Senior Manager, Pension Risk

The opportunity

The Senior Manager, Pension Risk is part of a team of actuarial experts that manages the liability risk and long-term sustainability of the pension plan by providing critical Asset Liability Management analysis and valuation support.

The Senior Manager will ensure that the ALM System and related tools used to provide analysis to the Board, Partners and Management are maintained, updated, improved and thoroughly vetted. These tools provide critical inputs to the assessment of plan sustainability as well as decisions related to key assumptions (e.g. discount rate), investment strategy and plan design.

Who you’ll work with

The Senior Manager will be part of our broader Risk Division.  Our Risk Division aims to ensure that the pension plan is sustainable for the long term, by focusing on big-picture risks and ensuring that OTPP’s activities remain within the board’s risk appetite.  Within the Risk Division, Pension Risk is a team of specialized individuals responsible for supporting the Board, Plan Sponsors and Executive Team by informing the design and funding of the pension plan, managing the liability risk, influencing decision makers, and delivering insightful actuarial research and analysis.

What you’ll do

• Produce objective actuarial insights for the Board, Partners, Management and colleagues.

• Support, develop, and promote internal education in the areas of plan design, asset-liability analyses, the Funding Management Policy (FMP) and surplus / deficit management.

• Partner with IT to ensure the technical robustness and viability of the asset-liability model.

• Monitor and implement necessary system and process changes to ensure critical inputs (plan documents, the FMP, regulations, professional standards affecting funding, forecasting methods and plan design / administration) are accurately reflected within the ALM System.

• Support teams within Risk and Total Fund Management in establishing the long-term investment strategy risk framework, by helping to:

  • Validate the soundness of the asset model and ensure the functionality of the asset model tools within the ALM system.
  • Create tools and develop risk metrics for the analysis of the investment strategy.
  • Coordinate activities related to the execution of stochastic simulations and scenarios.
  • Provide ongoing guidance on the framework for the Liability Driven Investing (LDI) strategy objectives and benchmark.

• Oversee and coordinates activities related to the annual valuation cycle, including:

  • Managing Valuation cycle activities and ensuring continuous improvement as well as accuracy of all information presented to the Partners, Board and the Actuarial & Audit Committee.
  • Peer reviewing of all materials prepared by the external plan actuary including independently verifying the liability results.
  • Working in collaboration with Member Services and the external plan actuary to ensure accuracy, sufficiency and reliability of the valuation data.
  • Supporting the accuracy of publicly disclosed financials both at year-end and mid-year reporting.
  • Reviewing key financials controls, particularly those related to Financial Statement valuation results.
  • Ensuring all downstream items related to a valuation filing are accurately implemented.

• A key contributor to the Pension Strategy annual work plan.

• Supports research into long-term plan sustainability issues that may affect the strategic direction of the organization. 

• Monitors longevity risk and related mortality assumptions, as well as other demographic assumption drivers and trends.

• Monitors the Teacher and Student population and projects its future growth and characteristics and understand its ramifications.

• Supports to selectively recruit, resource, coach and train the pension risk team over time.

• Supervises, guides and trains more junior actuarial staff.

• Develops and manages key relationships within Risk and across the investment team and Functional Partners.

• Leads or participates in intradepartmental and cross-departmental committees / working groups to provide subject matter expertise and analysis

What you’ll need

• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in the financial services industry, with a focus actuarial analysis, actuarial valuations and ALM modelling.

• Minimum ASA (Associate of the Society of Actuaries) / ACIA (Associate of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries) designations with a commitment to achieving the Fellowship designations. 

• Degree in a quantitative discipline (mathematics, actuarial science or a related field). Graduate degree is an asset.

• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is a strong asset.

• Strong technical skills, with experience in C++ / SQL / MATLAB / MS Office

• Experience within a large, complex pension fund is an asset.

• Experience developing and coding complex actuarial programs and tools is an asset

• Strong knowledge of the Canadian pension industry, including legislative framework, Income Tax Act rules and regulations, Pension Benefits Act (Ontario) and regulations thereto, current pension issues, actuarial practices and trends and accounting standards.

• In depth knowledge of Retirement Compensation Arrangements.