The Funding Team Lead supports the Funding Manager in overseeing daily operations of the funding department, ensuring contracts are reviewed, approved, and funded accurately, efficiently, and in compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements. This role acts as a working leader, balancing production responsibilities with leadership duties, including assigning workloads, monitoring team performance, providing guidance and training, and serving as the first point of escalation for dealer or internal issues. This lead is responsible for driving operational excellence by maintaining high funding quality standards, ensuring turnaround time goals are met, and fostering a positive, collaborative team environment. This position plays a key role in identifying process improvements, coaching team members to achieve their performance goals, and ensuring a smooth workflow between funding, sales, titles, and account management.
What You’ll Do
- Day-to-day coordination of funding activities and immediate issue resolution within the team.
- Collaborate with the Funding Manager for bi-annual performance reviews, participate in interviews, and disciplinary processes.
- Ensure departmental coverage during operating hours, managing schedules including daily shifts, PTO, and overtime when available or required.
- Provide exceptional service by handling escalated originator calls to solve problems and create win-wins.
- Leverage exception authority to make the right risk decisions for the right originators when contracts are outside of standard program guidelines.
- Act as the funding “go-to” both within the Funding Department and external teams across the organization.
- Manage funding priority, SLAs, and ensure contracts are worked in a timely manner, monitoring account distribution amongst the team.
- Model and reinforce the “Triple E” mentality, ensuring the team Exhausts Every Effort to achieve first-touch funding and one-call resolution on every contract.
- Identify process gaps, inefficiencies, and departmental needs, coordinating with Funding Manager for solutions.
- Facilitate monthly deal reviews to train, coach, and develop team.
- Monitor and track KPIs, working closely with Funding Manager for coaching and training observations and opportunities.
- Participate in departmental elevation and innovation by sharing ideas, feedback, and suggestions.
- Manage up, keeping leadership informed of important developments, concerns, and observations.
- Perform other projects and tasks as assigned.
