Manager, Model Risk Validation

About the Opportunity:

The newly created position of Manager, Model Risk Validation is offered in a hybrid work structure with time spent in the Toronto office and remotely. The mandate of this position is to provide oversight, monitoring and validation on all models used at Canada Guaranty. This is a business-critical position with high visibility and regular contact with senior and executive management across the organization.

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Model Risk Governance, the successful candidate will bring a thorough understanding of validating the financial, statistical, and machine learning models used across various business lines. While experience in secured lending is beneficial, the Manager will be responsible for conducting thorough model validations, ensuring adherence to industry standards, and providing insightful reports to senior management. The Risk Management team has overall responsibility for guiding the prudent growth and evolution of the mortgage insurance portfolio through the effective use of analytics, credit policy and an Enterprise Risk framework.

Key Responsibilities/Accountabilities:

• Model Validation, Vetting and Testing: Conduct independent and comprehensive validations of models across various business domains, including but not limited to credit, property valuation, and stress testing models.
• Documentation and Reporting: Prepare clear, concise, and well-documented validation reports, outlining model assumptions, methodologies, performance, and any identified risks or limitations.
• Model Assessment: Evaluate model performance, conduct back-testing, sensitivity analysis, and stress testing to assess model robustness under different scenarios. Assessments of models to identify potential vulnerabilities or issues; provide recommendations to mitigate identified risks
• Compliance: Ensure models comply with internal risk management policies, industry regulations, and best practices. Support the implementation, and maintenance of the model risk management policy and procedures to ensure compliance with regulatory guidelines.
• Collaboration: Work closely with cross-functional teams, including model developers, business stakeholders, and senior risk management professionals, to understand model objectives and provide recommendations for model improvements.
• Model Monitoring: Assist in the development and maintenance of monitoring frameworks for ongoing model performance and model drift analysis.
• Continuous Learning: Stay current on the latest trends, tools, and methodologies in model development and risk management to enhance the validation process.
• Work closely with the modeling teams across the organization to understand and constantly evaluate risk from both a detailed and enterprise level.

Essential Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree in Economics, Statistics, Finance, Actuarial or a related field
• 5+ years of progressive relevant work experience in retail banking and/or insurance sectors, specifically related to development or assessment of risk models related to consumer credit
• Proficiency in programming languages such as SAS, SQL, Python, or R for developing and validating models
• Strong skills in data analysis and statistical modeling and expertise in validating actuarial, statistical, financial models, including stress testing, scenario analysis, and sensitivity analysis
• Experience with model risk management frameworks and regulatory guidelines, such as OSFI's proposed revisions to E23 or familiarity with the OCC's SR 11-7
• Solid grasp of credit risk management concepts (Probability of Default, Loss Given Default, Exposure at Default, Expected Loss, Economic Capital, etc.)
• In-depth knowledge of the model life cycle and model risk management practices
• Advanced knowledge of quantitative techniques, including regression analysis, and time series analysis and the ability to apply these methods to evaluate model accuracy and robustness
• Excellent understanding of analytical, financial, competitive, regulatory, and legal environments in assessing credit and fraud risk
• Ability to explain complex issues in such a way that non-technical staff and senior management are able to understand the potential impacts

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Economics, Statistics, Finance, Actuarial or a related field
• Experience with stochastic modeling
• Passed all examinations required to be a Fellow of Society of Actuaries, Casualty Actuarial Society or another actuarial organization
• Thorough understanding of residential mortgage lending, property markets, and consumer credit risk modeling
• Strong ability to document model development, validation processes, and results comprehensively
• Experience in design, develop, and maintain custom solutions using Atlassian Confluence is an asset

Canada Guaranty is proudly certified among both the Best Workplaces in Canada and Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance by Great Place to Work - join us and see why!

NOTE: Canada Guaranty is committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible environment where all employees feel valued and supported. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the communities we operate in and serve. If you require accommodation for the recruitment/interview process due to a disability (which may be invisible or visible, temporary or permanent), please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.