Principal Analyst, Financial Risk Oversight

Take a central role
The Bank of Canada has a vision to be “a leading central bank—dynamic, engaged and trusted—committed to a better Canada.” No other employer in the country offers you the unique opportunity to work at the very center of Canada’s economy, in a diverse and inclusive organization with significant impact on the economic and financial well-being of all Canadians. You will be challenged, energized and motivated to excel in an environment where we are reinventing central banking, renewing ways of doing business and reinforcing a culture of innovation.

Did you know? 
The Financial and Enterprise Risk (FER) department supports an enterprise-wide view of risk management across the Bank of Canada. Reporting to the Chief Risk Officer, the department is responsible for the oversight of enterprise and financial risks to the Bank and plays an important role supporting activities outlined in the Bank’s Medium-Term Plan (MTP). FER has offices in Ottawa and Calgary.

Within FER, the Financial Risk Office (FRO) monitors, reports and advises on financial risks arising from the Bank’s monetary policy and financial stability activities as well as those inherent in the Bank’s balance sheet and pension fund. Additionally, the FRO monitors, reports and advises on financial risks for the Government of Canada – including those found within the government’s financial assets and liabilities and those related to the government’s Official International Reserves. The FRO consists of three teams: Oversight, Analytics, and Reporting.

What you will do 
Reporting to the Assistant Director, you will provide day-to-day leadership on business issues and help develop the team’s strategic direction. You demonstrate a deep understanding of risk-management principles and measurement/reporting techniques obtained through your previous work experience and academic training. You will also play a key role in ensuring that the work of the Financial Risk Oversight team, and that of the broader FRO, is of the highest quality. As a financial risk specialist, you will conduct analysis on risk-management issues and coach others who contribute to FRO’s analytical and operational activities. Your focus will be providing risk advice and analytical expertise in accordance with the team’s mandate.

In particular, you will:

• provide advice, guidance and training on business issues to FRO operational and analytical staff
• play a leading role in the Bank’s second-line-of-defence and demonstrate the skills necessary to perform an effective challenge function to policy proposals from the first line
• actively contribute to the development and implementation of the team’s work plan
• conduct and oversee middle office activities while ensuring day-to-day business issues are resolved effectively and operational risks are minimized
• contribute to enhancements of the portfolio management and information systems
• work with other departments to suggest, lead and conduct in-depth, high-quality, longer-term analytical projects and undertake joint research assignments designed to enhance the Bank’s understanding of risk-management practices
• support staffing and recruitment activities to ensure a high-quality workforce
• substitute for the Assistant Director in his/her absence, including overseeing operations from the Calgary site when required 

​What you need to succeed

You can work collaboratively with others within your team and across teams. You can build positive working relationships to deliver on commitments and lead projects effectively. You understand the Bank’s fiscal-agent responsibilities, risk-management practices and techniques, finance theory, quantitative methods and financial market instruments. You are committed to learning and self-development.

This position requires experience with:

• analyzing complex issues, diagnosing multi-dimensional problems and devising appropriate responses or strategies on risk-management issues
• quickly grasping the essence of policy and technical issues and developing insightful concepts, models or frameworks to address them
• communicating effectively, both orally and in writing, to a wide variety of audiences by adapting one's language to the audience, by clarifying complex information and by conveying sensitive information in an appropriate manner
• leading by example, coaching and developing junior colleagues

Nice-to-have 

• completion of, or enrolment in, the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM), or similar program 
• experience with the Findur system, proficiency with common analytical tools (e.g. VBA, Matlab) and/or ability to leverage tools for data extraction and aggregation (e.g. SQL)

Your education and experience

• MBA, MSc (Finance), MA (Economics), or equivalent level of education, with a minimum of with five years of relevant work experience in risk-management, portfolio management, or financial markets in a private or public sector institution

or

• an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered

What you need to know

• Language requirement: English and French essential (bilingual) with a minimum starting level of intermediate (level 3) in second official language. Training may be provided to help reach the required level of functional (level 4) in second official language.
• Priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents
• Security level required: Secret 
• Relocation assistance may be provided, if required
• Please save a copy of the job poster. Once the closing date has passed, it will no longer be available.
• In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and further to public health guidelines, preventative measures are being taken to ensure health and safety during the recruitment process. All interviews are conducted virtually.  

We wish to thank all applicants for their interest and effort in applying for this position. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.

What you can expect from us
This is a great opportunity to join a leading organization and be part of a high-performing team. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet your needs at every stage of your life and career. For more information on key benefits please visit A great deal to consider. 

• Salaries are based on qualifications and experience and typically range from $108,100 to $135,000 (job grade 18)
• Depending on performance, you may be eligible for performance pay for successfully meeting (7 to 10% of your base salary) or for exceeding expectations (15% of your base salary). Exceptional performers who far exceed expectations may be eligible for higher performance pay.
• Flexible and comprehensive benefits so you can choose the level of health, dental disability and life and/or accident insurance coverage that meets your needs
• Extra vacation days (up to five each year) that you can purchase to add to your vacation entitlement
• Indexed, defined-benefit pension

We strive to make our policies, programs and workplace more inclusive, respectful and barrier-free. We encourage applications from women, Indigenous peoples, veterans, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities and persons of all races, ethnic origins, religions, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities and expressions.