Principal, Strategic Initiatives Jobs

Join a Challenger

Being a traditional bank just isn’t our thing. We are big believers in innovating the banking experience because we believe Canadians deserve better options, and we challenge ourselves and our teams to creatively transform what’s possible in banking. Our team is made up of inquisitive and agile minds that find smarter ways of doing things. If you’re not afraid of taking on big challenges and redefining the future, you belong with us. You’ll get to work with people who will encourage you to reach new heights. We like to keep things fun, ask questions and learn together.

We are a big (and growing!) family. Overall we serve more than 370,000 people across Canada through Equitable Bank, Canada's Challenger Bank™, and have been around for more than 50 years. Equitable Bank's wholly-owned subsidiary, Concentra Bank, supports credit unions across Canada that serve more than 5 million members. Together we have over $100 billion in combined assets under management and administration, with a clear mandate to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people's lives. Our EQ Bank platform (eqbank.ca) has been named the top Schedule I Bank in Canada on the Forbes World's Best Banks 2023, 2022, and 2021 lists.

The Work

As the right-hand partner to the Group Head and SVP Personal Banking, the Principal, Strategic Initiatives is a pivotal role with accountability for engaging and collaborating with senior leadership to lead and support strategic business initiatives from concept to execution.

The candidate will have in depth experience preparing executive and board level presentation materials, providing analysis, and reporting on business and operational performance, applying a data driven and analytical approach.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate exceptional leadership and communication skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate cross-functional teams and communicate clearly to leadership and the board. The role is well suited to a leader with a track record of driving successful business outcomes, ability to adapt to a fast-paced and dynamic environment, while managing ambiguity and complexity.

Core parts of the role would be to:

• Lead, assist with and communicate in decision-making, strategic initiatives from initial concept to implementation.
• Serve as a subject matter expert, handling inquiries and developing action plans to address them, and assisting with the preparation and dissemination of communications on behalf of the Group Head and Leadership team
• Not limited to the above; this role has the responsibility to make sure that all strategic, operational, administrative and financial aspects are running smoothly therefore ad hoc duties may be included and the ability to be flexible is critical to the role.
• Build and develop relationships with key internal and external stakeholders for increased efficiency and effective responsiveness into existing operations, and help to define new operational strategies, working with senior leadership on special projects and initiatives.
• Improve current processes and coordinate organizational procedures for optimized efficiency and productivity.
• Oversee strategic business initiatives from development through successful execution in partnership with senior leadership
• Excellent people and stakeholder management skills; able to provide and receive honest and constructive feedback, and facilitate collaboration to achieve common goals
• Oversee daily operations through collaboration with senior leadership, performing an array of leadership and administrative tasks.
• Note: This role is a ‘tour of duty’ position for a period of 18-24 months whereby the candidate hired will have an opportunity to move to a new role within the company and have exposure to other areas of the bank
• Serve as leader and liaison between various stakeholders regarding strategy, problem solving, project updates, proposals, and planning.

Let’s talk about you!

• An entrepreneurial spirit and a proven track record of experience in banking, consulting, and fintech
• Highly tech savvy
• A capacity for creative thinking to solve ambiguous problems
• A proven ability to work seamlessly across cross-functional teams.
• A strong academic record with an MBA or comparable graduate degree
• Openness to new and innovative ideas and ability to pivot
• 10+ years of professional experience demonstrating both strategic and operational success.
• A nimble and flexible work style, with an ability to pivot quickly from one project to another.
• Comfort with building relationships across all the different stakeholders needed to drive that growth
• Exceptional intellectual horsepower, including strong critical thinking skills and analytical abilities
• A strong commitment to the overall Equitable Bank Strategy.
• Experience developing and managing relationships at the executive and senior levels
• A self starter with a strong work ethic who will thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Superior written and verbal communications skills.

What we offer [For full-time permanent roles]

💰 Competitive discretionary bonus

✨ Market leading RRSP match program

🩺 Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability benefits

📝 Employee Share Purchase Plan

👶🏽 Maternity/Parental top-up while you care for your little one

🏝 Generous vacation policy, personal days and even a moving day

🖥 Virtual events to connect with your fellow colleagues

🎓 Annual professional development allowance and a comprehensive Career Development program

💛 A fulfilling opportunity to join one of the top FinTechs and help create a new kind of banking experience

The incumbent will be working hybrid and in office time will be spent working from Equitable Bank’s additional office space located at 351 King Street East, Toronto, ON.

Equitable Bank is deeply committed to inclusion. Our organization is stronger and our employees thrive when we honour and celebrate everyone’s diverse experiences and perspectives. In tandem with that commitment, we support and encourage our staff to grow not just in their career path, but personally as well.

We commit to providing a barrier-free recruitment process and work environment for all applicants. Please let us know of any accommodations needed so that you can bring your best self to the application process and beyond. All candidates considered for hire must successfully pass a criminal background check and credit check to qualify for hire. While we appreciate your interest in applying, an Equitable recruiter will only contact leading candidates whose skills and qualifications closely match the requirements of the position.

We can’t wait to get to know you!