Sr. Risk Analyst

Sr. Risk Analyst

Populus is an amazing company where our employees stay because they love their teams and the growth opportunities. Additionally, we offer a competitive 401K match, a generous paid time off package, and Health Benefits. Our mission is to provide a broad range of quality financial products and services delivered with best-in-class customer service. We work and lead with integrity, and we celebrate employees who exemplify our values. Come join our team!

Job Summary : The Sr. Risk Analyst supports the Manager and Director of Credit Risk Management in analyzing, monitoring, and improving credit and fraud risk performance across Populus Financial Group's lending portfolios. This role is responsible for performing deep-dive portfolio analysis, tracking model and policy performance, and supporting initiatives that optimize credit decisioning, fraud detection, and acquisition efficiency. The ideal candidate is analytically driven, detail-oriented, and curious with strong data skills and an eagerness to learn credit risk management, model monitoring, and campaign performance optimization in a fast-paced lending environment.

Major Responsibilities :

• Conduct data-driven analyses to evaluate credit model performance, origination trends, and portfolio health across lending products.
• Support the monitoring and tracking of auto origination (AO) model performance, including pull-through rates, approval rates, losses, and fraud trends.
• Assist in the development and testing of credit policy and decision rule changes, measuring impact on approval volume, risk, and profitability.
• Perform ad-hoc analytics to identify emerging risk trends, segment performance, and opportunities to improve predictive accuracy.
• Develop and maintain dashboards and reporting on key risk indicators (KRIs), delinquency, loss trends, and model stability.
• Collaborate with Fraud Strategy to analyze fraud detection metrics, identity verification outcomes, and false positive / negative rates.
• Support the execution and analysis of direct mail campaigns, including response rate tracking, ROI measurement, and cost optimization.
• Assist in testing and optimization of remailing strategies, list segmentation, and campaign targeting improvements.
• Partner with internal data teams to ensure data accuracy, completeness, and consistency across models and reports.
• Document and maintain detailed procedures, models, and process logs to support internal governance and audit readiness.
• Present analytical findings to the Manager and Director, providing insights that support data-driven decisions.
• Support risk projects such as loss forecasting, stress testing, and early warning analysis.
• Maintain awareness of credit and fraud regulatory requirements and assist in ensuring compliance with internal policies.

Key Competencies :

Physical Demands :

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the major responsibilities. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand or walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop or bend; and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and / or move up to 50 lbs. Must have appropriate vision to see up close, and at a distance with ability to adjust vision and focus.

Position Type / Expected Hours of Work :

This is a full-time position. Days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 8 : 00 a.m. to 5 : 00 p.m. This position might require long hours and weekend work.

Work Environment :

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee 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 noise level in some work environments can be moderate.

Disclaimer :

The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted, as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.

EEO Statement :

Populus Financial Group is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. In compliance with applicable law, Populus Financial Group does not discriminate against any applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender or transsexual individual), national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, genetic information, pregnancy status, or any other protected classification. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, training, promotions, discipline, compensation, benefits, and termination of employment.

Qualifications : Education :

Bachelor's Degree or better in Finance or related field.

Experience :

1-3 years : Experience in credit risk, lending analytics, data analysis, or financial modeling (internship experience acceptable).

Preferred :

Strong analytical and technical skills; proficiency in SQL, Excel, Python, R or SAS. Experience with BI tools such as Tableau or Power BI preferred. Basic understanding of consumer lending, underwriting, or fraud analytics. Ability to work with large datasets and synthesize findings into actionable insights. Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain complex data clearly. Demonstrated curiosity and initiative to identify trends, patterns, and improvement opportunities.