Director, Loan & Appraisal Review

BMO•Toronto, ON

About The Position

The Director, Loan & Appraisal Review at BMO Financial Group, within the Audit, Risk & Compliance Job Family Group, is responsible for monitoring, analyzing, and reporting on the quality of risk-related decisions for consumer and business banking lending portfolios. This involves examining individual transactions and aggregate level portfolio information to provide insights on the accuracy and consistency of decisions relative to risk strategies, policies, and appetite, identifying deficiencies, and recommending corrective action plans. A key aspect of this role is leading the modernization of Loan & Appraisal Review by embedding AI-enabled review capabilities to expand coverage, improve consistency, and reduce manual effort, while maintaining human accountability for final review conclusions and classifications. The Director will also foster a culture aligned to BMO's purpose, values, and strategy, ensuring diversity and inclusion, setting inspirational goals, building interdependent teams, and attracting and retaining top talent. BMO is a leading bank, the 8th largest in North America by assets, serving over 12 million customers globally, driven by the purpose to "Boldly Grow the Good in business and life."

Requirements

Typically 9+ years of relevant experience and post-secondary degree in related field of study or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
In-depth knowledge of credit, portfolio management and risk management practices.
Credit/lending experience.
Demonstrated experience leading technology-enabled operational change (workflow redesign, adoption, training, and value realization) within a control, risk, audit, or quality assurance environment.
Working knowledge of enterprise AI governance concepts relevant to responsible deployment, including appropriate human support / human-in-the-loop usage models and lifecycle expectations.
Demonstrated ability to operationalize human-in-the-loop oversight so AI outputs remain advisory and reviewers retain accountability for final classifications, escalations, and documentation.
Proven coaching skills.
Expert knowledge & experience with risk policy frameworks; quality control/testing frameworks.
Seasoned expert with extensive industry knowledge.
Technical leader viewed as a thought leader for innovation.
Verbal & written communication skills - Expert.
Analytical and problem solving skills - Expert.
Influence skills - Expert.
Collaboration & team skills; with a focus on cross-group collaboration - Expert.
Able to manage ambiguity.
Data driven decision making - Expert.

Responsibilities

Monitors, analyzes, and reports on the quality of risk-related decisions for consumer and business banking lending portfolios.
Examines individual transactions and aggregate level portfolio information to provide insights on the accuracy and consistency of decisions relative to risk strategies, policies, and appetite.
Identifies deficiencies and recommends corrective action plans.
Leads the modernization of Loan & Appraisal Review by embedding AI-enabled review capabilities to expand coverage, improve consistency, and reduce manual effort, while maintaining human accountability for final review conclusions and classifications.
Independently examines credit transactions for adherence to all policies and procedures applicable to the transaction based on established assessment processes.
Documents and reports results of reviews on an individual and summary basis; identifies and recommends action plans for resolving issues.
Identifies where corrective actions are required (e.g. incomplete investigations and analysis, unauthorized advances, possible fraudulent transactions) and escalates per guidelines; ensures corrective action is taken.
Consults with stakeholders to improve consistency and transparency of risk measurement, metrics and reporting.
Develops solutions and makes recommendations based on an understanding of the business strategy and stakeholder needs.
Provides advice and guidance to assigned business/group on implementation of solutions.
Builds effective relationships with internal/external stakeholders.
Employs systems (e.g. customized exception reports, tracking reports etc.) to manage information.
Integrates information from multiple sources to enable more efficient processes, enhanced analysis and/or streamlined reporting.
Breaks down strategic problems, and analyses data and information to provide insights and recommendations.
Identifies business needs, designs/develops tools and training programs; may include delivery of training to audiences.
Acts as a trusted advisor to senior leaders for making business decisions and implementing strategic initiatives; develops an expert understanding of business/group challenges; networks with industry contacts to gather competitive insights and best practices; recommends measures to improve organizational effectiveness; may consult to or serve on various committees and task forces.
Influences and negotiates to achieve business objectives; identifies emerging issues and trends to inform decision-making; manages resources and leads the execution of strategic initiatives; recommends business priorities, advises on resource requirements and develops roadmap for strategic execution.
Acts as the prime contact for internal/external stakeholder relationships, which may include regulators; ensures alignment between stakeholders; represents the internal control governance program/structure during internal/external regulatory audits and/or examinations.
Develops and manages comprehensive information management systems; designs and/or leads initiatives to improve processes, analysis and reporting; leads change management programs of varying scope and type, including readiness assessments, planning, stakeholder management, execution, evaluation and sustainment of initiatives; leads the execution of operational programs; assesses and adapts as needed to ensure quality of execution.
Fosters a culture aligned to BMO purpose, values and strategy and role models BMO values and behaviours in all that they do.
Ensures alignment between values and behaviour that fosters diversity and inclusion.
Regularly connects work to BMO’s purpose, sets inspirational goals, defines clear expected outcomes, and ensures clear accountability for follow through.
Builds interdependent teams that collaborate across functional and operating groups to create the highest value for all stakeholders.
Attracts, retains, and enables the career development of top talent.
Improves team performance, recognizes and rewards performance, coaches employees, supports their development, and manages poor performance.
Leads adoption of AI-assisted Loan & Appraisal Review capabilities that streamline reviewer workflows (e.g., AI-assisted extraction/summarization and checklist pre-population) to improve throughput and consistency, while maintaining second-line independence and reviewer judgment.
Establishes human-in-the-loop guardrails for AI-assisted review, including defined escalation expectations and ensuring reviewers retain accountability for final classifications and dispositions.
Partners with enterprise stakeholders to support AI lifecycle expectations (e.g., intake, stage movement, monitoring), and maintains documentation and evidence standards to support auditability and regulatory defensibility.
Implements AI output quality routines appropriate to a controlled second-line function, including testing, reviewer feedback loops, and disciplined change controls for model/prompt updates.