solid understanding of European credit regulations, debt collection practices, and consumer protection laws.
• Communication: Exceptional command of English and German.