Director, Investigations

Canada’s Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) is a national, independent and not-for-profit organization that helps resolve and reduce disputes between consumers and financial services firms in both official languages. OBSI is responsive to consumer inquiries, conducts fair and accessible investigations of unresolved disputes, and shares its knowledge and expertise with the stakeholders and the public. If a consumer has a complaint against an OBSI participating bank or investment firm that they are not able to resolve with the bank or firm, OBSI will investigate at no cost to the consumer.

Job Title: Director, Investigations

Reporting to: Deputy Ombudsman

Vacancy: New vacancy

Salary Range: $165,000 – $195,000 with the placement and offered salary being based on knowledge, skills, education/training and experience, as well as external market conditions and internal equity

Workplace Type: Hybrid arrangement.
The OBSI office is located in downtown Toronto.

Direct Reports: Manager, Investigations

Duties and Responsibilities

The Director, Investigations, plays a critical role in the organization by leading multiple investigative teams and providing support to the Deputy Ombudsmen in leading the broader investigative team.

As a senior investigation team leader, the Director, Investigations has a range of responsibilities, including:

• Participating in collaborative decision-making relating to the leadership of OBSI’s investigative staff
• Monitoring OBSI’s environment to identify emerging issues and areas for improvement and collaborating with other investigative team members to develop and implement solutions
• Working with other investigation team leaders and Deputy Ombudsmen to ensure the Investigation Team fulfills its annual objectives including case volume management, specific projects and initiatives
• Contributing to the development and maintenance of OBSI policies, procedures, training materials and guidelines with respect to investigative work
• Actively fostering an environment of professionalism, collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement throughout the organization
• Promoting OBSI’s mission, vision and values and maintaining and enhancing the organization’s reputation in all internal and external activities

As a leader of investigative teams, a Director, Investigations is responsible for all aspects of team leadership and performance, including:

• Ensuring OBSI’s investigative teams operate in compliance with all regulatory obligations and internal policies and service standards.
• Ensuring that all decisions and investigations are resolved in an efficient, fair and reasonable manner that is consistent with OBSI’s mission, vision and values. Including by:
  • Monitoring case volumes and investigator caseloads and working together with other investigation team leaders to ensure cases are appropriately assigned, investigated and closed in a timely manner
  • Managing, mentoring and supporting a team of Managers, Investigations to ensure quality and consistency of outcomes across investigations teams
  • Ensuring quality of work including quality assurance and thematic reviews
  • Managing complex case escalations, including engaging with firms and consumers directly or working with a Deputy Ombudsman, as appropriate
  • Establishing team focus and engagement by ensuring that all team members understand how their work relates to OBSI’s mission, aligns with OBSI’s strategic directions, and that their work embodies OBSI’s values.
• Ensuring that each Manager, Investigations is supported with appropriate resources to effectively manage their teams and accomplish their team objectives, including:
  • Ensuring investigative staff receive appropriate training and fostering an environment of individual and team development
  • Providing motivational support for all team members by recognizing achievements and contributions, finding creative ways to make work rewarding, and identifying and promptly tackling morale problems
  • Empowering all team members by conveying confidence in their ability to be successful, delegating significant responsibility and authority, and allowing them freedom to decide how they will accomplish their goals and resolve issues
  • Fostering teamwork by having team members learn and work together, and by promoting cooperation among teams
  • Managing performance effectively by taking responsibility for team performance, setting clear goals and expectations that are aligned with organizational goals, tracking progress, providing feedback and addressing performance problems promptly.
  • Working with the Knowledge Management team to improve and continuously update our onboarding, investigator training and related materials

• Managing change effectively by supporting the innovation needed to improve OBSI’s effectiveness; initiating, sponsoring, communicating and implementing organizational change; and helping all team members participate in and successfully manage organizational change
• Providing the Communications Team with information and ideas to promote awareness of OBSI and help stakeholders understand OBSI approaches and case outcomes
• Leading investigative staff recruitment efforts as required

Key Qualifications, Abilities, and Skills

• Strong knowledge of banking and investment industry products, services, industry practices, policies, legislation and regulation
• Extensive negotiation and dispute resolution experience
• Strong investigative experience
• Previous managerial experience supervising professionals
• Effective leadership, coaching, motivational and team development skills
• Sound judgment, decisiveness and clear commitment to fairness, ethics and public service
• Superior professional verbal and written communication skills
• Superior interpersonal skills
• Strong numeracy skills, including the ability to read and understand financial reports and documents and the ability to evaluate financial analyses
• Superior analytical problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated ability to effectively prioritize complex tasks and to successfully manage multiple simultaneous projects under pressure
• Thorough knowledge of OBSI mandate and operational environment
• Strategic and forward-thinking approach to leadership
• Bilingualism in French and English will be considered a strong asset

Education and Other Training:

• LL.B., J.D. or equivalent legal qualification strongly preferred
• Strong proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite of programs, as well as a demonstrated commitment to maximizing productivity through information technology and continuously improving information technology skills

OBSI strives to provide equal opportunity to qualified individuals with all abilities and, as such, we are committed to offering reasonable accommodation during the hiring process. If you require special assistance or accommodation, please contact Human Resources at [email protected].

To support our recruitment process, we may use artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in screening, assessing, or sorting applications. All applications are subsequently reviewed by our Human Resources team, and hiring decisions are made with human oversight.