Director, Operational Risk Management

KOHO

11h•CA$190,000 - CA$210,000•Remote

About The Position

Reporting to the Associate Chief Risk Officer (ACRO) Non-Financial Risks, KOHO is looking for a Director, Operational Risk Management to lead and enhance KOHO’s operational risk management framework. This leadership role will be responsible for driving the overall operational risk management strategy, building a Second Line Controls Testing program, and serving as a trusted advisor to Senior Management on operational risk-related matters. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in risk management, strong leadership capabilities, a passion for innovation and automation, and the ability to influence at all levels of the organization. You’ll leverage your deep risk management expertise and strong understanding of relevant OSFI Guidelines — while partnering cross-functionally across product, legal, risk, operations, and engineering to support safe and sustainable business growth.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in operational and enterprise risk management, controls testing, internal audit, or compliance within financial services.
Deep knowledge in operational and compliance risk frameworks and possess a solid understanding of the connectivities across non-financial risk domains (compliance, third party, business continuity, tech/cyber, etc.)
Strong understanding of the Three Lines of Defense model and regulatory expectations.
Worked in regulated fintech, neobank, or direct-to-consumer financial institutions.
Strategic thinker with the ability to translate complex risk concepts into an actionable and practical approach to execution.
Passionate about innovation, inclusion, and empowering financial wellness.

Responsibilities

Lead and evolve KOHO’s operational risk management framework and practices aligned with applicable OSFI Guidelines (E-21, B-10, E-13) and banking industry standards.
Own the end-to-end development and implementation of a Second Line Controls Testing program, including methodology, governance, and reporting standards.
Provide regular and comprehensive operational risk profile reporting to Senior Management, committees and/or forums.
Identify emerging operational risks and trends and develop implementation strategies.
Conduct regular operational risk assessments across the business and operations.
Provide strategic oversight of operational risk issues, events, and root cause analysis to ensure timely identification and remediation of control deficiencies.
Design and execute a risk-based controls testing strategy to independently assess the design effectiveness, operating effectiveness, and control suite coverage of First Line controls across business units.
Drive lessons learned and thematic reviews to prevent issue recurrence and strengthen the control environment.
Establish and maintain operational risk appetite metrics, thresholds, and escalation protocols.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Risk Management, Compliance, and Internal Audit to ensure integrated risk coverage and oversight.
Build and lead a high-performing risk team that scales with growth.
Build strong relationships with First Line business partners, acting as trusted advisor and constructive challenger.
Drive risk culture and awareness initiatives across the organization through training, communication, and engagement programs.
Leverage advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) capabilities to enhance risk identification, monitoring, and predictive insights.
Stay current on industry trends, RegTech solutions, and best practices in operational risk innovation, bringing forward recommendations to enhance the function.
Foster a culture of innovation within the team, encouraging experimentation and the adoption of new approaches to solve complex risk challenges.