Title:  Director, Strategic Partnerships

Requisition ID: 259616 

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

Purpose

The Director, Strategic Partnerships plays a critical leadership role in shaping the future direction of Automotive Finance by identifying, developing, and executing strategic growth initiatives while cultivating strong, value driven relationships with key internal and external partners. The role is accountable for uncovering and advancing new business and strategic opportunities across Automotive Finance and the broader Bank, including partnerships with insurance providers, valuation and data partners, technology vendors, and enterprise business lines. This position blends strategic planning, partnership development, and enterprise level project leadership to enhance the Auto Finance offering and drive greater value for clients. The incumbent ensures all initiatives and partnerships are executed in alignment with regulatory requirements, internal policies, and the Bank’s risk culture.

Accountabilities

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

Strategic Planning & Business Growth

• Leads the strategic planning process, collaborating with senior leadership to define, prioritize, and execute initiatives that drive growth, operational excellence, and customer primacy.
• Identifies new business and strategic opportunities across Automotive Finance and the broader Bank, ensuring alignment with enterprise strategies and unlocking new sources of value.
• Conducts comprehensive market and competitive analysis to assess emerging trends, innovation opportunities, and potential areas for expansion.
• Develops business cases and financial models to evaluate the viability, strategic alignment, and expected returns of proposed initiatives.
• Prioritizes initiatives based on strategic fit, revenue potential, cost efficiency, and regulatory compliance.

Strategic Partnerships & Relationship Management

• Leads Automotive Finance’s strategic partnerships with insurance providers, valuation/data partners (e.g., Canadian Black Book), dealer technology platforms (e.g., Dealertrack, RouteOne), and key technology vendors to enhance product offerings and client experience
• Builds and strengthens internal partnerships with Wealth Management, Credit Cards, Retail Banking, Scene+ (Shell), and other enterprise groups to identify cross bank collaboration opportunities and integrate Automotive Finance into broader strategic initiatives
• Develops and maintains strong executive level (including C suite) relationships with key partners to influence strategic direction, negotiate outcomes, and drive long term value creation
• Negotiates complex commercial agreements, ensuring optimal financial outcomes, strong risk management, and long term strategic alignment
• Identifies and evaluates new partnership opportunities that can enhance the Auto Finance value proposition, improve customer experience, or create new revenue streams.
• Acts as a Subject Matter Expert and primary point of contact for assigned programs, partnerships, and strategic initiatives.

Project Leadership & Execution

• Creates detailed project plans outlining timelines, resource requirements, and key milestones to ensure successful execution of strategic initiatives.
• Leads cross functional collaboration with Operations, Dealer Centre of Excellence, enterprise partners, and other internal stakeholders to integrate strategic initiatives into existing business operations.
• Identifies enablers, risks, and issues throughout project lifecycles, escalating concerns and recommending solutions to ensure successful delivery.
• Monitors progress of ongoing initiatives, providing regular updates to senior leadership and adjusting plans as needed to achieve desired outcomes.
• Drives enterprise level strategic planning activities, ensuring consistent communication, alignment, and execution across the organization.

Influence & Cross Functional Leadership

• Influences cross functional teams and stakeholders to support the execution of strategic initiatives, despite having no direct people leadership responsibilities.
• Builds strong internal networks across Automotive Finance and the broader Bank to drive alignment, secure resources, and accelerate delivery of strategic priorities.
• Communicates vision, strategy, and progress updates to senior leaders and partner groups to ensure clarity and engagement.
• Champions a customer focused culture to deepen client relationships and leverage broader Bank relationships, systems and knowledge.
• Understand how the Bank’s risk appetite and risk culture should be considered in day-to-day activities and decisions.
• Actively pursues effective and efficient operations of his/her respective areas, while ensuring the adequacy, adherence to and effectiveness of day-to-day business controls to meet obligations with respect to operational risk, regulatory compliance risk, AML/ATF risk and conduct risk, including but not limited to responsibilities under the Operational Risk Management Framework, Regulatory Compliance Risk Management Framework, AML/ATF Global Handbook and the Guidelines for Business Conduct. 
• Champions a high performance environment and contributes to an inclusive work environment.

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

• Undergraduate degree in business, finance, marketing, or related field; graduate business degree strongly preferred.
• Experience driving cross-functional collaboration across the Bank is required, with a demonstrated ability to influence and align diverse stakeholder groups.
• Experience in Automotive Finance is an asset, particularly in roles involving partnerships, product development, or strategic initiatives.
• Proven ability to build and sustain senior-level and C-suite relationships with external partners and internal executives.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating complex commercial contracts and managing high-value strategic partnerships.
• Strong relationship management, influencing, and executive-level communication skills. 
• Exceptional problem-solving abilities with a track record of driving innovation and navigating complex, high-profile initiatives.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities with attention to detail and a focus on outcomes.
• Curious, experimental mindset with a passion for continuous improvement. 

Working Conditions

• Standard office based environment, non-standard hours are a common occurrence.
• Moderate domestic travel for partner meetings, internal collaboration sessions, and industry events.

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.