Manager, Pension Data Quality

University Pension Plan Ontario; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

University Pension Plan Ontario seeks a Manager, Pension Data Quality to lead data quality across Pension Services, ensuring accurate, complete data for member administration, reporting, and regulatory needs. The role involves governance, validation, issue resolution, and continuous improvement while collaborating with Technology, Data, and Employer Experience teams.

The position is hybrid in downtown Toronto, with about two days per week in-office.

Qualifications

• Experience in pension administration or data management.
• Experience in data validation, analysis, and reconciliation.
• Ability to lead data quality initiatives and teams.
• Familiarity with data governance and data stewardship practices.
• Strong communication with stakeholders across operations and IT.

Responsibilities

• Oversees day-to-day data quality activities and validation.
• Monitors data quality metrics, identifies issues, and supports remediation.
• Leads data quality issue resolution and root-cause analysis.
• Manages data quality control framework and governance documentation.
• Champions data ownership, definitions, and governance standards.
• Maintains logs, approvals, remediation records, and audit evidence.
• Establishes data issue governance with escalation and timelines.
• Improves validation, testing, and quality checks across processes.
• Develops metrics, scorecards, and governance reporting.
• Embeds data quality practices with cross-functional teams.
• Supports data mapping, validation, and testing for system changes.
• Leads continuous improvement to reduce defects and increase automation.
• Supports audit, compliance, and risk activities.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Root cause analysis

Leadership

Communication (verbal & written)

Data governance awareness

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

CEBS or PPAC asset

Job description

THE ROLE

Reporting to the Associate Director, Pension Data Operations & Governance, the Manager, Pension Data Quality is responsible for the execution, oversight, and continuous improvement of data quality practices across Pension Services.

This role plays a critical part in ensuring pension data is accurate, complete, and fit for use across member administration, reporting, and regulatory processes. The Manager oversees day-to-day data quality activities, including data validation, issue identification and resolution, and monitoring of data quality trends.

Working closely with Pension Services, Technology, Data, and Employer Experience teams, this role supports the integration of data quality standards into operational processes, contributes to data governance practices, and ensures data-related risks and issues are effectively managed through clear ownership, controls, escalation, and evidence-based reporting.

This role is based in downtown Toronto under a hybrid work policy, allowing employees the flexibility to work remotely and in-office (approximately two days per week in-office).

This posting is for an existing vacancy.

SPECIFIC ACCOUNTABILITIES

The Manager, Employer Data Quality will have responsibility for but not limited to the following:

• Oversees day-to-day data quality activities, including validation of employer-submitted data and internal data processing, ensuring alignment with plan provisions and operational requirements
• Monitors data quality metrics and trends, identifying issues, patterns, and root causes, and supporting remediation activities with operational teams
• Leads the identification, prioritization, and resolution of data quality issues, ensuring discrepancies are tracked, analyzed, resolved, and monitored through to root cause remediation to prevent recurrence
• Owns the Pension Services data quality control framework, including validation rules, monitoring controls, exception management processes, quality standards, and supporting documentation, ensuring alignment with enterprise data governance frameworks.
• Acts as a key Pension Services data steward, supporting the implementation of data ownership, data definitions, critical data element management, and enterprise data governance standards across core pension data domains
• Maintains documented data quality controls, control evidence, exception logs, approvals, remediation records, and closure criteria to support audit, compliance, operational risk, and governance reporting
• Establishes and manages data issue governance practices, including severity assessment, root cause analysis, escalation pathways, remediation ownership, target dates, and closure criteria for material data issues
• Oversees and continuously improves data validation, testing, and quality checks/controls across onboarding, cyclical processing, and ongoing pension administration activities to ensure data accuracy, completeness, consistency, and timeliness
• Develops, monitors, and reports on data quality metrics, scorecards, trends, risks, and remediation activities, providing actionable insights to governance forums and operational leaders
• Partners with Pension Services, Technology, and Data teams to embed data quality practices into processes, systems, and reporting
• Monitors the quality of employer and member source data, identifies systemic issues impacting pension administration, and partners with operational teams and employers to improve data quality at source
• Supports data mapping, validation, and testing activities related to data conversion and system enhancements, ensuring data quality requirements are met
• Leads continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen data quality controls, reduce recurring defects, improve operational efficiency, and increase automation of validation and monitoring processes
• Supports audit, compliance, and risk activities related to data quality, including quality assurance reviews and documentation
• Leads, coaches, and develops a team responsible for data quality monitoring, defect management, validation, controls, root cause analysis, and issue resolution, building capability and promoting a culture of data quality and accountability
• Accountable for achieving agreed-upon pension data quality targets and service levels, including the monitoring and reporting of data quality performance across key pension data domains
• Applies a risk-based approach to prioritize data quality issues based on potential impact to member outcomes, pension calculations, employer trust, operational efficiency, compliance, and reporting accuracy

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• The successful candidate will have a strong understanding of pension administration and data quality practices, with experience operating in a detail-oriented, high-volume environment.
• Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience, with strong experience in pension administration or data management
• Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) or Pension Plan Administration Certificate (PPAC) is considered an asset
• Minimum of 8+ years of progressive experience in defined benefit pension administration, data quality, or a related operational role
• Strong understanding of pension data, including data flows, validation requirements, and the impact of data quality on member outcomes
• Experience working with data validation, data analysis, and reconciliation processes
• Demonstrated experience identifying and resolving data issues in a structured and consistent manner
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and root cause analysis skills
• Experience working with pension administration systems and data tools
• Demonstrated leadership experience, including coaching and developing team members
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate data issues clearly to operational and technical stakeholders
• Ability to organize, prioritize, and manage multiple activities within established timelines
• Experience working within a data governance, data stewardship, or data control framework, including issue management, control documentation, and governance reporting
• Understanding of critical pension data elements, data lineage, data quality dimensions, and the impact of data defects on benefit administration, member outcomes, regulatory reporting, and operational risk

ATTRIBUTES

• Detail-oriented with a strong focus on accuracy and data integrity
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to identify trends and root causes
• Proactive problem solver with a continuous improvement mindset
• Collaborative and able to work effectively across operational and technical teams
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability
• Clear and effective communicator
• Self-motivated, flexible, and adaptable to changing priorities and new challenges
• Excellent judgment and clear and precise communication skills; written, verbal, listening and presentation, including a high degree of diplomacy and confidentiality with the ability to adapt communication style to the audience
• Proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships
• Governance-minded, with the discipline to document decisions, controls, evidence, risks, and remediation outcomes
• Risk-aware and able to exercise sound judgment when prioritizing data issues that may affect members, employers, compliance, or operational delivery