Counterparty Credit Risk Senior Director

Position Overview:

Are you an innovative risk leader that wants to make an impact? Do you want to put your passion, talents, and ambitions towards ensuring affordable and sustainable housing for families in all communities nationwide? Join the Enterprise Risk Division and find #MoreAtFreddieMac.

The Senior Director - Counterparty Credit Risk reports to the Vice President – Enterprise Market and Liquidity Risk in the Enterprise Risk Division led by Freddie Mac’s Chief Risk Officer. The position is responsible for leading independent oversight and effective challenge of the company’s management of financial risk exposures across our counterparty relationships with seller/servicers, mortgage insurers and reinsurers, and capital markets counterparties. The position engages broadly across the company with senior leaders, in addition to industry experts, rating agencies, and regulators to ensure effective risk management of counterparty risk exposures. 

Our Impact:

The Financial Risk team within the Enterprise Risk Division is responsible for oversight and effective challenge of the company’s most important risks, including credit, market, and liquidity risks. Together, we:

• Establish governance, policies, and standards that define how the company manages financial risks to support safety and soundness

• Monitor and report on the risk and control profile, financial risk appetite, and performance of risk indicators and metrics against thresholds and limits

• Communicate enterprise-wide risk management issues and emerging risks and monitor effective and timely issue resolution

• Provide timely and independent oversight and effective challenge of the company’s financial risk management practices and risk-taking activities

• Assess risk to earnings and capital across a range of scenarios

• Implement an integrated oversight plan in collaboration with Operational Risk and Compliance to support the Chief Risk Officer in providing senior management and the Board with an enterprise view of risks

Your Impact:

As the Senior Director – Counterparty Credit Risk and an influential leader at Freddie Mac, you will:

• Lead a dedicated team of professionals to provide independent oversight and effective challenge of the company’s management of counterparty credit risk exposures

• Build and maintain governance, policies, and standards that define how the company manages counterparty credit risks to support safety and soundness and align with legal, regulatory, and conservator requirements

• Evaluate processes and risks and assess controls used for managing counterparty credit risk and develop independent risk oversight processes and controls

• Conduct independent risk assessments and issue effective challenge as part of monitoring activities

• Monitor counterparty credit risk profile, key risk indicators, and performance against risk appetite limits and thresholds for aggregate as well as single name exposures

• Oversee stress testing estimates of counterparty credit losses; assess assumptions, identify limitations, and review results for reasonableness

• Conduct counterparty model use assessments and method reviews

• Monitor industry and sector trends, individual counterparty news, market activity, and evolving macroeconomic conditions to inform counterparty credit risk oversight

• Report to the Chief Compliance Officer on compliance with regulatory obligations

• Oversee counterparty credit risk:

  • Monitor ratings framework and ratings review assignments for individual counterparties

  • Oversee methods and processes for estimating current and potential future exposures as well as stress exposures

  • Assess and report on significant exposure concentrations

  • Evaluate margin and collateral guidelines for adequacy in mitigating counterparty losses

  • Monitor processes and outcomes related to placement of individual counterparties on targeted watchlists

  • Oversee and challenge risk mitigation action plans designed to address limit breaches or other imminent sources of counterparty default risk

Qualifications:

• 12+ years of experience in a combination of leadership roles in credit risk management. Quantitative degree preferred; Master’s degree or professional certifications (e.g., FRM, CFA) a plus

• Ability to analyze complex financial data, assess counterparty financial strength, measure exposures, and provide strategic recommendations

• Expertise in mortgage and fixed income products, model loss estimation, and counterparty risk management frameworks

• Understanding of uncertainties and limitations of models, methodologies, and judgments used to measure and manage counterparty credit risk

• Strong decision-making skills with the ability to work under pressure effectively to resolve critical issues

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to influence, drive decision-making, and lead and develop teams managing risk across complex financial portfolios

• Experience with risk management software and financial analysis tools (e.g., Python, R, Excel)

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to communicate complex information to a broad range of audiences, including senior management and regulators, in a clear and actionable manner

Keys to Success in this Role:

• Effective collaboration to build trust and increase efficiency across the three lines (Investments and Capital Markets Division, Enterprise Risk Division, and Internal Audit) and with FHFA

• Ability to communicate effectively and efficiently

• Expertise and authority to maintain independence, critically review, and provide effective challenge of the company’s counterparty risk management practices and risk-taking activities

• Ability to prioritize across multiple competing tasks, manage teams effectively, and deliver timely, high-quality, and well-documented oversight outcomes

• Strong organization skills, analytical approach, and ability to work in a fast-paced environment against tight deadlines

• Remain current on the latest financial risk management developments, regulations, and industry trends

• Ability to attract and develop risk talent

Current Freddie Mac employees please apply through the internal career site.

Today, Freddie Mac makes home possible for one in four home borrowers and is one of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing. Join our smart, creative and dedicated team and you’ll do important work for the housing finance system and make a difference in the lives of others.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity and inclusion at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We will ensure that individuals with differing abilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

A safe and secure environment is critical to Freddie Mac’s business. This includes employee commitment to our acceptable use policy, applying a vigilance-first approach to work, supporting regulatory mandates, and using best practices to protect Freddie Mac from potential threats and risk. Employees exercise this responsibility by executing against policies and procedures and adhering to privacy & security obligations as required via training programs.

CA Applicants:  Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

Notice to External Search Firms: Freddie Mac partners with BountyJobs for contingency search business through outside firms. Resumes received outside the BountyJobs system will be considered unsolicited and Freddie Mac will not be obligated to pay a placement fee. If interested in learning more, please visit www.BountyJobs.com and register with our referral code: MAC.

Time-type:Full time

FLSA Status:Exempt

Freddie Mac offers a comprehensive total rewards package to include competitive compensation and market-leading benefit programs. Information on these benefit programs is available on our Careers site.

This position has an annualized market-based salary range of $198,000 - $298,000 and is eligible to participate in the annual incentive program. The final salary offered will generally fall within this range and is dependent on various factors including but not limited to the responsibilities of the position, experience, skill set, internal pay equity and other relevant qualifications of the applicant.