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We have onsite locations in: Sioux Falls, SD, Scottsdale, AZ, Louisville, KY, Troy, MI, Franklin, TN, Easton, PA.
At Pathward, we take tremendous pride in our purpose to create financial inclusion for all™. We are a financial empowerment company that works with innovators to increase financial availability, choice, and opportunity for all. We strive to remove barriers that traditional institutions put in the way of financial access, and promote economic mobility by providing responsible, secure, high quality financial products.
We are a team of problem solvers and innovators who celebrate our differences and know that our unique perspectives make us stronger and well-positioned for success. We celebrate, and embrace, our team members through our *HUMBLE*HUNGRY*SMART approach, and we believe that we are strongest when we embrace the voices of our employees, customers, partners, and the communities we serve.
About the Role:
The Energy Program VP serves as a senior expert and strategic leader responsible for end-to-end performance of Pathward’s energy portfolio. Acting as a “quarterback” for the Energy business, this role partners closely with senior leadership, credit, treasury, and external partners to drive disciplined origination, underwriting rigor, and portfolio performance across a complex and rapidly evolving energy landscape.
This role functions as a key extension of senior leadership, including the Chief Growth Officer, owning both top-of-funnel partner engagement and downstream transaction execution, ensuring deals are appropriately structured, priced, and aligned with risk and return objectives before entering the pipeline.
What You Will Do:
- Operates as the “quarterback” for the Energy business, integrating strategy, credit, origination, and execution across the full deal lifecycle.
- Acts as Product Owner for Project Finance (Energy), defining program standards, governance, and execution priorities.
- Evaluates transactions prior to formal underwriting to ensure appropriate structuring, pricing, and alignment with credit and portfolio objectives.
- Provides leadership and oversight across syndicated and non-syndicated transactions, including deal structuring and capital strategy.
- Partners closely with Credit to proactively identify and mitigate risks, ensuring alignment with internal risk frameworks and external expectations.
- Owns visibility into the full pipeline, including top-of-funnel sourcing, partner-driven opportunities, and deal conversion.
- Ensures forecast accuracy across originations, funding timing, and revenue realization.
- Monitors daily lending limits, portfolio concentrations, and emerging risks.
- Serves as a senior relationship leader with key external partners, maintaining high credibility and trust.
- Builds strong, respected relationships with internal stakeholders including Credit, Treasury, Legal, and executive leadership.
- Maintains deep expertise across energy sectors, including solar, biogas, oil & gas, and emerging energy technologies
- Provides guidance on market dynamics, public ratings considerations, and evolving industry trends impacting deal structure and portfolio performance.
- Leads or partners in complex legal negotiations to ensure favorable risk positioning and commercial outcomes.
- Ensures adherence to program standards, regulatory expectations, and internal control frameworks.
- Identifies and escalates credit issues, portfolio risks, and structural gaps proactively.
What You Will Need:
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent education and work experience. Master's degree preferred.
- 12+ years of experience in project finance, structured finance, or commercial finance, with a significant portion in energy or infrastructure.
- Deep expertise in energy sectors (e.g., renewables, oil & gas, emerging technologies).
- Proven experience structuring and executing complex syndicated and non-syndicated transactions.
- Strong understanding of credit risk, underwriting, and portfolio management principles.
- Demonstrated ability to operate as a senior individual contributor in a highly technical, fast-paced environment.
- Highly credible and respected partner to Credit and external stakeholders.
- Strong commercial acumen balanced with disciplined risk management.
- Ability to operate both strategically and tactically across the deal lifecycle.
- Exceptional judgment in pricing, structuring, and portfolio decision-making.
- Ability to deal with concepts and complexity; ability to think logically and critically
- Open to change and able to learn quickly; able to apply previous experiences when faced with new or seemingly unique challenges
- Ability to demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Knows how to get things done through both formal and the informal network; understand the cultures of organizations
- Ability to deliver in complex situations and under short time frames
- Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills, including creating internal and external presentations
- Experience successfully communicating with senior executives.
- Highly organized with the ability to manage through the details to accelerate progress.
- Ability to analyze and interpret data to make decisions.
The responsibilities listed above are not all inclusive and may be changed at any time.
Salary range: $150,000 – $227,000
The salary range reflects the minimum and maximum target for a new hire in this role. Individual pay within the range will be determined by multiple factors which can include but are not limited to a candidate’s experience, qualifications, skills, and location. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary for your location during the hiring process. Ranges may be modified in the future.
This role is also eligible for an annual performance-based incentive opportunity. Pathward offers a comprehensive benefits package for eligible employees, including health insurance, 401(k) retirement benefits, life insurance, disability benefits, paid time off, and more.
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Don’t have everything listed under qualifications? If you’re excited about this role but your experiences don’t match exactly to everything in the posting, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other Pathward roles. Pathward is an equal employment opportunity employer and considers candidates for roles without regard to their race, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability or any other category protected by law.
Who we are:
Our commitment to inclusion is woven into our DNA. We believe that we are strongest when we embrace the voices of our employees, customers, partners, and the communities we serve.
We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy, national origin, age (age 40 and over), disability, genetic information, marital status, hair texture or hairstyle, ancestry, service in the uniformed services, protected veteran status, status as a victim of domestic violence or any other class protected by federal, state and local laws.
Please click here to learn more about our benefits and review information about our Privacy Policy, Affirmative Action Plan and other notices. Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws. For assistance completing an application, please contact a Pathward People & Culture Representative by emailing – [email protected]
Please click here to view Pathward's Applicant Privacy Notice.
Applications will be accepted for a minimum of 3 days after posting, and there is no predetermined date by which applications should be submitted.
Knowingly submitting false information will result in disqualification for consideration of future positions, termination of employment and forfeiture of other rights.
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Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent education and work experience
- 12+ years of experience in project finance, structured finance, or commercial finance
- Deep expertise in energy sectors (e.g., renewables, oil & gas, emerging technologies)
- Proven experience structuring and executing complex syndications
- Strong understanding of credit risk, underwriting, and portfolio management principles
- Ability to operate as a senior individual contributor in a highly technical, fast-paced environment
- Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills
What We Do
At Pathward, expanding financial access is the heart of our business. We work with diverse partners to deliver Banking-as-a-Service and commercial finance solutions for clients and customers that the traditional financial system can’t or won’t fully serve. Together, we are powering financial inclusion for more because we believe in financial inclusion for all
