Manager, Policy Adherence and Effectiveness

Scotiabank•Toronto, ON

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Manager, Credit Risk Testing is a key contributor to the success of the Retail Credit Risk team within Global Risk Management. The role is responsible for conducting independent quality assurance over first line review activities to assess adherence to established policies, processes, exception authorities, and regulatory requirements and supporting independent challenge of Expert Credit Judgements (ECJs) applied to allowance of retail credit losses. The incumbent will assess the rationale, approval pathway, documentation, traceability, and defensibility of ECJs, with a focus on ensuring that adjustments are appropriately escalated, reviewed, challenged, and supported by sufficient evidence. The role will also identify recurring or structural ECJ themes that may warrant further management consideration, including potential incorporation into model frameworks or related governance processes. The incumbent will also conduct detailed quality assurance over first line credit file review activities within assigned retail and small business lending portfolios in Canada, covering the full credit lifecycle from origination and account management to collections, to identify control gaps, trends, and improvement opportunities.

Requirements

University degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Statistics, Risk Management, Accounting, or a related field.
Experience in financial services, with preferred exposure to credit risk, retail lending, provisions, allowance methodology, IFRS 9, model risk, governance, quality assurance, audit, or second line challenge functions.
Strong understanding of retail credit risk, expected credit loss concepts, provisioning processes, credit lifecycle dynamics, and risk governance practices.
Ability to critically assess management judgement, model limitations, overlay rationale, supporting evidence, and governance documentation.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify trends, structural drivers, emerging risks, and areas requiring further review.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to summarize complex analysis and governance considerations clearly for senior management audiences.
Strong stakeholder management skills, including the ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams while maintaining independent challenge and objectivity.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint; familiarity with reporting, analytics, or data visualization tools would be an asset.
High attention to detail, sound judgement, discretion, and ability to manage confidential information appropriately.

Nice To Haves

familiarity with reporting, analytics, or data visualization tools

Responsibilities

Conduct independent review and challenge of Expert Credit Judgements applied to allowance of retail credit losses, including adjustments related to data, forward-looking information, models, operations, and portfolio performance.
Prepare clear and concise review findings, observations, and management-ready summaries for discussion with internal stakeholders and senior management.
Support follow-up on observations and management actions to confirm that identified themes are being assessed, addressed, or appropriately tracked through governance channels.
Maintain effective working relationships with Canada Provisions, Enterprise Stress Testing, Model Validation, Retail Credit Risk, and other stakeholders involved in the ECJ and expected credit loss governance process.
Conduct quality assurance over first line review activities to assess compliance with internal policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements.
Evaluate, as part of first line of defense review activities, the consistency of credit decisions and loan conditions against established risk tolerances.
Utilize internal documentation, including SOPs, policy manuals, job aids, and systems, to support quality assurance over first line review activities.
Assess exception-based decisions within first line of defense review activities for adherence to delegated authorities and quality of adjudication.
Identify negative trends arising from first line of defense review activities, ensuring observations are supported by sufficient evidence.
Support presentation of the findings related to first line of defense review activities to the first line.
Participate in subsequent assessments to validate the effectiveness of corrective actions related to first line of defense review activities.
Maintain strong relationships with the 1st Line and areas involved in the Credit end to end process of the portfolios reviewed and contribute to effective communication and governance practices related to first line of defense review activities.