Manager, Retail Lending Operations

Description

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About this opportunity

At Meridian our aspiration is to integrate our purpose into everything we do for people, the planet, and communities. We believe that our greatest opportunity is to create opportunity and meet people where they are.

The Leader of Retail Lending Operations will lead a team responsible for fulfilling and servicing all retail lending solutions and oversee successful delivery of strategic and operational initiatives aimed at enhancing, optimizing and improving efficiencies for Lending Operations.

The Leader is responsible for delivering on our Service Level Agreement and service commitments with our Partners/Members as it pertains to mortgage fundings, payouts, instructing Solicitors, insurance management, document preparation and servicing. The Leader will have in-depth knowledge and experience, acting as a subject matter expert and central point of contact. The Manager will work with internal partners and external vendors, fostering an environment of collaboration to deliver on a high level of service and to resolve escalations in an urgent and efficient manner.

Lead and/or assist with cross-functional change initiatives related to retail lending operations varying in size and complexity: providing subject matter expertise and consultation, process and policy formation, and post-implementation support activities. In addition to leveraging business insights to proactively identify and respond to opportunities in the front-line business and develop change solutions that will increase business efficiency, engage and retain Members, improve the member experience, mitigate losses, and reduce risk for the organization.

The incumbent will model Meridian For Good, providing leadership, direction, and development to employees by empowering performance to retain a team of highly engaged employees who continually strive to be Member Obsessed.

Key Responsibilities

Management & Decision-Making

• Accountable for the delivery of exceptional service that builds trust through responsiveness, accuracy, consistency, and expertise at a high level of efficiency.
• Delivering within defined SLA.
• Develops a high performing, engaged, and flexible workforce within an exciting and fun environment.
• Encourages individual contribution at all levels and directs focus on service quality and operational excellence.
• Builds future capability/scalability, develops and implements policies and processes required to maximize efficiency and consistency across departments, while complying with organization standards, policies and practices.
• Fosters actions and behaviours that will drive superior business performance, reinforces Member focus, mitigates organizational risk, drives business unit process improvement
• Leads effective performance management processes, employee professional development plans, succession planning and coaching strategies for direct reports.
• Ensure that goals and objectives are set appropriately and develop succession planning to ensure continuity of service delivery and team development.
• Decision-making should show an ability to proactively identify the correct stakeholders, anticipate downstream impact, and work towards an enterprise solution that balances Member Experience, Risk, and Efficiency.
• Manage day to day incoming escalations Internal/External; Branch liaison/support, escalate to Director any escalations requiring further support. Key escalation point for day-to-day operations

Communication

• Actively collaborates with partners, proactively identifies stakeholders, and regularly stays in contact with internal partners.
• Build and maintain productive working relationships with our vendors/service providers to exchange ideas, discuss industry trends, resolve concerns, drive change, and support strategic initiatives.
• Executes and translates vision, strategy and business requirements into clear, actionable goals for direct and indirect reports.
• Self-manages issues within the team but escalates with appropriate detail when warranted.
• Positive communication style that respects all parties and works towards common sense solutions that net benefit the organization.

Impact

• Implement and monitor metrics, reporting and goals to ensure quality is maintained and/or enhanced, service quality improves, and productivity increases.
• Uncover ways to improve service level standards and key performance indicators.
• Assist with cross-functional projects varying in size and complexity - providing subject matter expertise and consultation.
• Deliver tangible and measurable operational efficiencies through reduction in errors, decreased cycle time, increased capacity, and/or improved throughput to support future growth.
• The Leader is accountable for the regulatory processes in the department, ensuring that risks are mitigated, and compliance requirements are met.
• Apply an audit lens to new processes and policies, and act as a champion for these considerations at the initiative/project level where warranted.
• Accountable for quality assurance on transactions beyond efficiency metrics to contribute to a satisfactory risk level
• First point of contact for Member concerns, audit, compliance, or special credit escalations
• Utilize out of the box thinking to execute effectively and efficiently on new or existing products and services.
• Maintain standardized and accurate department processes while ensuring the necessary controls/documentation are in place to mitigate risk.
• Anticipates change and risk - demonstrates the ability to quickly prioritize work, effectively handle critical issues or competing priorities, and moves with agility from one task to another.

Audit & Compliance

• The Leader is accountable for the regulatory processes in the department, ensuring that risks are mitigated, and compliance requirements are met.
• Apply an audit lens to new processes and policies, and act as a champion for these considerations at the initiative/project level where warranted.
• Accountable for quality assurance on transactions beyond efficiency metrics to contribute to a satisfactory risk level
• First point of contact for Member concerns, audit, compliance, or special credit escalations
• Exhibit a thorough understanding of the AML/ATF principles and Privacy Act

Strategic Initiatives

• In close collaboration with the Director, support, build, and drive execution of the departmental strategy.
• Provide guidance and support of the development of programs including assessment and implementation related to new technology portals, and development of key performance indicators.
• Provide regular reports and updates
• Liaise with Personal Lending, Special Credit, Branch partners ensuring effectiveness of all Lending Operations services
• Strategic thought leader – challenging direct reports to create opportunities that are rooted in actionable insights.
• Ensures departments are structured appropriately to meet the evolving needs of the organization and the type of work that is being supported; building future capability within the team to ensure service quality is not compromised.
• Acts as a project lead involved implementation, execution, control and completion of specific projects.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent communication/presentation and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently with confidence.
• Strong commitment to Member experience.
• Willingness to work flexible hours, and train both on/off the job to improve general business and lending skills.
• Demonstrates a high capacity for increasingly complex workloads.
• Highly motivated self-starter with high energy and a very positive attitude
• A natural curiosity to investigate complex, ambiguous problems using multiple data sources and tools to come up with answers and recommendations.
• A strong business acumen and can translate insights into actionable recommendations that align with business objectives.
• Ability to work independently and in a team-oriented environment.
• Continuously innovates to achieve great results.
• Possess a strong attention to detail; be concise without comprising the facts
• Able to meet established schedules and deadlines on time and on budget.
• Results-oriented with excellent communication, analytical and strong multi-tasking skills.
• Demonstrated interest and experience in corporate responsibility, sustainability, environment, governance and social impact

Education, Designations, Training, and Experience

• An undergraduate degree with an economics, finance, or business focus is preferred.
• 10+ years’ progressive financial services experience required, preferably in an operations environment.
• 5+ years leadership experience required.
• Solid knowledge of the banking products and services, processes, systems, and applications
• Experience with Meridian’s retail credit policies and procedures is required.
• Successful completion of Prosci and/or Lean Sigma Six considered an asset
• Proficient in Excel, PowerPoint, MS Office, Visio, Sharepoint, Ovation, D365, and other Credit Union wealth applications.
• Demonstrated ability and creativity in developing and implementing department specific process improvement initiatives.
• Problem-solving experience in a fast-paced, deadline environment
• Experience/training in the development of reporting and analytics considered an asset
• Experience in conducting analysis and working with diverse data sets, both structured and unstructured.

Competencies

Member Focus - Personally demonstrating that our Members are our highest priority.

Proactive - Seize the initiative by anticipating needs and identifying opportunities to provide a higher level of service.

Open Communication - Engaging in honest and transparent dialogue to develop mutual understanding, trust and cultivate deeper relationships.

Business Savvy - Continuously acquiring the knowledge needed to do one’s job to the fullest, using internal or external resources and applying the knowledge productively.

Partner Orientation - Initiates opportunities for collaboration and maintains productive relationships to achieve shared goals.

Integrity - Doing the right thing by always acting with openness, honesty and respect.

Talent Developer: nurtures and supports direct reports, identifies strong team members, develops digital and analytical skills in direct reports

Creates a Supportive and Positive Team Environment: creates and contributes to a positive team environment which encourages innovation, risk taking, and learning; speeds up team learning through sharing best practices; leverages the strengths and opportunities of the broader marketing team

This role represents an existing vacancy. Internal candidates are being considered as part of our standard process.

Salary Range: CAD $68,800 to $103,200 annually.

Compensation for this role is based on a combination of skills, experience, and internal equity. Candidates with stronger alignment to the role’s requirements may be placed higher within the range. Your recruiter will share more information about our total rewards package during the hiring process.

Office Location: Toronto Corporate Office located at 3280 Bloor St W, Etobicoke, ON or St. Catharines Corporate Office, located at 75 Corporate Park Drive, St. Catharines, ON. This is a hybrid work opportunity.

Meridian has a remote work policy that allows flexibility for employees to work remotely but also requires regular time in the office for purposeful meetings to collaborate, innovate and build effective relationships with your team, your colleagues and your leader which is very important to us.

What's in it for you?

• We have an inclusive and collaborative working environment that encourages creativity, curiosity, and celebrates success
• We provide you with the tools and technology needed to delight your candidates and clients
• You'll get to work with and learn from diverse industry leaders
• Hybrid work arrangements with in-person office time to collaborate, innovate and build relationships with your colleagues
• This isn't your typical "corporate" job. We work hard and we have fun!

Build the Future of Banking with Us

At Meridian, we’re not just adapting to the future—we’re shaping it. We see talent as a catalyst for sustainable growth, community impact, and future-readiness. As the financial landscape evolves, we’re looking for team members who bring:

• Embedding & leveraging technology – Confidence and willingness to learn and integrate AI and emerging technologies into new ways of working. Experience with low/no code tools like the Microsoft Power Platform and generative AI productivity tools like Microsoft Copilot is considered an asset
• Critical Thinking – The ability to analyze, evaluate and interpret information from various sources and apply logic and problem solving to make decisions.
• Data Driven– Leverage data and insights to identify, prioritize and improve member experience and business efficiency.
• Curiosity & Flexibility – Comfortable navigating and embracing change and uncertainty, ask more questions, explore more options. Continuously learn and grow.

Who we are:

Meridian is Ontario’s largest credit union, and second largest in Canada, helping to grow the lives of our more than 380,000 Members. Meridian has more than 80 years of banking history and is 100% owned by its members. With 87 retail branches and 15 Business Banking Centers across Ontario and $ 32B in assets under management, Meridian offers a full range of financial products and services to its retail, business banking and wealth members. With over 2200 employees and corporate offices located in Toronto and St. Catharines, Meridian has a track record of creating and delivering innovative new offerings and is committed to investing in the communities that we serve. Our plan is to build on our momentum as we deliver on our purpose - helping our members achieve their best life.

Find our story here: