Title:  Director, Model Validation

Requisition ID: 240118

Join a purpose driven winning team, committed to results, in an inclusive and high-performing culture.

The Model Validation & Approval area within Global Model Risk Management area provides independent and consistent model validation and approval across various risk types, including credit risk, market risk, operational risk, capital models and other key risk/financial models. This position is for the Director role that oversees validation of credit risk assessment, including credit risk scorecards and strategies, and non-retail business lines (as applicable). 

Is this role right for you? In this role, you will:

• Lead the validation of credit risk decisioning models, ensuring robust and independent assessments that provide effective challenge to model development teams and stakeholders, thereby enhancing model reliability and compliance with regulatory standards
• Manage a portfolio of new and existing models used for non-retail and retail credit risk assessment, retail credit strategies along with model modifications, subject to validation, approval and ongoing review.
• Liaise with model owners and stakeholders in Canada, C&CA to ensure models are validated on a timely basis and policy requirements are met.
• Accountable for approval recommendations and related supporting work for models under the incumbent's management.
• Prepare the annual validation pipeline, organize, and distribute the workload and lead a team of validation staff to execute work plan.
• Lead development of validation plan and new validation methodologies; provide ongoing guidance to validation team.
• Conduct the annual risk rating update on models under his/her purview.
• Manage and maintain relationship with model sponsor/owner counterparts.
• Ensure compliance with internal policies, procedures and regulatory requirements, where applicable.
• Manage timely resolution of audit and regulatory issues.
• Lead and/or support regulatory requests and reviews as well as large-scale projects.
• Collaborate with other director areas; promote exchange of validation expertise across the various work streams; actively support the integration initiatives with respect to people, process and policies across the various work streams.
• Participate in industry forums; maintain relationships with counterparts at other financial institutions to keep abreast of industry and regulatory developments and evolving expectations; provide ongoing peer benchmarking.
• Provide training to the GBS Colombia validation team and manage the validation activities performed by this team in regard to the models under his/her purview.

Do you have the skills that will enable you to succeed in this role? - We'd love to work with you if you have:

• Education, preferably at a Masters or PhD level, that provides exposure to quantitative/statistical methods.
• 7+ years of experience in credit risk modelling at a major financial institution.
• 7+ years of experience in addressing regulatory issues and developments related to credit risk modelling.
• 3+ years of people management experience.
• Possess a sound understanding of non-retail and retail lending businesses conducted by the Bank.
• Have a solid knowledge of the Bank's existing credit risk management policies and procedures across business lines and understanding of emerging business activities, risks and risk management tools.
• Maintain awareness of, and involvement in, regulatory and best practice developments from a wide variety of regulatory and industry bodies worldwide.
• Possess excellent interpersonal, relationship-building and people management skills. In all these instances, significant reliance is placed on the incumbent to communicate complex issues effectively and constructively to stakeholders across business lines, and regularly to senior management.
• Be able to handle stressful situations / environment, simultaneous tasks under multiple concurrent work streams and meet monthly / quarterly and ad-hoc deadlines.
• Have a strong 'hands-on' orientation to data analysis and statistical modelling work.
• Be able to routinely deal with multiple ongoing projects, both planned and ad hoc, and must also be able to put in personal effort required through long hours (including periodic evening/weekend work) in order to meet project deadlines.
• Be able to keep abreast of developments in best practice through extra-curricular and person reading.
• Have native-speaker level Spanish fluency to manage the GBS Colombia Validation Unit and to deal with stakeholders in Spanish-speaking countries (an asset).
• Self-driven individual with demonstrated ability to lead multiple initiatives/projects and to successfully manage people.
• Forward and independent thinking to identify emerging regulatory/market requirements on credit risk analytics.
• Team leadership skills to promote excellence in review and validation work, as well as general acceptance of and confidence in the outputs produced by the area.
• Flexibility and creativity in problem solving, including strong abilities of innovation and path-finding.
• Strong ability to devise and implement operational frameworks, processes, controls and documentation approaches for a team comprising of specialized quantitative staff. 

What’s in it for you?

• An inclusive & collaborative working environment that encourages creativity, curiosity, and celebrates success!
• We offer a competitive rewards package: Performance bonus, Employee Share Ownership Program, and Pension Plan Matching, Health Benefits from day one!
• Your career matters! You will have access to career development and progression opportunities.

Location(s):  Canada : Ontario : Toronto 

Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets.  

At Scotiabank, we value the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the Bank, and 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. If you require technical assistance, please click here. Candidates must apply directly online to be considered for this role. We thank all applicants for their interest in a career at Scotiabank; however, only those candidates who are selected for an interview will be contacted.