Director, Country Risk Management

Scotiabank; Toronto; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial institution is seeking a Director of Country Risk Management in Toronto. This role involves overseeing cross-border risk exposures, providing strategic risk analyses, and contributing to improvements in methodologies. The ideal candidate will have a graduate degree in a related field and extensive experience in risk management practices. Strong negotiation skills and fluency in Spanish are advantageous. Join a collaborative environment where your contributions make a significant impact on business strategy.

Benefits

Inclusive and collaborative working environment

Opportunity to work with diverse leaders

Significant impact on risk strategy

Contribute to enhancing methodologies

Qualifications

• Graduate degree in Finance, Economics, Business or related field.
• Strong background in risk management practices.
• Excellent written and presentation skills.
• Proven negotiating and strategic influencing skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage country ratings and provide sound risk research.
• Adjudicate requests as designated 'Credit Officer'.
• Develop analytical standards for risk rating practices.
• Lead changes in cross-border limits.
• Provide oversight and feedback on country risk identification.
• Champion reporting and analytics-related special projects.

Skills

Risk management practices

Economics

Political science

Negotiating

Fluency in Spanish

Education

Graduate degree in Finance, Economics, Business or related field

Job description

Director, Country Risk Management

Location: Canada – Ontario – Toronto

As Director, Country Risk Management, you have a key role in Business Banking by supporting risk teams and business strategy, ensuring alignment to Scotiabank’s Risk Appetite and policies framework. You will be responsible for contributing to the sound asset growth and profits of the Bank by ensuring that the Country Risk Management team oversees the Bank's cross‑border risk exposure and continually develops the Bank's Country Risk methodology. The Director will partner with business stakeholders and be perceived as a trusted advisor.

Responsibilities

• Manage Country Ratings
  Exhibit a high degree of knowledge, providing sound and timely country risk research and rating opinions to Senior Management, Banking and other GRM areas, by monitoring economic, socio‑political, and environmental events around the world that may impact the Bank’s exposure to countries or regions.
• Adjudicate on requests for limits and ratings within assigned limit as a designated “Credit Officer” under the Lending Authorities for sovereign counterparties in the Pacific Alliance and Caribbean, Central America and Uruguay (CCAU) countries.
• Contribute to the development of sound analytical standards and the ongoing improvement of the Bank’s risk rating methodologies, by researching and employing the latest best practices in country risk analysis and management.
• Provide Oversight of Cross Border Limits
  Adjudicate within assigned limits and lead the team in coordinating requests for changes in cross‑border limits with all key stakeholders to ensure a fair and balanced view between business needs and risk protection.
• Coordinate with Banking and other departments for the preparation of strategy papers with respect to management of cross‑border risk portfolios.
• Contribute to ongoing development of cross‑border methodologies, guidelines, processes and systems to improve limit reporting accuracy and timeliness.
• Provide Development of Internal Country Risk Discipline
  Ensure Banking and other GRM areas receive appropriate feedback on country risk identification and risk impact on portfolios.
• Provide country risk research and opinions to Banking to support sovereign credit proposals and cross‑border credit proposals when requested, ensuring consistency of the Bank’s country risk IG.
• Act as an industry champion for managing country risk exposure as required.
• Champion Reporting, Special Projects, and Credit Risk Initiatives
  Undertake special projects within the group and with other areas, liaising on analytics‑related projects related to country risk & portfolio management.
• Influence business strategies where risks are high, helping to develop mitigating strategies.
• Build a High‑Performance Risk Culture
  Lead and drive a customer‑focused culture, deepen client relationships, and foster an inclusive work environment while managing succession and development planning for the team.

Qualifications

• Graduate degree in Finance, Economics, Business or field.
• Knowledge of risk management practices, and ability to challenge current practices and undergo efforts for improvement.
• Strong background in economics and political science, with excellent written and presentation skills complemented by deductive reasoning, sound judgement, and creativity.
• Strong negotiating, networking, strategic influencing, and diplomacy skills, with experience making decisions within limited timeframes that affect broad portfolios.
• Fluency in Spanish is an asset.

Benefits

• An inclusive and collaborative working environment that encourages creativity and curiosity.
• Work closely with and learn from diverse leaders from different geographies.
• Opportunity to make a significant impact by supporting risk teams and business strategy.
• Ability to contribute to the ongoing enhancement of the Bank’s cross‑border exposure methodologies and processes.

At Scotiabank, we value the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the Bank, and we are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. If you require accommodation (including, but not limited to, an accessible interview site, alternate format documents, ASL Interpreter, or Assistive Technology) during the recruitment and selection process, please let our Recruitment team know.