Director, Payments Risk and Compliance

Job description

**Join a Challenger**At EQ, we're remaking banking so every Canadian gets ahead, every day. Serving nearly 4 million Canadians from coast to coast, we offer a wide variety of financial services from banking and lending, to trust and credit union solutions. We've been at this since 1970, challenging the conventions of traditional banking with smarter, faster, and more connected financial experiences. **What's kept us moving?** The people behind it all: challengers who ask better questions, push back on old assumptions, and look for a better way forward. If you're driven to help reshape how banking works for Canadians and the businesses that power our economy, this could be your next big opportunity. We can’t wait to get to know you! **The Work** The Director, Payments Risk & Compliance is the first-line accountability leader for all risk and compliance activities across the bank’s B2B Payments & Partnerships business line, including BIN Sponsorship, program management, and strategic fintech partnerships. This role is responsible for establishing and leading a comprehensive first-line risk framework, ensuring that all payment activities operate within the bank’s risk appetite, regulatory expectations (e.g., RPAA, FINTRAC, network rules), and contractual obligations. The Director plays a critical leadership role in balancing growth and risk, partnering closely with Product, Legal, Compliance (2nd line), and external partners to enable compliant innovation while maintaining robust controls across third-party risk, credit/financial risk, operational risk, regulatory/reputational risk, and exit planning. This role ensures that all activities operate within the bank’s established risk appetite, comply with applicable regulatory and network requirements, and are supported by sound controls and governance. The Risk Manager works closely with second-line functions to ensure that risks are effectively identified, assessed, mitigated, and monitored. The ideal candidate combines deep payments industry knowledge with strong risk management, governance, and control capabilities, and can navigate the intersection of traditional banking oversight and modern fintech partnerships. ### The Core Responsibilities 1. First-Line Risk Leadership & Governance • Act as the designated first-line risk owner for all B2B Payments activities. • Serve as the first-line risk owner for B2B Payments business activities, ensuring compliance with the bank’s risk management framework and regulatory expectations. • Lead ongoing risk assessments (including Third Party Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance Management) and control testing across all B2B payments processes. • Partner with second-line functions to align business practices with enterprise risk frameworks, policies, and regulatory guidance. • 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. • Establish and maintain a comprehensive risk governance framework across Payments, aligned to enterprise risk management standards. • Define and enforce risk appetite, tolerances, and escalation protocols specific to payments programs and partnerships. • Lead RCSA, NIRA, and risk governance forums; ensure effective challenge of residual risk positions. • Provide executive-level risk reporting and insights to senior leadership and Board committees. 2. End-to-End Risk & Control Framework • Oversee design and execution of controls across: o Third-Party Risk (TPRM) – onboarding, due diligence, ongoing monitoring o Credit & Financial Risk – partner financial health, reserve frameworks, exposure management o Operational Risk – processing, settlement, reconciliation, fraud controls o Regulatory & Compliance Risk – RPAA, AML/ATF, network compliance (Visa/Mastercard) o Legal & Reputational Risk – use case and program structure, branding, consumer protection • Ensure all processes are supported by auditable, scalable, and technology-enabled controls. • Work with product and implementation team on New Initiative Risk Assessment (NIRA) process and the New Initiative Approval Process (NIAP) 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. • Drive continuous improvement in control effectiveness, automation, and standardization. 3. Partner & Ecosystem Risk Oversight • Provide risk oversight across program managers, processors, fintechs, and third-party agents. • Approve and challenge partner onboarding decisions, including risk ratings and mitigants. • Establish robust frameworks for: o Ongoing partner monitoring o Financial exposure management o Trigger-based escalations and interventions • Lead cross-functional decisioning on high-risk partners or programs. 4. Product, Innovation & Growth Enablement • Partner with product and business teams to enable new payments opportunities within a compliant framework. • Lead risk assessment and approval (New Initiative Risk Assessment/New Initiative Approval Process) for: o New products (e.g., prepaid, credit, embedded finance) o New partnership models (e.g., program manager, payment service provider, sponsorship) • Act as a strategic advisor on structuring programs to optimize risk, compliance, and commercial outcomes. • Support EQ Bank’s strategy to scale PaaS and fintech partnerships safely. 5. Exit Planning & Incident Management • Own and maintain comprehensive exit strategies for all critical partners and programs. • Lead execution of partner exits, including: o Network engagement and regulatory communication o Customer impact mitigation and fund safeguarding o Legal coordination and exposure management • Oversee risk events, incidents, and near misses, ensuring root cause analysis and remediation. 6. Regulatory, Audit & Second-Line Engagement • Act as the primary first-line interface for: o Internal Audit o Second Line Risk & Compliance o Regulators and network reviews • Ensure timely and effective remediation of audit and regulatory findings. • Maintain ongoing awareness of evolving regulatory expectations and industry practices. • Track, log, and manage risk events, issues, and near misses, ensuring root cause analysis and timely resolution. • Conduct periodic self-assessments and internal gap analyses on 1st line business processes to validate control effectiveness, identify improvement opportunities, and ensure audit readiness. • Evaluate operational readiness and control adequacy prior to launch or material change of any partnership program. 7. Team Leadership & Capability Building • Build and lead a high-performing first-line Payments Risk team. • Define roles, accountabilities, and operating model for risk within Payments. • Foster a strong risk culture aligned with accountability, transparency, and proactive escalation. • Mentor team members and strengthen capabilities across risk disciplines. ### Let's Talk About You • 12+ years of experience in risk management, compliance, or payments, preferably within payments / banking or fintech. • Deep expertise in payments ecosystems, including BIN sponsorship, prepaid/credit programs, PaaS models. • Strong understanding of: o Canadian regulatory environment (e.g., RPAA, FINTRAC/AML, FCAC, OFSI) o Network rules (Visa, Mastercard) o Third-party risk and fintech partnership models • Proven experience managing multiple risk disciplines (TPRM, credit/financial risk, operational risk, reputational and compliance risk). • Experience leading audit/regulatory engagements and remediation programs. • Strong commercial acumen with ability to balance risk and growth objectives. • Bachelor degree in Business Administration, Finance or related field. Masters degree preferred. • Awareness of key trends in payments & financial services, particularly related to digital banking & fintech landscape. • Strong analytical and critical thinking skills with the ability to identify and mitigate complex operational and partner risks. • Strong business acumen and passion for understanding and solving problems for consumers of financial services using rigorous data-driven methods and advanced analytical approaches • Ability to work independently and make decisions in a fast-paced environment. • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills • Strong attention to detail and time management skills • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. • Experience, confidence, and maturity managing internal and external stakeholders • Proficient in using MS Office (Excel, Access, PowerPoint).