Director, Strategy, Risk and Business Operations

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** Reporting to the VP, Decumulation, the Director, Strategy, Risk & Business Operations is responsible for leading the strategic planning, business performance and enablement, governance, and risk management functions for the Reverse Mortgage and Insurance Lending business. Acting as the operational and strategic leader to the VP, Decumulation, this role ensures the business maintains a robust risk and control environment while delivering on growth, profitability, and customer objectives. The Director will oversee enterprise and business-specific risk activities including risk appetite monitoring, credit, operational, compliance, legal, conduct, model, and reputational risks. This leader will act as the primary liaison between the business and corporate Risk, Legal, Compliance, Finance, Audit, Governance and other business related risk functions such as Fraud Management while ensuring the business meets all regulatory, governance, and board reporting obligations. In addition, the Director will lead annual strategic planning, financial forecasting, business performance management, executive and Board reporting, KPI development, , enterprise initiatives, business enablement programs, and the development of new products and growth opportunities. The role requires a unique combination of strategic leadership, analytical rigor, operational execution, governance expertise, and cross-functional influence. ### The Core Responsibilities **Strategic Planning & Business Performance** - Support the development and execution of the annual business strategy, operating plan, and growth priorities for the Reverse Mortgage business. - Own business performance management, including KPI development, executive dashboards, forecasting, and financial modeling. - Drive strategic business initiatives and investment decisions through business cases, market analysis, profitability assessments and ongoing performance reporting. Lead the execution of initiatives as needed. - **Key Metrics:** Achievement of annual volume, revenue, and profitability targets, Strategic initiative delivery (% completed on time and on budget), KPI and reporting accuracy/timeliness **Risk Management & Governance** - Own first-line risk management activities across credit, operational, compliance, legal, conduct, and reputational risk. - Act as the primary liaison between the business and Risk, Compliance, Legal, Audit, and other partners. - Lead program development activities such as a the corporate RCM program, risk assessments, issue remediation, governance activities, and committee submissions while ensuring compliance with risk appetite and regulatory requirements. Perform testing of business controls as needed. - **Key Metrics:** Number and severity of audit, compliance, or regulatory findings, completion of remediation actions within agreed timelines, business performance against approved risk appetite metrics. **Credit Risk, Portfolio Analytics & Model Governance** - Oversee LTV model governance, portfolio monitoring, stress testing, and scenario analysis to support risk management and strategic decision-making. - Partner with Credit Risk and Finance teams to monitor portfolio performance, concentration risks, and emerging trends. - Lead development and reporting of portfolio, risk, and capital metrics for executive and Board audiences. - **Key Metrics****:** Portfolio delinquency and loss performance versus plan, timeliness and accuracy of stress testing and scenario analysis, LTV model governance and validation compliance. **Executive, Board & Regulatory Reporting** - Lead preparation of Board, Executive Committee, ERMC, and regulatory reporting packages. - Develop clear, data-driven insights and recommendations supporting strategic and risk-related decision-making. - Ensure reporting effectively communicates business performance, emerging risks, and mitigation actions. - **Key Metrics****:** On-time delivery of Board and committee materials, stakeholder satisfaction with reporting quality and insights, number of material reporting errors or revisions. **Business Enablement & Transformation** - Lead cross-functional business transformation and operational improvement initiatives that enhance scale, efficiency, and customer outcomes. - Establish governance frameworks to prioritize, monitor, and measure strategic project delivery. - Partner across Technology, Operations, Product, and Finance to remove barriers and accelerate execution. Identify and accelerate opportunities to leverage AI through the risk and all business functions. - **Key Metrics****:** Benefits realized from business initiatives, project delivery on time and within budget. **New Product Development & Innovation** - Lead strategic evaluation, business case development, and governance for new products and product enhancements. - Coordinate cross-functional assessments involving Risk, Finance, Credit, Legal, Compliance, Operations, and Technology. - Ensure new products meet profitability, customer, risk, and regulatory objectives. - **Key Metrics****:** New product launches delivered on time, business case outcomes versus forecast, product profitability and adoption rates **People Leadership** - Lead, develop, and coach a high-performing team responsible for strategy, risk, analytics, and business operations. - Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. - Build organizational capability in strategic planning, governance, data analytics, and risk management. - **Key Metrics**: Employee engagement scores, achievement of team performance objectives. ### Let's Talk About You - Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Mathematics, or a related field. - 10+ years of progressive experience in strategy, risk management, business management, finance, consulting, or related leadership roles within financial services. - Ideally has a mix of Consulting and financial industry experience. - Deep understanding of credit risk, operational risk, compliance risk, governance frameworks, and financial services regulatory environments. - Experience preparing Executive Committee, Board, and Risk Committee materials. - Strong financial modeling, forecasting, and business case development experience. - Experience leading strategic planning and enterprise transformation initiatives. - Strong analytical skills with the ability to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations and actionable insights. - Exceptional stakeholder management skills with demonstrated ability to influence senior executives and cross-functional teams. - Advanced proficiency in data analysis, KPI development, dashboard creation, and performance management. - Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.