Manager, Pension Data Quality

Job description

OUR COMPANY BACKGROUND & CULTURE UPP is the first pension plan of its kind in Ontario’s university sector, proudly serving over 46,000 members across six universities and nineteen sector organizations. Our purpose is to bring greater retirement peace of mind to the university sector by investing with integrity and serving members with care. As a sector-wide plan designed for growth, our doors are open to all Ontario universities. We’re a team of progressive thinkers and agile doers operating within a fast-paced culture of collaboration and respect. We believe in bringing smart and capable people together to create, solve, and grow with a clear shared vision and values of integrity, inclusivity, ingenuity, and impact. We’ve built and nurtured a culture that is intentionally welcoming and purposefully rooted in equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation (EDI&R). We believe diverse teams, perspectives, and lived experiences contribute to better decisions and a better workplace. As UPP celebrates its fifth anniversary, we’re proud to be recognized for our efforts: • 2026 Greater Toronto’s Top 100 Employers • 2026 Canadian HR Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Join us in building a bright future for our members, our organization, and each other. THE ROLE Reporting to the Associate Director, Pension Data Operations & Governance, the Manager, Pension Data Quality is responsible for the execution, oversight, and continuous improvement of data quality practices across Pension Services. This role plays a critical part in ensuring pension data is accurate, complete, and fit for use across member administration, reporting, and regulatory processes. The Manager oversees day-to-day data quality activities, including data validation, issue identification and resolution, and monitoring of data quality trends. Working closely with Pension Services, Technology, Data, and Employer Experience teams, this role supports the integration of data quality standards into operational processes, contributes to data governance practices, and ensures data-related risks and issues are effectively managed through clear ownership, controls, escalation, and evidence-based reporting. This role is based in downtown Toronto under a hybrid work policy, allowing employees the flexibility to work remotely and in-office (approximately two days per week in-office). This posting is for an existing vacancy. SPECIFIC ACCOUNTABILITIES The Manager, Employer Data Quality will have responsibility for but not limited to the following: • Oversees day-to-day data quality activities, including validation of employer-submitted data and internal data processing, ensuring alignment with plan provisions and operational requirements • Monitors data quality metrics and trends, identifying issues, patterns, and root causes, and supporting remediation activities with operational teams • Leads the identification, prioritization, and resolution of data quality issues, ensuring discrepancies are tracked, analyzed, resolved, and monitored through to root cause remediation to prevent recurrence • Owns the Pension Services data quality control framework, including validation rules, monitoring controls, exception management processes, quality standards, and supporting documentation, ensuring alignment with enterprise data governance frameworks. • Acts as a key Pension Services data steward, supporting the implementation of data ownership, data definitions, critical data element management, and enterprise data governance standards across core pension data domains • Maintains documented data quality controls, control evidence, exception logs, approvals, remediation records, and closure criteria to support audit, compliance, operational risk, and governance reporting • Establishes and manages data issue governance practices, including severity assessment, root cause analysis, escalation pathways, remediation ownership, target dates, and closure criteria for material data issues • Oversees and continuously improves data validation, testing, and quality checks/controls across onboarding, cyclical processing, and ongoing pension administration activities to ensure data accuracy, completeness, consistency, and timeliness • Develops, monitors, and reports on data quality metrics, scorecards, trends, risks, and remediation activities, providing actionable insights to governance forums and operational leaders • Partners with Pension Services, Technology, and Data teams to embed data quality practices into processes, systems, and reporting • Monitors the quality of employer and member source data, identifies systemic issues impacting pension administration, and partners with operational teams and employers to improve data quality at source • Supports data mapping, validation, and testing activities related to data conversion and system enhancements, ensuring data quality requirements are met • Leads continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen data quality controls, reduce recurring defects, improve operational efficiency, and increase automation of validation and monitoring processes • Supports audit, compliance, and risk activities related to data quality, including quality assurance reviews and documentation • Leads, coaches, and develops a team responsible for data quality monitoring, defect management, validation, controls, root cause analysis, and issue resolution, building capability and promoting a culture of data quality and accountability • Accountable for achieving agreed-upon pension data quality targets and service levels, including the monitoring and reporting of data quality performance across key pension data domains • Applies a risk-based approach to prioritize data quality issues based on potential impact to member outcomes, pension calculations, employer trust, operational efficiency, compliance, and reporting accuracy QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE • The successful candidate will have a strong understanding of pension administration and data quality practices, with experience operating in a detail-oriented, high-volume environment. • Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience, with strong experience in pension administration or data management • Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) or Pension Plan Administration Certificate (PPAC) is considered an asset • Minimum of 8+ years of progressive experience in defined benefit pension administration, data quality, or a related operational role • Strong understanding of pension data, including data flows, validation requirements, and the impact of data quality on member outcomes • Experience working with data validation, data analysis, and reconciliation processes • Demonstrated experience identifying and resolving data issues in a structured and consistent manner • Strong analytical, problem-solving, and root cause analysis skills • Experience working with pension administration systems and data tools • Demonstrated leadership experience, including coaching and developing team members • Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate data issues clearly to operational and technical stakeholders • Ability to organize, prioritize, and manage multiple activities within established timelines • Experience working within a data governance, data stewardship, or data control framework, including issue management, control documentation, and governance reporting • Understanding of critical pension data elements, data lineage, data quality dimensions, and the impact of data defects on benefit administration, member outcomes, regulatory reporting, and operational risk ATTRIBUTES • Detail-oriented with a strong focus on accuracy and data integrity • Strong analytical mindset with the ability to identify trends and root causes • Proactive problem solver with a continuous improvement mindset • Collaborative and able to work effectively across operational and technical teams • Strong sense of ownership and accountability • Clear and effective communicator • Self-motivated, flexible, and adaptable to changing priorities and new challenges • Excellent judgment and clear and precise communication skills; written, verbal, listening and presentation, including a high degree of diplomacy and confidentiality with the ability to adapt communication style to the audience • Proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships • Governance-minded, with the discipline to document decisions, controls, evidence, risks, and remediation outcomes • Risk-aware and able to exercise sound judgment when prioritizing data issues that may affect members, employers, compliance, or operational delivery EXPECTED COMPENSATION The expected compensation for this role is a combination of base salary and variable incentive. The annualized base salary in the range of $85,600 to $110,600. This range reflects the expected range for new hire base salaries and is subject to change and may be modified in the future. You may also be eligible for a variable incentive depending on organizational, divisional and personal performance. The final total compensation offered will vary depending on your skills, experience and other factors. LIFE AT UPP Do work that matters. We are duty-bound to serve our members’ interests, and it’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly. That’s why we’ve ingrained sustainability in our work from day one—to ensure our members have a resilient future to retire into, both today and for generations to come. Stronger together. Collaboration is how UPP was born, and it’s how we work with each other and our partners day in, day out. No one at UPP is just a number (even if they are excellent at math) and every win is a shared win. Grow every day. You’ll have the opportunity to work on unique, once-in-a-career projects that maximize your skill set and probably teach you some new ones—at any stage in your career. Prioritize wellness. At UPP, wellness takes many forms. Ultimately, it’s about ensuring our people are cared for in the ways that matter to them. Check out some highlights of our inclusive employee-focused benefits program including: • Defined benefit pension plan • Flexible hybrid work model • Paid time off – vacations, personal days and wellness days • Work remotely up to eight weeks/year • Comprehensive group benefits including medical, dental, vision, etc. • Extended paramedical and mental health service coverage • Health care and lifestyle spending accounts • Fertility treatments, paid parental leave, and gender affirmation coverage • Education Assistance program This posting will remain open for a minimum of seven (7) days and will remain open until a sufficient number of qualified applications are received or finalist candidates have been identified. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools may be used to support certain stages of the recruitment process, including sourcing, screening, and assessment. All hiring decisions involve human review and intervention by UPP employees. UPP enthusiastically welcomes applications from all qualified applicants and especially invites people with lived experience as an Indigenous person, a person with a disability or as a member of another Human Rights Code protected group that faces barriers to employment to apply. Our goal is to create a barrier-free experience for every candidate throughout the recruitment process. UPP respects your privacy. For information on how UPP handles the personal information you provide during the application process, please see our Job Applicant Privacy Statement.