Mortgage Services Program Manager

(You can learn more about us here.)

About this Position

The Montana Board of Housing, administratively attached to the Montana Department of Commerce, strengthens our vibrant communities by supporting access to safe, affordable and sustainable homes for Montanans whose housing needs are not met by the market. The Board of Housing can assist with buying a home, down payment assistance, mortgage servicing, Reverse Annuity Mortgages, rental housing assistance and multifamily rental development.

This leadership position is responsible for directing and overseeing the Montana Board of Housing’s in-house mortgage servicing program. The Board’s mortgage loan portfolio is comprised of approximately 6,100 loans which are primarily loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, USDA-Rural Development, and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. The portfolio includes a smaller subset of state program loans including Habitat for Humanity loans, the Veterans’ Home Loan Program and the American Rescue Plan Act Homeowners Assistance Fund loans. Major responsibilities include:

• Oversee all mortgage loan activities from daily processing to delinquency and, when necessary, through liquidation (short sale, foreclosure etc.) to safeguard the assets and financial position of the Board. Activities include but are not limited to new loan boarding, transmittal of payments, administration of escrow funds, payment of property taxes, year-end tax forms, and implementation of all delinquency and foreclosure proceedings.
• Ensure all loan servicing operations are conducted in a manner to ensure prompt and professional customer service response times by phone, email, and all required notification letters by mail and certified mail.
• Maintain the mortgage servicing portfolio in compliance with all applicable insurer/investor regulations, federal and state law, and Board- and Commerce-adopted policies.
• Directly oversee administration of all delinquency activities including but not limited to borrower consultation, loss mitigation, partial claims, payment plans, chapter 13 bankruptcies, foreclosures, managing real estate owned properties, and default reporting to insurers.
• Ensure all due process requirements for borrowers are met, including notification of their rights and options to obtain homeownership counseling and other forms of assistance.
• Ensure timely and accurate accounting for and reporting on mortgage loans, including providing information on delinquencies, foreclosures and the overall health of the portfolio to the Board of Housing’s seven-member Board as well as all required and requested reporting to insurers, investors, and rating agencies.
• Regularly assess the mortgage servicing biennial budget versus actual operating expenses to ensure operations are fiscally responsible and within budget. This work includes leading efforts within the servicing team to bring in additional revenue by developing and maintaining a compliant, well-structured and consistently executed process for the collection of unpaid late charges and miscellaneous loan fees.
• Direct and oversee extensive records management functions to ensure the accuracy and availability of all essential financial information and data, in compliance with state of Montana and the Board’s record retention and confidential information/personal identifying information policies.
• Serve on the Board’s Executive Leadership team and support the development of biennial budgets, agency risk assessments, internal control development, and other significant business processes and new projects that impact the in-house servicing portfolio.
• Directly supervise 5 budgeted positions including the Daily Operations Supervisor and Loss Mitigation employees.
• Indirectly supervise an additional four Daily Operations employees who report to the Daily Operations Supervisor.
• Reports to the Montana Board of Housing Executive Director.

This position is open until filled; with first review on October 6th, 2025.

What are we looking for?

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, business, finance, public administration or related field.
• Five years’ experience in mortgage lending, loan servicing, accounting, or related fields.
• One year supervisory experience.
• Other combinations of education and experience will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• It will pique our interest if you have specific experience in the mortgage servicing of government-insured loans and associated loss mitigation activities.

Knowledge of:

• Robust knowledge of mortgage servicing laws and regulations, including applicable federal and state law, and regulations for government-insured loans.
• Microsoft Office 365 Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams etc.).
• Experience and technical competency working in information technology systems.
• It will pique our interest if you have prior experience with mortgage servicing information technology systems and the ability to discern business user errors versus system malfunctions, and/or experience implementing new information technology systems.
• Understanding of generally acceptable accounting principles, reconciliation, amortization, escrow, and related accounting pertaining to the servicing of mortgage loans.
• Understanding of information technology systems and associated security concepts such as user based roles and the principal of least privilege.

Ability to:

• Analyze, interpret, and explain complex financial data.
• Apply analysis and sound judgment to the development of new and innovative solutions to problems that arise.
• Robust time management skills with demonstrated ability to track and ensure compliance with servicing and loss mitigation timelines.
• Foster and maintain positive and collaborative team morale, both within the servicing team and between business units (i.e., administrative, quality assurance, homeownership, and accounting teams).
• Facilitate productive and efficient team meetings as well as one-on-one supervisory meetings with direct reports.
• Establish and maintain robust employee on-boarding and training, as well as on-going professional development.
• Take escalated calls with borrowers, including highly stressful and emotional conversations around a borrower’s delinquency status as well as training other team members to handle these calls in a professional and courteous manner.
• Deliver professional presentations in public settings and respond clearly and concisely to posed questions. Presentations will primarily include monthly Board meetings and periodic opportunities at conferences and other events.
• Travel within the state of Montana 2-3 times per year for Board meetings; Out-of-state travel to professional conferences 2-3 times per year.

Benefits

• Look here to see the additional benefits! They include:

o Work/life Balance

o Health Coverage

o Retirement plans

o Paid Vacation and Sick Leave and Holidays

o And more…

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) – Employment with the State of Montana may qualify you to receive student loan forgiveness under the PSLF. Look here to learn more and see if you may qualify!

Other important information to be aware of

• This position requires the successful completion of a criminal background check.
• Only online applications are accepted. By applying online, you can receive updates and monitor the status of your application.
• If you fail to upload the requested application documents and/or preference documents, we will notify you via email. Failure to upload these documents after notification will result in your application being removed from consideration.
• This position allows for a hybrid work schedule from a remote location within the State of Montana. Weekly travel to Helena offices will be required. Specific conditions will be outlined as part of the job offer and must adhere to state policy. New Employees may be required to complete training in person before hybrid work schedules begin.