Director Back Office Development

Empire Life; Canada; On-site; CAD 210,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salaries with annual pay‑t

Annual bonus program

Comprehensive benefits from day one

Flexible work arrangements

Four weeks annual vacation

Defined contribution pension plan

Top up for parental and compassionate…

Wellness and recognition programs

Employee referral program

Job summary

Empire Life is seeking a Director of Back Office Development to lead our IT Development team and drive strategic initiatives for enterprise back-office systems. This role reports to the VP, Back Office Development and requires strong leadership across cross-functional teams.

The position focuses on defining technical roadmaps, aligning with business objectives, and developing team capabilities while ensuring delivery and operational excellence. Competitive total rewards are offered.

Qualifications

• Requires university-level computing education or equivalent experience.
• 15+ years of experience in managing development teams and delivering enterprise-grade systems.
• Strong understanding of event-driven architecture, microservices, APIs and related technologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic development and management of enterprise back-office systems.
• Collaborate with architecture and product teams to define roadmaps and future-state architecture.
• Coach and mentor team members, manage budgets, and ensure delivery of high-quality solutions.
• Drive KPI development, performance, security, and process improvements across Back Office teams.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Team management

Budgeting

Mentorship

Stakeholder communication

Education

University education in Computing or equivalent

Tools

Event-Driven Development

Microservices/APIs

Kafka

IAM services

Job description

Empire Life is looking to hire a Director Back Office Development to join our IT Development team! We are actively seeking candidates to fill a current, open position.

The maximum of the total target compensation (TTC) range for this role exceeds $200,000, making it exempt from Ontario's requirement to post a compensation range.

Reporting directly to the VP, Back Office Development, the primary responsibility of the incumbent is to lead the strategic development and management of the company's enterprise back office technology systems, in line with, and in support of, the broader business strategies and objectives. The incumbent will work closely with business partners, architecture and other teams to ensure we achieve our corporate objectives. They will assist the team in adopting shared methodologies, making commitments and will develop team training programs. The incumbent will also be accountable for the technical feasibility of the solutions provided by the teams, as well as integration across domains. The Director, Development, Back Office also contributes to the Enterprise Architecture practice in a support and advisory role, and liaises closely with IT leadership and peers to assist with strategic planning and integration.

Why pursue this opportunity

• Our mission - Provide expertise and intelligent solutions to help Canadians navigate life with confidence.
• Assume a pivotal leadership position - harness your expertise to deliver impactful results, shaping and leading your area with experienced foresight.
• Influence and innovate at the highest level - we welcome leaders who bring a dynamic blend of fresh perspectives and leading practices to steer our strategic course.

What you'll be working on

• Strategic Leadership
• Identify, recruit and develop fully functional Back Office WorkTeams
• Manage an evolving organization structure, identify key skills, promote a strong and positive culture and forecast future skills, in line with core strategic company planning
• Work with Enterprise Architecture to define a technical roadmap and options on how to evolve the current architecture and systems deployment towards the Future State Architecture (FSA)
• Work with Product Owners to schedule technical improvements that will evolve the current architecture towards the FSA
• Identify/socialize KPIs and metrics to monitor, assess and improve team performance, efficiency and security
• Work closely with the Process Improvement group to help evolve development standards
• Maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders to ensure the team has a key understanding of the company objectives.
• Stay up to date on industry news. Be knowledgeable about developments from our company, our competitors, and our largest customers, including financial performance, market share, product roadmap, and overall business strategy.
• Core Activities
• Manage teams and delivery - be prompt and proactive in helping remove impediments that are detrimental to the back office WorkTeams' ability to be effective
• Support development teams in the resolution of technical difficulties and/or help identify issues the team team may overlook during feature development (i.e scalability, performance, security)
• Stay abreast of developments in the tools and technologies that Teams are using. Solicit input from Teams and other stakeholders on tools and technologies that could be useful. Spend time getting hands-on familiarity with these tools and technologies.
• Perform financial planning and budgeting for Teams, including anticipating future people requirements, skills development and training needs, tools and technologies required, hardware, travel, and any other resources that people will require.
• Coordinate & manage information across Back Office Team(s)
• Coaching & Mentoring
• Provide mentorship, career development advice and guidance to Team-members. This mentorship should include both technical mentorship, as well as soft-skills and other aspects of being effective and successful in a development organization.
• Plan and manage skills development and training for Team-members. Think carefully about areas where their skills need greatest development, or where the most opportunity for improvement exists; work with the person to identify appropriate training; and obtain budget and time allowance to complete it.
• Provide performance feedback and complete performance evaluations for Team-members. Informal performance feedback should be provided on a frequent basis, and should include feedback from fellow Team-members. Feedback should be focused on recognition for achievement, and opportunities for growth.

What we're looking for you to have

• University education in Computing or equivalent educational and professional experience.
• 7-10+ years of experience in managing development teams
• Comprehensive understanding of Event Driven Development, Bounded Context, Agile Software Development and microservices/APIs, streaming technologies (Kafka, etc.)
• Strong communication skills, ability to influence and lead. Proven ability to build strong relationships with Senior Leadership, IT staff and peers. Collaborates with business stakeholders and Vendors to evolve and facilitate IAM services and processes.
• Highly motivated and able to work effectively under minimal supervision. Demonstrates strong organization skills and time management. Ability to manage multiple tasks / projects while ensuring deadlines are met.Must be process driven, detail oriented and organized in both thought and practice. Strong analytical and problem solving skills.
• Demonstrated leadership and mentorship skills. Ability to lead technical resources both within the company and at third party vendors.
• Extended Availability: Requirement for occasional overtime or after-hours support as dictated by business needs.
• If you are applying for a position which is open to applicants across Canada, unless otherwise indicated in the position, language proficiency in English is required for communicating with customers, advisors, or employees across Canada.

Our hiring process includes AI screening for keywords and minimum qualifications. Recruiters review all results.

Beyond the salary

For permanent full-time positions, Empire Life offers a comprehensive total rewards package that includes:

• Competitive salaries with annual pay increases
• Annual bonus program, which recognizes both strong company performance and individual contributions, for non sales positions
• A comprehensive employer-funded benefits package starting from day one of employment, that includes life insurance, disability, health and dental and a generous health account
• Flexible work arrangements and an annual allotment of personal health days.
• Four weeks annual vacation from hire date
• A defined contribution pension plan with generous employer matching
• Top up programs for parental leave and compassionate leave
• Employer-sponsored wellness and recognition programs
• A cash employee referral program

To learn more about working at Empire Life, visit https://www.empire.ca/workatempire.

Get to know us

Empire life is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity, are committed to creating an inclusive environment, and welcome everyone to participate in our application process. We encourage those of all backgrounds and experiences to apply, even if you don't believe you meet each unique qualification outlined. Applicants will receive equal consideration without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or age.

Empire Life welcomes applications from people with disabilities and disabled people. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the screening and selection process. If you need this job posting in an alternative format or have any accessibility questions, please contact [e-mail].