Director, Individual Wealth, Risk & Compliance

Reporting to the AVP, Individual Wealth, Insurance Solutions and Advisory Network, Risk and Compliance Business Partner, as the Director, Individual Wealth Risk & Compliance, you’ll assume a leadership role for Individual Wealth 2nd line risk and compliance functions. You’ll work closely with our partners across Canada to provide independent oversight of the operations and regulatory risk management framework within the IWIS & AN Line of Businesses. As a lead and subject matter expert pertaining to risk and compliance, you’ll provide expert advice and guidance to assist the business with its risk and compliance obligations. You will work directly with the business by providing accurate and reliable risk and compliance expertise to the business which in turn will help the business in meeting the highest standards of risk and compliance. You will assist with the development, implementation and/or monitoring of policies and regulations to ensure the business is able to meet its obligations. You will be a positive change advocate by suggesting and implementing constant improvements to the overall risk and compliance culture within IWIS & AN.

What you will do 

• Provide ongoing leadership and coaching to team members, fostering engagement and a high-performance culture that achieves goals that align with Risk and Compliance strategic objectives
• Monitor, interpret and maintain awareness of new and existing regulatory and compliance requirements, providing expertise, advice and oversight of regulatory obligations, including providing appropriate guidance to the business on potential impacts and appropriate controls.
• Assess the adequacy of, adherence to, and effectiveness of day-to-day risk and compliance procedures and controls and provide reports on all potential or actual risk and compliance issues ensuring that they are investigated and remediated as appropriate.
• Contribute collaboratively on projects and initiatives and day to day activities to provide expert advice and guidance on awareness of relevant legislation, guidelines and best practices to enable the business’ strategy and ensure risk and compliance issues are identified and addressed.
• Identify and provide guidance to the business concerning risks associated with projects and initiatives and escalate any issues and proposed solutions to the AVP or other management as necessary.
• Assist with preparing and presenting quarterly compliance and operational risk reports to the CCO and other reports.
• Build partnerships with other functions within IWIS & AN to build and embed an effective risk and compliance culture.
• Provide independent challenge, guidance, and advice to the business, reporting on and addressing action items to enable IWIS & AN Risk and Compliance to effectively oversee IWIS & AN’s activities.
• Perform other duties as needed to support these accountabilities and to support the goals of the department.

What you will bring 

• Post-secondary education or equivalent level of training or experience pertain to the Wealth business include securities regulations.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in a financial services industry role with operational risk and compliance related accountabilities.
• Experience leading a team will be an asset
• Experience in individual Wealth Management in either manufacturing or distribution
• Experience in researching and interpreting legislation and communicating requirements to stakeholders will be an asset.
• Proven ability to identify, understand, effectively communicate and solution new business risks and control gaps.
• Ability to evaluate policies, processes and systems to identify business risks and control gaps.
• Demonstrated strength in effectively building relationships and influencing change effectively with a broad range of individuals and groups.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with a niche in story telling
• Excellent analytical skills
• Very good organizational skills with strong attention to detail, ability to prioritize, multi-task and meet deadlines.
• Ability to effectively use Microsoft products (Teams, Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Power BI an asset). 

Given the size and scope of our organization, we have the flexibility for this position to be located in the following head office locations: Toronto, London. 

Be your best at Great-West Lifeco and Canada Life - Apply today! 

Great-West Lifeco Inc. is a leading international financial services holding company headquartered in Canada with interests in life insurance, health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management, and reinsurance businesses. It operates in Canada, the United States, and Europe under the brands: Canada Life, Canada Life Germany, Canada Life UK, Canada Life Reinsurance, Empower Retirement, Putnam Investments and Irish Life.

In Canada, Great-West Lifeco operates under the Canada Life brand, offering a broad portfolio of financial and benefit plan solutions and serves the financial security needs of more than 12 million customers. Globally our combined companies have approximately 24,500 employees, 205,000 advisor relationships, and thousands of distribution partners – all serving more than 30 million customer relationships across these regions.

Being a part of our organization means you have a voice. This is a place where your unique background, perspectives and talents are valued, and shape our future success.

You can be your best here. You are part of a diverse and inclusive workplace where your career and well-being are championed. You’ll have the opportunity to excel in your way, finding new and better ways to deliver exceptional customer and advisor experiences.

We are committed to providing an inclusive, accessible environment, where all employees and customers feel valued, respected and supported. We are dedicated to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities in which we live, and to creating an environment where every employee has the opportunity to reach their potential.  

It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Canada Life policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact talentacquisitioncanada@canadalife.com.

We would like to thank all applicants, however only those who qualify for an interview will be contacted.  

#LI-Hybrid