Director & Portfolio Manager, On Strategy Portfolio - Toronto

Scotiabank • Toronto, ON

2d • Onsite

About The Position

Oversees the On Strategy Portfolio Management team, ensuring business strategies, plans and initiatives are executed in compliance with governing regulations, internal policies, procedures and best practices. Leads portfolio rebalancing, model maintenance, order generation and cash management across the business. Builds and sustains the team as a centre of excellence for in-field Wealth Managers and their teams, with a focus on high client satisfaction. Applies deep expertise and sound judgment to improve processes, technology, risk management and organizational effectiveness. Works closely with operations and technology teams to implement regulatory and platform changes, applying an operational lens to direct and embed changes across the team given the scale of portfolios under management. The On Strategy programs represent a significant volume of accounts and billions of dollars in assets which demand exceptional expertise, sound judgment, and strong leadership to mitigate financial and reputational risks. The position plays a critical role in safeguarding client portfolios while driving operational excellence.

Requirements

• University Degree (Business, Economics, Accounting, Finance)
• 5+ years managing team of professionals and direct expertise in discretionary investment management
• Demonstrated leadership experience in managing operational and technology changes for portfolio management, especially investment book of record and performance management
• Investment and operational risk management experience
• CIM or CFA designation
• Detailed knowledge of portfolio management and accounting platforms, especially Charles River, Broadridge, and others

Responsibilities

• Lead an effective, professional team to provide centralized portfolio execution services and ensure a high level of client satisfaction, internally and externally, by ensuring timely and accurate execution of portfolio rebalancing and order generation to meet cash management needs, monitoring model strategies and tactical changes to assess portfolio implications, execution impacts and required adjustments, developing and maintaining internal relationships across Scotiabank to leverage expertise and enhance services and products offered to Global Wealth Management, reviewing processes and ensuring effective controls are in place to minimize errors, and ensuring compliance with all regulatory requirements, firm policies, and accuracy of trading activities.
• Deliver effective process oversight and risk management by overseeing asset mix and model changes across portfolio programs, managing variance limits across all portfolios, leading process and technology initiatives that improve efficiency and strengthen portfolio management controls, working with compliance to ensure evolving regulatory requirements are met or deficiencies addressed, maintaining expert knowledge of portfolio management and trading systems to perform special analyses and queries in support of more complex trading activities, and driving continuous improvement by developing new processes and redesigning existing ones to enhance the delivery of investment solutions.
• Serve as a Centre of Investment Expertise for Wealth Managers and their teams by consulting regularly with manufacturing and research teams to ensure investment solutions meet client needs, acting as a subject matter expert on central investment operations and technology needs across the business, monitoring capital market conditions that may affect client portfolios, providing ongoing support to the field on investment performance questions and related concerns, and overseeing regular communication of investment decisions and supporting rationale.
• Develop, execute and maintain the operational and technology strategy by identifying technology gaps and evolving platform needs to support current priorities and future business requirements, engaging partners in Wealth Management and various support groups to ensure resources are maximized to deliver on strategic imperatives, proactively seeking opportunities for growth and cost reduction, exploring operational efficiencies in the business and engaging multiple support areas to carry out changes related to the business strategy, and directing workflow design, process change and technology initiatives to improve efficiency and enhance service across platforms.
• Provide strong team leadership to motivate and develop individual and team performance by fostering a strong, positive team environment that encourages empowerment, innovation and engagement, ensuring direct reports have annual objectives aligned with business plans, coaching direct reports and holding them accountable for applying the same approach with their teams, as applicable, holding regular one-on-one coaching sessions with direct reports to recognize success, address obstacles and set priorities, addressing underperformance among direct reports, identifying and supporting training and development needs across the team, coaching and managing direct reports to ensure effective performance management practices are in place, sharing knowledge, experience and accountability with direct reports to uphold high standards of professionalism, service and execution, driving internal communication so direct and indirect reports remain informed of key projects, initiatives, corporate goals and business strategies, demonstrating strong listening, negotiation and communication skills, and building a high-performance environment and implementing a people strategy that attracts, retains, develops and motivates the team through inclusive leadership, a coaching mindset, clear communication of vision and values, and effective succession and development planning.
• Understand how the Bank’s risk appetite and risk culture should be considered in day-to-day activities and decisions by creating an environment in which the team pursues effective and efficient operations of their respective areas in accordance with Scotiabank’s Values, its Code of Conduct and the Global Sales Principles, while ensuring the adequacy, adherence to and effectiveness of day-to-day business controls to meet obligations related to operational, compliance, AML/ATF/sanctions and conduct risk.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director