Legal and Deficiency Recovery Manager

About this role

First Help Financial (FHF) is a fast-growing and culturally diverse company in the U.S. We provide auto loans to the underserved and care for our customers and partners with exceptional service. Through flexible financing options and tri-lingual support, we offer consumers an easier way to finance their first car. We lend to and support our portfolio which has consistently grown 30%+ each year over the last nine years.
Here you will find hard-working colleagues who come from over 20 countries. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism but also enjoy our work. Our culture and benefits are geared towards making you successful in life and comfortable at work.
Your Title: Legal and Deficiency Recovery Manager
Your Location: Remote/Anywhere within the USA
You Report To: VP of Operations
Your Compensation: Full total compensation package at $130,000
Learn more about our awesome Collections Department
About the Opportunity:
First Help Financial, voted and certified as a “Great Place to Work” by our workforce for five years in a row, is adding a new partner to our Collections department to accommodate our remarkable growth!
The Manager, Legal and Deficiency Recovery owns all legal and compliance gates, including eligibility for legal escalation, consumer contact standards, vendor oversight, and outside counsel management. This is a build role creating a structured post charge-off recovery program from scratch, turning currently uncollected balances into meaningful returns.
This is not a practicing attorney role external counsel handles legal action. This role leads the compliance framework, ensures all consumer interactions are legally sound, and builds the program with speed and autonomy.
What you will do:
Your duties include, but are not limited to:
Post Charge-Off Recovery Program

• Design and own the qualification criteria that determine which accounts with a defiance balance are eligible for legal escalation. Accounts route based on these criteria automatically. Maintain the controlled file, validate that routing is working correctly through periodic audits and spot-checks, and sign off on any changes to thresholds before they take effect.

• Monitor the legal escalation pipeline to confirm the right accounts are being worked and the criteria are being applied accurately. Review exceptions flagged by the collections team and maintain the compliance log as the audit trail for the program.

• Review and approve all settlement letter content before any mail is sent. Ensure compliance with FDCPA requirements and applicable state law in every state where accounts are located.

• Review and approve the deficiency collection contact script and settlement authority structure before they are used with borrowers. Reapprove any material changes.

• Own the legal and compliance reporting within the collections KPI package. Prepare the quarterly Board update on the post charge-off program and escalate material issues to leadership promptly.

Regulatory and Compliance

• Complete FDCPA and UDAAP review of consumer-facing components before launch and provide sign-off. Keep reviews current as regulatory requirements change.

• Build and maintain a state-by-state legal viability map for deficiency collections across the portfolio. Keep it current as laws change and communicate updates to the teams that need them.

• Ensure all deficiency collection approaches across borrower segments are anchored to loan attributes, not internal product or program classification. Document the ECOA compliance basis before differentiated treatment goes live.

• Manage bankruptcy filings across the portfolio

• Ensure SCRA compliance for servicemember accounts.

• Coordinate responses with compliance on CFPB inquiries, state attorney general matters, and consumer complaints escalated through regulatory channels.

• Build and deliver compliance training for post charge-off staff before any live account is worked.

Vendor and Outside Counsel Oversight

• Vet all third-party collection agencies before any account is placed. Evaluate compliance posture, call recording infrastructure, data security standards, and relevant experience. Ensure contracts include the provisions required to maintain oversight and accountability.

• Own the ongoing agency compliance program. Conduct regular call audits, track the consumer complaint log, and manage the performance monitoring and remediation process for agencies that fall below standard.

• Oversee third-party BPO partners working post charge-off accounts. Ensure they operate within approved scripts, authority levels, and FDCPA requirements.

• Lead outside counsel evaluation and selection for the legal escalation pipeline. Own the relationship: manage account referrals, monitor case outcomes, and track cost against recovery.

• Review vendor contracts before execution and confirm required compliance and oversight provisions are in place.

Policy, Process, and Cross-Functional Work

• Write and maintain all policies and procedures for the post charge-off collections program. Version-control all documents. Communicate changes before implementation.

• Manage active collections-related litigation in coordination with outside counsel. Maintain a current litigation log. Report material developments to the VP Servicing and COO.

• Identify process gaps that create legal exposure or leave recovery on the table. Bring solutions, not just observations.

• Serve as the legal and compliance resource for daily questions from collection agents, team leads, and directors. Provide clear guidance without waiting for outside counsel on routine matters.

• Hire and develop direct reports as program volume increases. This role grows into a team leadership position.

What you Bring:

• 5 or more years of experience in legal operations, compliance management, or collections oversight within consumer lending, auto finance, or a third-party collection agency.

• Demonstrated historical…