Mandates

iA Financial Group

iA Financial Group is the fourth largest life and health insurance company in Canada and offers a wide range of products to meet the needs of clients across its vast sales network. With $190 billion of AUM and AUA, iA is one of Canada’s largest asset managers. Founded in 1892, iA Financial Group’s stability and solidity make it an employer of choice that invests in its employees and their development over the long term. With operations across Canada and the United States, iA Financial Group and its over 5,000 employees work hard every day to offer the best service to over four million clients.

The Position

The Investment Risk Management team is responsible for providing independent investment risk oversight of managed assets. In this role you will provide investment risk management leadership, expertise and analysis across fixed income, equity and multi-asset portfolios in a global environment. The Director of Risk Management has leadership responsibility for a multi-functional team to help identify market risk, credit and liquidity risks; to quantify portfolio exposures to these risks and communicate risk-related topics effectively to the portfolio management team and senior management. The position provides a direct link between the investment department and the Company’s Chief Risk Officer. This individual also leads ad-hoc research and develops risk analytics to enhance the business’ understanding of risk and how to manage it through risk-aware portfolio construction. The Director role provides the successful candidate with opportunities to shape a robust risk management framework & analytics within an evolving Investment department.

This position can be based in either Quebec City, Montreal or Toronto.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement an effective and efficient market risk management infrastructure to measure, oversee, and report investment risk exposures;
• Attract, coach, mentor and develop talented colleagues. Lead staff in the development of specialized investment risk management, performance analysis, and other analytical skills that raise the capabilities of the investment risk team;
• Use a variety of analytical resources to develop and enhance existing risk-return analysis, including risk-based performance attribution, multifactor risk models, scenario analysis, and stress testing;
• Use expertise and judgement to think critically about a broad range of potential investment risks for both existing funds and new product assessments;
• Develop a deep understanding of iA’s investment management functional areas. Maintain deep knowledge of financial markets, quantitative drivers, and general investment themes in order to bring an informed perspective to the risk management processes. Be seen as an expert resource internally within the Investment department;
• Initiate and lead risk management related projects of high complexity and direct colleagues on such projects. Drive the identification, evaluation, and resolution of potential obstacles which may have an impact on the completion of the project;
• Develop and utilize analytical resources required to advance iA’s risk management capabilities through the use of AlgoRisk, Bloomberg, and other systems;
• Present thorough, clear, and insightful analysis to senior leaders, portfolio managers, and traders in a professional manner. Be persuasive and influential in both formal presentations and informal interactions;
• Lead a variety of ad hoc analytical and regulatory/compliance projects as needed to support the Enterprise Risk Management team;
• Contribute to the deployment of the ERM framework and to a sound risk management culture;
• Ensure monitoring of risk management standards and compliance with risk limits and tolerances.

Skills, Knowledge and Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent education. Graduate degree and/or professional certification (CFA, FRM) preferred;
• Ten+ years of experience within the investment management industry working within quantitative risk on the buyside; 
• Management experience leading staff in a quantitative risk modelling/analytics environment;
• Deep investment knowledge including an understanding of fixed income, equity, currency and related derivatives (linear and non-linear); 
• Ability to lead multiple, complex projects with attention to detail while meeting deadlines;
• Demonstrated quantitative and analytical skill;
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in a fast paced, dynamic working environment with multiple and diverse responsibilities;
• Proven self-starter with ability to work independently as well as lead teams;
• Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills;
• Proven ability to interact and build effective working relationships with peers and senior management;
• Fluent in both English and French;
• Experience with building multi-factor risk models;
• Experience with Python, SQL, R, Matlab, SAS or related programming languages highly desirable.