Director, Operational Risk, Digital Banking
Toronto
Risk – Risk /
Full Time /
Hybrid
Join a Challenger
Being a traditional bank just isn’t our thing. We are big believers in innovating the banking experience because we believe Canadians deserve better options, and we challenge ourselves and our teams to creatively transform what’s possible in banking. Our team is made up of inquisitive and agile minds that find smarter ways of doing things. If you’re not afraid of taking on big challenges and redefining the future, you belong with us. You’ll get to work with people who will encourage you to reach new heights. We like to keep things fun, ask questions and learn together.
We are a big (and growing!) family. Overall we serve more than 370,000 people across Canada through Equitable Bank, Canada's Challenger Bank™, and have been around for more than 50 years. Equitable Bank's wholly-owned subsidiary, Concentra Bank, supports credit unions across Canada that serve more than 5 million members. Together we have over $100 billion in combined assets under management and administration, with a clear mandate to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people's lives. Our EQ Bank platform (eqbank.ca) has been named the top Schedule I Bank in Canada on the Forbes World's Best Banks 2023, 2022, and 2021 lists.
Purpose of Job
The Director, Operational Risk, Digital Banking oversees the management of risk activities across the Personal Bank. As the 2nd LoD, this role is responsible to support the design, implementation, training and awareness of the Risk program and its related methodologies, systems, tools, and processes for ongoing evaluation of all risks impacting the Personal Bank.
This individual will be supporting the business day-to-day including managing risk activities to support the Personal Banking, Digital Banking Team priorities. This individual will help the Digital Banking team build their risk process ensuring that appropriate controls are in place and challenge the effectiveness of the Digital Bank’s risk management practices and monitor adherence to the Risk Appetite Framework.
The Digital Bank follows an agile approach where cross-functional teams including Product Management, Design and Engineering work together in a POD environment against initiatives and outcomes. The Product Manager is responsible for owning all risks pertaining to the Digital Bank and its related initiatives. The Director, Operational Risk, Personal Banking will work closely with the Product Manager to provide independent oversight and effective challenge ensuring all risks in their scope are mitigated with appropriate evidence of mitigation while ensuring that the culture of agility is maintained.
Key Responsibilities/Main Activities
As the Personal Bank specifically the Digital Bank continues to execute on its growth strategy, this new role will function as a dedicated resource supporting the Senior Vice President and Group Head of Personal Banking on a variety of activities to manage priorities across all risks. Initially the role will be focused on supporting change management activities, working within Product Teams on the portfolio of Digital Banking projects. The ideal candidate will have the ability to apply sound risk practices to the business and scale appropriately to the scope, size, and complexity of the business at it continues to grow. The role is well suited to a risk practitioner that has the ability to communicate effectively and explain risk concepts to a wide range of stakeholders.
Activities in support of the Digital Bank
- Provide risk advice to business units to enhance the management of risk, including advising on risk mitigation strategies 2
- Liaise with Risk Advisory subject matter experts across the Bank to ensure all risks are appropriately identified and mitigated.
- Design, optimize and document controls including influencing peers to collaborate in an integrated risk management approach.
- Ensure controls are implemented by control owner and evidence is available.
- Challenge and provide coaching on how to improve existing processes to enable controls to be effective while enabling agility.
- Guide the Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) process for all significant business activities and lines of business, assessing and challenging the inherent and residual risk.
- Develop and implement Key Risk Indicator (KRI) frameworks, measures and reporting tools in collaboration with business. Evaluating results against risk appetite framework to identify potential actions or changes.
- Facilitate the New Initiative Risk Assessment (NIRA) process for new initiatives to properly assess and mitigate high inherent risks and ensure residual risks are acceptable and within the Bank’s risk tolerance levels.
- Manage the operational risk event reporting program and review operational risk events and conduct root cause analysis to assess processes and controls for correction or improvement opportunities.
- Through oversight assessments and activities, ensure that issues and opportunities are identified, remediated, and reported to senior management within established monitoring and escalation parameters.
- Establish and implement testing methodologies, programs, and scenario analysis in line with the maturity of the Bank's risk program
- Ensure the development, administration and maintenance of the Bank’s Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC) tool (Resolver) continues to meet the requirements of an Operational Risk Management program
- Develop and deliver training supporting the Operational Risk Management programs for team and Bank employees
- Design and implement operational risk policies, guidelines and standards and a measurement methodology which is aligned with regulatory expectations and the Bank’s overall elected and targeted level of risk measurement maturity.
- Ensure the periodic and timely review of operational risk related policies, management guidelines, risk frameworks, risk appetite, processes and controls as business and regulatory conditions may require.
- Provide insight and recommendations in strategy development of the future growth and maturity of the Bank.
Knowledge/Skill Requirements
- Post-secondary education in a related field (Risk Policy, Risk Management, Business, Finance)
- 5-7 years of progressive risk management, audit experience, or first line risk management experience (OSFI 1B LOD), preferably in the financial industry.
- Dynamic individual with expertise in digital, deposit and payment domains
- Experience in business process improvement and design including scaling and automating processes.
- Agile individual, with digital, deposit and payments experience
- A professional internal audit designation (CIA, CIDA) and/or a professional accounting designation (CA, CMA, CGA); or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Advanced knowledge of risk management, compliance matters, corporate governance, regulatory/legal issues, and business planning strategies.
- Excellent analytical and quantitative skills and problem solving abilities.
- Superior written and verbal communication skills coupled with meeting facilitation abilities and superior presentation skills.
- Effective organizational, project and time management in order to efficiently deliver concurrent projects with competing priorities.
- Experienced in audit or sampling techniques and regulatory/legal requirements of financial institutions.
- Developing/maintaining knowledge and awareness of the financial industry, risk management practices and regulatory and/or policy changes.
- Project management skills: financial/budget management, scheduling and resource management.
- Ability to lead and motivate the operational risk team to achieve tactical and strategic goals, even when only "dotted line" reporting lines exist.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills.
- High level of personal integrity, as well as the ability to professionally handle confidential matters and show an appropriate level of judgment and maturity.
- High degree of initiative, dependability, and ability to work with little supervision while being resilient to change.
- Communication: Complex e.g., external meetings, writing proposals, drafting speeches, negotiating terms, providing technical guidance to external audience.
What we offer [For full-time permanent roles]
💰 Competitive discretionary bonus
✨ Market leading RRSP match program
🩺 Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability benefits
📝 Employee Share Purchase Plan
👶🏽 Maternity/Parental top-up while you care for your little one
🏝 Generous vacation policy, personal days and even a moving day
🖥 Virtual events to connect with your fellow colleagues
🎓 Annual professional development allowance and a comprehensive Career Development program
💛 A fulfilling opportunity to join one of the top FinTechs and help create a new kind of banking experience
The incumbent will be working hybrid and in office time will be spent working from Equitable Bank’s additional office space located at 351 King Street East, Toronto, ON.
Equitable Bank is deeply committed to inclusion. Our organization is stronger and our employees thrive when we honour and celebrate everyone’s diverse experiences and perspectives. In tandem with that commitment, we support and encourage our staff to grow not just in their career path, but personally as well.
We commit to providing a barrier-free recruitment process and work environment for all applicants. Please let us know of any accommodations needed so that you can bring your best self to the application process and beyond. All candidates considered for hire must successfully pass a criminal background check and credit check to qualify for hire. While we appreciate your interest in applying, an Equitable recruiter will only contact leading candidates whose skills and qualifications closely match the requirements of the position.
We can’t wait to get to know you!
