Director, Compliance (CCO)

Department: Assurance

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Head Office

Reporting To: Chief Risk & Legal Officer

Description

Reporting to the Chief Risk & Legal Officer (“CRLO”), the Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) is responsible for strategic and hands-on leadership of all compliance functions, ensuring that Embark Student Corp.’s (“Embark”) compliance program and processes are comprehensive, updated, and upheld across the corporation.

The CCO plays a pivotal role in the development, implementation, and maintenance of compliance policies, conducts risk assessments, and analyzes compliance processes.

The CCO stays apprised of any industry changes to regulatory requirements and drives a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. The CCO identifies potential procedural or efficiency gaps based on a nuanced understanding of relevant laws, regulations, and internal policies, and proactively recommends revisions and provides guidance to senior management and staff at all levels.

As a key member of the senior leadership team, the CCO is responsible for developing and implementing key strategies in alignment with Embark’s vision, united with the senior leadership team in their passion and purpose to help Canadians get the most out of their education.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership:

• In collaboration with the senior leadership team, drive the execution of Embark’s purpose, vision, and strategic objectives, ensuring alignment with long-term goals and short-term targets.
• Support the CRLO and other members of the Leadership Team in the identification, planning and execution of strategic and operational initiatives for the organization, ensuring compliance with all laws, regulations, and the organization’s policies and procedures.
• Lead the Compliance team to success, aligning team goals with the organization’s strategic vision.

Compliance and Regulatory Leadership:

• Oversee all compliance functions, key risk indicators, and service levels within the Compliance Division, as assigned.
• Assist and support the CRLO and other senior leaders within the Assurance department in other functional areas as required, including enterprise risk management, internal audit, data analytics, supervisory investigations, regulatory audits, inquiries and special projects, as directed.
• Respond to regulatory inquiries, lead regulatory audit processes, and respond to written regulatory requests.
• Provide assurance to senior leaders and the Board of Directors (“Board”) that effective and efficient compliance policies and procedures are in place, well understood and respected by all employees, and that Embark is complying with all applicable regulatory and legal requirements.
• Act as the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (“MLRO”) for Embark.
• Develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive compliance program to achieve compliance with applicable regulations that reflects Embark’s unique characteristics.
• Ensure compliance for marketing content across all mediums, sales practices, and account opening materials. Monitor changes to regulatory requirements and identify gaps or weaknesses in compliance policies and procedures, and processes, providing recommendations for revisions to effectively mitigate such gaps.
• Analyze compliance processes to identify potential procedural or efficiency gaps, supporting an environment of continuous improvement and innovation.
• Support governance matters, including the Independent Review Committee, in the development of operational and strategic plans.
• Manage regulatory filings and ensure proper record-keeping and documentation retention.
• Advise the CRLO of potentially significant instances of non-compliant activities in a timely and prudent manner.
• As required, serve as the compliance subject matter expert for key corporate initiatives and projects across the organization.
• As required, communicate with and manage challenging compliance matters with regulators.

Growth and Expansion:

• Support business activities in existing products and services and new opportunities in areas of growth, contributing to the organization’s overall growth and transformation.

Collaboration and Team Leadership:

• Provide hands-on and strategic leadership to the Compliance team, in the areas of audit, supervision, registration.
• Provide timely and effective feedback and support, consistent with compliance policies and directives.
• Actively engage with the senior leadership team to align on strategic priorities and drive cohesive execution of initiatives.

Innovation and Process Im