Director, Partnerships - Retail Equity Capital

Job description

BUILD SOMETHING PEOPLE LOVE Wealthsimple is Canada’s leading financial innovator. The company offers a full suite of simple, sophisticated financial products across managed investing, do-it-yourself trading, cryptocurrency, tax filing, spending and saving. Wealthsimple currently serves more than 4 million Canadians and holds over $155 billion in assets under administration. The company was founded in 2014 by a team of financial experts and technology entrepreneurs, and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. We're proud of what we've built — and we're just getting started. Read our Culture Manual https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/culture and learn more about how we work https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/careers. The Corporate Development function at Wealthsimple is a lean, high-impact team responsible for accelerating the company's growth through mergers & acquisitions, investments, and strategic initiatives. As Director of Partnerships for Retail Equity Capital, reporting to the VP of Corporate Development, you will own the vision and execution of Wealthsimple's retail equity capital strategy, building a function that sits at the intersection of issuers, capital markets, and retail investors. Your mandate is to expand the investment opportunities available to Wealthsimple clients while establishing Wealthsimple as a meaningful distribution partner for issuers looking to reach retail investors at scale. You will originate and develop relationships across the ecosystem, from investment banks and syndicate desks to emerging market platforms. While senior leadership remains engaged at the highest levels, you will own the full lifecycle of each opportunity from origination and relationship development through execution and client delivery. Internally, you will coordinate across legal, product management, engineering, marketing, and operations to bring each offering to market successfully and deliver a best-in-class client experience. IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL: - Define and own Wealthsimple's retail investment access strategy, identifying how we expand the range of opportunities available to our clients across public and private markets - Build and grow relationships across the investment ecosystem, including investment banks, syndicate desks, issuers, and private market platforms, positioning Wealthsimple as a trusted and differentiated distribution partner - Serve as Wealthsimple's primary external voice to issuers and capital markets counterparties, articulating the strategic value of retail distribution and securing access to high-demand offerings - Lead end-to-end execution of IPO and other client opportunities to invest in, coordinating across legal, engineering, marketing, and operations to bring offerings to market successfully and compliantly - Partner with product and engineering to shape the roadmap and infrastructure needed to scale Wealthsimple's investment access capabilities over time - Build repeatable frameworks and operational processes that allow the function to scale as deal volume and product complexity grow - Develop compelling strategic narratives and business cases that align senior leadership on participation decisions and longer-term market opportunities WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS: - 10+ years of experience in equity capital markets, private markets, or related field with direct exposure to equity offerings and capital markets transactions - A strong ownership mindset with the ability to operate autonomously in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment - Proven ability to manage complex, cross-functional initiatives across legal, product, engineering, and go-to-market teams - Executive-level communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to represent Wealthsimple credibly to issuers, banks, and senior counterparties - Strong commercial and analytical acumen, including comfort with financial modeling and data-driven decision-making - A well-developed network across investment banks, capital markets participants, and financial services in Canada, the US, and internationally - Excellent strategic judgment, creative problem-solving, and the ability to move quickly without sacrificing quality - Demonstrated ability to build and scale operational processes from the ground up WHY WEALTHSIMPLE? 🌸 Top-tier health benefits and life insurance 📈 Long-term group savings with employer match, through Wealthsimple for Business 🌴 20 vacation days, 4 wellness days, and unlimited sick and mental health days per year ✈️ 90 days away: work outside Canada for up to 90 days per year 👥 Employee resource groups, including Rainbow (2SLGBTQ), Women of WS, and Black at WS 🌎 We are a hybrid team with over 1,500 employees across North America. The people are one of the best parts of working here: you'll collaborate with incredibly talented, curious, and driven teammates who are deeply committed to doing great work. ICYMI Technology & Innovation at Wealthsimple: We move quickly and build thoughtfully. That means we're always looking for better ways to work — whether that's new tools, AI, or rethinking how we approach a problem. We don't expect you to have all the answers, but we do expect curiosity and a willingness to evolve alongside the products we're building. Inclusion Statement: We're building products for a diverse world, and we need a diverse team to do it well. We strongly encourage applications from everyone, regardless of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status. Accessibility Statement: We're committed to an accessible hiring experience. If you need any accommodations throughout the interview process, please let us know — we'll work with you to make sure you have what you need. We also welcome any feedback on how we can better accommodate candidates with accessibility needs. AI in Hiring: We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of our hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our team but don't replace human judgment – all final hiring decisions are made by people. If you have questions about how your data is used, reach out to us.