Senior Analyst Finance & Planning

The Canada Life Assurance Company • Toronto, ON

11d • CA$59,800 - CA$99,700 • Hybrid

About The Position

Reporting to the Manager, Strategic Expense Management, the Senior Analyst, Finance & Planning plays a critical role in executing and continuously improving enterprise governance, financial planning, and reporting processes across strategic initiatives and portfolios. This role combines strong financial and analytical capabilities with process ownership and stakeholder engagement. The Senior Analyst acts as a trusted partner, ensuring governance rigor, delivering high-quality reporting, and enabling effective decision-making through clear insights and disciplined execution.

Requirements

• 5-8+ years of experience in financial planning & analysis, strategic finance, or portfolio/reporting roles
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships, manage expectations, and drive alignment without direct authority
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality work under tight timelines in a fast-paced environment
• Solid understanding of governance frameworks, financial planning processes, and reporting cycles, with a focus on accuracy, discipline, and quality control
• Advanced proficiency in Excel (pivot tables, Power Pivot, Power Query, advanced lookups) and experience using Power BI or similar tools for reporting and visualization
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to synthesize complex data into clear insights and actionable recommendations
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to clearly articulate expectations, gain buy-in, and deliver messages effectively to senior audiences
• High degree of ownership and accountability, with a continuous improvement mindset and attention to detail

Nice To Haves

• Operates with a strong sense of ownership, delivering high-quality outputs with accuracy, discipline, and reliability
• Builds trust quickly and collaborates effectively, influencing stakeholders and driving alignment across teams
• Brings structure to complexity, balancing multiple priorities while maintaining focus on deadlines and outcomes
• Communicates clearly and confidently, simplifying complex information and managing expectations effectively
• Applies a continuous improvement mindset, proactively identifying opportunities to enhance processes and efficiency

Responsibilities

• Own and execute key components of Strategic Initiative & Portfolio Governance and gating processes, ensuring consistency and adherence to defined standards
• Partner with Business Units and Technology stakeholders to guide them through governance requirements, providing clarity on expectations, timelines, and outcomes
• Support governance forums and decision-making processes by preparing materials, tracking actions, and ensuring follow-through on approvals and outcomes
• Build strong, trust-based relationships with stakeholders and effectively manage expectations across competing priorities
• Provide guidance and education on governance practices, enabling stakeholders to successfully navigate initiative planning and approvals
• Deliver end-to-end monthly portfolio reporting, including data extraction, consolidation, analysis, and executive-level summarization
• Analyze spend, forecasts, and initiative pipelines to identify trends, risks, and opportunities, and translate insights into actionable recommendations
• Produce regular reporting for senior leadership (e.g., OCC, quarterly reviews), ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and clarity
• Leverage tools such as Excel and Power BI to enhance reporting, generate insights, and support ad hoc financial analysis requests from business and finance leadership
• Take ownership of core processes, ensuring effective execution, quality control, and ongoing refinement
• Identify inefficiencies and opportunities to streamline workflows, reduce manual effort, and improve data quality
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across governance and reporting processes
• Contribute to the development of tools, templates, and documentation to standardize and scale best practices

Benefits

• Career Development: Opportunities for career advancement, access to industry-leading learning programs and up to $2,000 annually towards education reimbursement.
• Health & Wellness: Flexible health and dental benefits, plus a $5,000 mental health benefit to support your well-being.
• Time Off: In addition to regular vacation and personal days, we support community involvement with a volunteer day.
• Financial Security: Company-matching pension plan, share ownership program and additional investment options.
• Rewards and Recognition: Employee recognition programs, service milestone celebrations, employee discounts and more!
• Emphasis on Community: We provide a workplace where employees feel connected and supported through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), mentorship programs, social clubs and events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed