Vice President, Enterprise Risk

Vice President, Enterprise Risk

"We exist to unite working people to build a just world"

This role directly manages or performs the function of Chief Anti Money Laundering Compliance Officer and Privacy Officer; The role supports strategic and operational decision-making by providing risk advice, credible challenges and practical recommendations. The Vice President monitors emerging risks and regulatory developments, supports enterprise stress testing and resilience planning, and helps ensure that risk appetite considerations are reflected in business planning, key initiatives and governance reporting. The role is accountable for ERM, AML, regulatory risk oversight, Board reporting and risk culture, while contributing to strategic planning and emerging risk monitoring in a scaled, practical manner.

• Lead the maintenance and continuous improvement of the ERM framework, including risk taxonomy, risk assessment methodology, risk appetite alignment, escalation protocols, reporting standards and governance practices.
  
• Oversee enterprise-level risk identification, assessment, monitoring and mitigation activities, ensuring risk information is clear, timely and useful for management and Board decision-making.
  
• Provide independent review and constructive challenge on material initiatives, operational changes, new products or services, process changes and significant third-party arrangements.
  
• Coordinate enterprise risk reporting for the Board, Board Committees and Executive Leadership Team, including material risk exposures, key risk indicators, risk appetite performance, emerging issues and mitigation progress.
  
• Ensure risk policies, standards and procedures are current, practical, appropriately approved and understood by risk owners across the organization.
  
• Act as a liaison for Credit Union regarding processes and procedures for branches and organizational controls, compliance and privacy
  

Second-Line Oversight and Risk Advisory

• Provide objective second-line oversight while respecting first-line ownership of day-to-day risk management.
  
• Partner with business leaders to build practical controls, clarify accountability and support informed risk-based decision-making.
  
• Monitor the effectiveness of risk management practices across key functions and escalate concerns, gaps or trends as appropriate.
  
• Advise on operational, compliance, technology, cyber, outsourcing, fraud prevention, business continuity, data governance and member-impact risks.
  
• Promote consistent risk assessment and issue management practices, including root-cause analysis and sustainable remediation planning.
  

• Lead the AML function and ensure the program has appropriate governance, monitoring, training, reporting, investigation, escalation and record-keeping practices.
  
• Oversee financial crime risk considerations, including suspicious activity escalation, sanctions-related considerations, fraud risk trends and higher-risk member or transaction typologies.
  
• Ensure AML-related roles, responsibilities and oversight mechanisms are clearly understood by accountable leaders and operational teams.
  
• Provide timely reporting to Executive and Board-level stakeholders on AML risk, program effectiveness, issues, trends and remediation activity.
  
• Support readiness for independent reviews, audits, examinations and regulatory inquiries related to AML and financial crime risk.
  

• Maintain the Enterprise Risk Appetite Framework and recommend practical refinements to support alignment with strategic objectives, capital capacity, operational capabilities and regulatory expectations.
  
• Develop and maintain key risk indicators, risk dashboards and reporting tools that support effective monitoring of material risk exposures.
  
• Monitor performance against established risk appetite measures and report significant deviations to Executive Leadership and the Board.
  
• Use trend analysis and available data to identify risk themes, emerging issues and areas requiring management attention.
  
• Ensure reporting is balanced, concise and actionable, with clear ownership of mitigation actions and follow-up items.
  

Scaled Emerging Risk and Strategic Input

• Monitor emerging risks, regulatory developments, industry trends, technology changes and competitive factors that may affect the Credit Union’s operations, strategy or risk profile.
  
• Provide periodic emerging risk updates to Executive Leadership and the Board as part of regular ERM reporting.
  
• Provide risk input and independent challenge to support strategic planning, business cases, transformation initiatives and material organizational decisions.
  
• Review material products, services, partnerships and operational changes for alignment with risk appetite and control expectations.
  
• Support management in identifying practical mitigation strategies for emerging or changing risk exposures.
  

• Support enterprise stress testing, ICAAP activities and business continuity planning to assess organizational preparedness under adverse conditions.
  
• Collaborate with Finance, Operations, Technology and business leaders to assess potential impacts on capital, liquidity, operations, member service and strategic priorities.
  
• Ensure stress testing and scenario discussions are practical, proportionate and linked to business continuity, operational resilience and risk appetite considerations.
  
• Support the follow-up of action items arising from stress testing, incident reviews, business continuity exercises or risk assessments.
  
• Provide input into resilience planning without assuming ownership for all enterprise strategy, capital allocation or business model decisions.
  

• Prepare and present clear, balanced and decision-useful risk reporting for the Board, Committees and Executive Leadership Team.
  
• Bring forward significant control gaps, material incidents, regulatory developments, AML matters, emerging risks and proposed mitigation strategies in a timely manner.
  
• Support effective governance through clear documentation, transparent escalation, practical recommendations and follow-up on approved actions.
  
• Contribute to Board and Executive education on ERM, AML, risk appetite, regulatory expectations and risk culture.
  

People Leadership and Risk Culture

• Lead, coach and develop employees within the Enterprise Risk, AML and related oversight functions, creating clarity of priorities, expectations and accountabilities.
  
• Champion a risk-aware culture that supports member trust, employee accountability, operational resilience and ethical decision-making.
  
• Build strong relationships across the organization while maintaining appropriate independence and professional objectivity.
  
• Encourage respectful challenge, timely escalation, continuous learning and practical problem-solving.
  
• Support risk education and awareness through tools, templates, communication and cross-functional engagement.
  

Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to simplify, strengthen and integrate risk management practices without creating unnecessary administrative burden.
  
• Oversee risk-related issue tracking, action planning, follow-up and closure validation.
  
• Support the development of practical tools, templates and reporting practices that improve consistency, accountability and transparency.
  
• Coordinate with internal audit, compliance, operations and other functions to avoid duplication and support effective control oversight.
  
• Maintain confidentiality and sound documentation practices for sensitive risk, AML, regulatory and governance matters.
  

Security Safety

• Maintains awareness of criminal trends and provides strategies and recommendations to mitigate risk to the credit union
  
• Maintains awareness of threats to IT infrastructure
  
• Responds to robbery situations
  
• Attends court proceedings and acts as an expert witness for procedures
  

Privacy Officer

• Oversees and acts as back up the Privacy Officer with respect to Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and its regulations
  
• Responsible for the ongoing development and application of compliance policies and procedures ensuring they meet the requirements of the legislation; ensuring the credit union follows the policies of Central1 and PIPA
  

Working Conditions

• Work is primarily performed in an office or hybrid work environment, depending on operational requirements and organizational policy.
  
• The role may require attendance at Board, Committee, Executive or regulatory meetings outside regular business hours.
  
• The position handles sensitive, confidential and privileged information and requires a high degree of discretion.
  
• Periods of increased workload may occur during audits, regulatory reviews, incidents, strategic planning cycles, stress testing, reporting deadlines or significant organizational change.
  

• Strong knowledge of enterprise risk management frameworks, risk appetite structures, risk assessment methodologies, risk reporting and governance practices.
  
• Demonstrated understanding of Canadian credit union, financial institution or regulated financial services risk environments.
  
• Knowledge of AML/ATF program governance, financial crime risk management, monitoring, escalation, reporting and independent review expectations.
  
• Ability to interpret regulatory expectations and translate them into practical organizational policies, controls and reporting practices.
  
• Experience with Board and Executive reporting, including the ability to communicate complex risk matters clearly and succinctly.
  
• Ability to assess operational, compliance, technology, cyber, third-party, strategic, business continuity and reputational risks in a practical business context.
  
• Working knowledge of ICAAP, stress testing, key risk indicators, risk dashboards and risk appetite monitoring.
  
• Strong policy writing, issue management, root-cause analysis, control assessment, remediation tracking and governance documentation skills.
  
• Comfort using data, trend analysis and reporting tools to support senior-level decision-making.
  
• Awareness of emerging technology, cyber security, digital transformation and innovation-related risks.
  

• Strategic and practical thinker with the ability to connect risk themes to organizational priorities, member trust and long-term sustainability.
  
• Exercises sound judgment, discretion and independence while maintaining collaborative and constructive relationships.
  
• Confident communicator who can provide respectful challenge, influence senior leaders and present clearly to governance bodies.
  
• Demonstrates integrity, accountability, professionalism and high standards of confidentiality.
  
• Practical and solution-focused; able to balance risk discipline with operational realities and organizational capacity.
  
• Calm and effective under pressure, particularly when responding to incidents, escalations, regulatory matters or time-sensitive issues.
  
• Inclusive people leader who develops talent, supports clarity and fosters a safe environment for escalation and learning.
  
• Demonstrates curiosity and awareness of emerging issues without over-engineering risk processes for the size and complexity of the organization.
  
• Adaptable and continuous-improvement oriented, with a strong commitment to member service and the Credit Union’s purpose.
  

• University degree in business, finance, accounting, economics, law, public administration, risk management or a related discipline; equivalent combinations of education and senior-level experience may be considered.
  
• Significant progressive leadership experience in enterprise risk, compliance, AML, audit, governance or a related oversight function within a regulated financial services environment.
  
• Experience leading or providing senior oversight of AML, financial crime, compliance or regulatory risk programs is strongly preferred.
  
• Experience preparing and presenting reports to executive teams, Board committees or Boards of Directors.
  
• Experience leading teams, building frameworks, developing policies and implementing governance, oversight or reporting processes.
  
• Experience with ICAAP, stress testing, risk appetite reporting, business continuity or operational resilience is an asset.
  
• Professional designation or specialized training related to risk, compliance, audit, AML, governance or financial services is considered an asset, such as CRM, FRM, CAMS, CIA, CPA, ICD.D or equivalent.