Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Automotive Finance Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Automotive Finance Manager is responsible for leading and executing retail and wholesale vehicle financing programs, underwriting credit, managing loan and lease portfolios, supporting dealership finance-and-insurance (F&I) operations, ensuring regulatory compliance, and driving revenue and profitability for captive and third‑party auto finance programs. This role partners with dealership operations, sales leadership, compliance, collections and product teams to design competitive finance products, optimize pricing, manage risk, and deliver an outstanding customer financing experience.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

F&I Manager / Finance & Insurance Coordinator
Credit Analyst, Auto Lending
Dealer Relations Representative

Advancement To:

Regional Finance/Operations Manager
Director of Automotive Finance
Head of Dealer Finance / VP Finance (Automotive)

Lateral Moves:

Compliance Manager (Consumer Finance)
Dealer Development / Retail Operations Manager
Product Manager — Auto Finance Products

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, implement, and manage retail and lease financing programs for new and used vehicle sales, ensuring pricing strategy aligns with company profitability targets and market competitiveness.
Lead end-to-end credit underwriting for retail, lease and wholesale financing applications—evaluate credit risk, verify documentation, set approvals/declines, and define credit tiering and pricing policies.
Own the P&L for assigned auto finance portfolios; prepare monthly and quarterly financial reports, analyze variances, and recommend corrective actions to meet revenue and loss targets.
Manage dealer and broker relationships to grow financing volume, negotiate rate buy-downs and reserve programs, and ensure consistent F&I product delivery across the dealer network.
Design and maintain finance product offerings including APR promotions, captive incentives, GAP, extended warranty, service contracts, add-on commissions, and subvented offers in coordination with product and compliance teams.
Build and maintain underwriting models and credit policy documentation; perform periodic credit policy reviews and updates based on portfolio performance, economic conditions, and regulatory guidance.
Oversee loan boarding, funding, and document compliance processes; partner with operations and title services to ensure timely contract execution, perfecting security interests (UCC filing) and accurate funding.
Establish and monitor risk metrics (delinquency, charge‑off rates, vintage analysis, LTV, DSCR) and lead cross-functional initiatives to mitigate credit and operational risk.
Manage collections and repossession strategies in coordination with third-party agencies; set collection policies, KPIs, and oversight for early-stage and late-stage recovery.
Ensure full compliance with consumer finance regulations (TILA/Reg Z, ECOA/Reg B, FDCPA, FCRA) and state-specific lending statutes; prepare for and respond to regulatory audits and examinations.
Develop and deliver dealer and internal training on credit policy, product features, compliance best practices, and system workflows to improve contract quality and reduce fallout.
Lead dealer audits and quality assurance reviews to validate F&I processes, finance documentation, reserve practices and adherence to pricing controls.
Implement and optimize dealer-facing finance systems (Dealertrack, RouteOne, CDK, Reynolds & Reynolds) and internal servicing platforms; drive process automation and straight-through processing where feasible.
Partner with Sales, Marketing and Product teams to structure incentive programs and captive/bank co-op finance solutions to support vehicle volume objectives while protecting margin.
Negotiate and manage third-party vendor agreements (loan servicers, title processors, reinsurance partners, collections agencies and verification vendors) to achieve service levels and cost efficiencies.
Conduct ongoing portfolio stress testing and scenario analysis to project loss reserves, liquidity needs and capital requirements under varying economic conditions.
Lead cross-functional projects to improve dealer onboarding, e-contracting rates, cycle time to fund, and customer experience metrics; track improvement through SLA and KPI dashboards.
Create and maintain standardized reporting and MI (management information) for senior leadership including KPI dashboards, forecast models, and executive summaries to inform strategic decisions.
Investigate and resolve escalated customer and dealer finance disputes, chargebacks and rescission claims; work with legal and compliance to remediate systemic issues.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives (Lean/Six Sigma mindset) to streamline processes across underwriting, funding, title, and collections—document SOPs and implement best practices.
Oversee residual and remarketing strategies for leased and repossessed vehicles; coordinate with auction houses, wholesale buyers, and retail channels to minimize losses.
Coordinate with treasury and accounting on funding lines, securitization programs, reserve accounting, charge-off recognition and GAAP/IFRS reporting requirements.
Monitor competitive auto finance market activity—rate trends, OEM incentives, and dealer practices—and recommend tactical adjustments to pricing and product positioning.
Mentor, coach and manage a high-performing team of credit analysts, dealer managers and operations specialists; define performance metrics, conduct reviews and support career development.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc reporting requests and exploratory portfolio analysis to support executive decision-making and contagion/risk scenario planning.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy by identifying required data feeds, data quality checks, and integration points between dealer systems and finance platforms.
Collaborate with IT and business units to translate finance team needs into technical requirements for systems upgrades, API integrations, and reporting automation.
Participate in agile sprint planning and project governance to prioritize finance system enhancements, regulatory remediation tasks and dealer experience improvements.
Assist with special projects such as strategic vendor RFPs, M&A due diligence, or pilot programs for new retail/lease products and digital contracting initiatives.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Credit underwriting and risk assessment for retail automotive loans and leases.
Loan portfolio management, vintage analysis, charge-off forecasting and reserve modeling.
Deep knowledge of consumer credit regulations: TILA/Reg Z, ECOA/Reg B, FCRA, FDCPA, UCC.
Financial modeling, P&L ownership and variance analysis.
Familiarity with dealership F&I systems and integrations: Dealertrack, RouteOne, CDK Global, Reynolds & Reynolds, or similar DMS/e-contracting platforms.
Experience with servicing platforms and loan boarding processes; knowledge of securitization and warehouse lending structure is a plus.
Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, index/match, macros) and working knowledge of SQL for data queries.
Experience with BI and reporting tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker) to create dashboards and MI for leadership.
Contract negotiation and vendor management (title services, collections, insurance partners).
Process improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma) and project management fundamentals.
Familiarity with credit decisioning engines, pricing engines, and rule-based underwriting systems.
Practical knowledge of accounting treatment for reserves, charge-offs and dealer reserve practices (GAAP).

Soft Skills

Strong leadership and people management—mentoring, coaching and developing cross-functional teams.
Excellent verbal and written communication; ability to present complex financial analyses to non-technical stakeholders.
Strategic thinker with commercial mindset—balances growth objectives with risk control and compliance.
Relationship builder—effective at managing dealer partnerships and internal stakeholder alignment.
Problem-solving orientation; able to diagnose process failures and design sustainable solutions.
High attention to detail with a rigor for documentation and audit preparation.
Time management and prioritization skills in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
Negotiation and influencing skills to secure favorable terms with vendors and dealer partners.
Customer-centric service orientation to protect consumer experience while preserving company interests.
Adaptability to regulatory change and the evolving automotive finance landscape (digital contracting, subscriptions).

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, or related field.

Preferred Education:

MBA, Master's in Finance, or advanced professional certification (e.g., CFA, CTP, Certified Auto Finance Professional).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Finance
Accounting
Business Administration
Economics
Risk Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–10+ years in automotive finance, consumer lending, or related financial services, with progressive responsibility.

Preferred:

3+ years managing teams or leading cross-functional programs in an auto finance, captive finance, bank or credit union environment.
Proven experience with dealer networks and F&I operations, underwriting policy development, and regulatory compliance programs.
Demonstrated track record of improving portfolio performance, reducing delinquency and charge-offs, and implementing scalable finance operations.