Interim Director, Digital Lending Operations — Scale Control

The mandate

A threefold increase in embedded-lending originations exposed mismatched sanction terms, incomplete documentation and delayed partner reconciliations, after which the operations director was asked to leave. Daily disbursals continue, but growth cannot resume safely until fulfilment controls work across both direct and partner channels.

The interim should arrive within four weeks and lead an eight-month reset. A permanent director search is scheduled after month four, with extension possible for no more than two months if handover would otherwise coincide with the peak consumer season.

The exit condition is four consecutive monthly cohorts within agreed documentation, disbursal accuracy, reconciliation and first-payment-default tolerances, supported by a partner-control playbook tested at the three largest originators. The successor must have run one cohort review using the new evidence unaided.

The interim can throttle partners, alter operations routing, deploy contract capacity and approve corrective actions inside a ₹6 crore envelope. Suspending a partner responsible for more than 10% of originations, changing credit policy, offering customer compensation above ₹2 crore or hiring permanent leaders requires executive committee consent.

Underwriting-model redesign, collections strategy and acquisition marketing are not included. The role may raise defects to those owners but is accountable specifically for the path from approved application to accurate booking and funded loan.

Why this seat is open

The previous director optimised throughput while key fulfilment exceptions accumulated outside formal reporting. Internal candidates are embedded in either direct or partner operations and cannot reset both neutrally. A time-limited operator will establish one evidence standard before scale is released again.

What you will own

• Decide daily disbursal throttles by partner using documentation defects, reconciliation breaks, fraud signals and funding capacity.
• Map the approved-to-booked journey and remove every control whose ownership or evidence cannot be located.
• Create a cohort scorecard tying operational errors to cancellations, customer complaints, first-payment defaults and partner economics.
• Approve remediation plans for the ten largest originators and escalate any high-volume suspension beyond delegated authority.
• Reconcile sanction terms, executed documents, system bookings and lender funding through exception-specific closure artefacts.
• Certify readiness to restore growth only after four monthly cohorts satisfy the agreed risk and service thresholds.
• Hand the permanent director a partner control library, calibrated capacity model, open exceptions, talent assessment and next-quarter volumes.

Candidate qualifications

• Directed digital, retail or consumer-lending operations with accountability from sanction through booking and funding.
• Stabilised high-growth partner or embedded-finance fulfilment across lenders, originators and technology platforms.
• Built cohort controls linking document quality and booking accuracy to downstream customer and credit outcomes.
• Exercised partner throttling or suspension authority where commercial concentration made the decision difficult.
• Managed operations teams exceeding 150 people with automation, outsourced processing and seasonal capacity.
• Understands Indian digital-lending, KYC, outsourcing and customer-disclosure control requirements.

Non-negotiables

• Able to operate full-time from Ahmedabad within four weeks.
• No current financial interest or advisory role with a major sourcing partner.
• Will not override credit decisions or absorb collections ownership.
• Must show direct line responsibility for disbursal controls at meaningful scale.

1. 49 words maximum. State your availability and any travel restriction affecting Ahmedabad or partner-site work.
2. 49 words maximum. Describe a partner you throttled, the operational trigger and the evidence used to restore volume.
3. 49 words maximum. Which four measures would you use to prove an approved loan was booked correctly?