Director, Pension Financial Transactions

Our Company Background & Culture

UPP is the first pension plan of its kind in Ontario’s university sector, proudly serving over 44,000 members across six universities and eighteen sector organizations. Our purpose is to bring greater retirement peace of mind to the university sector by investing with integrity and serving members with care. As a sector-wide plan designed for growth, our doors are open to all Ontario universities.

UPP is recognized as one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers for 2026. We are a team of progressive thinkers and agile doers operating within a fast-paced culture of collaboration and respect. We believe in bringing smart and capable people together to create, solve, and grow with a clear shared vision and values of integrity, inclusivity, ingenuity, and impact. Our culture is rooted in equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation (EDI&R). We believe diverse teams and lived experiences contribute to better decisions and a better workplace. As a pension plan, UPP takes a long-term view on investing to generate and safeguard value, accounting for material risks to meet the pension needs of our members.

Join us in building a bright future for our members, our organization, and each other.

THE ROLE

The Director, Pension Financial Transactions is accountable for the execution, integrity, and reliability of all financial transaction activities within Pension Services, ensuring that funds move accurately, compliantly, and transparently across the member and employer lifecycle.

This role owns the Pension Financial Transactions Team delivery model, overseeing recurring financial activities and the day-to-day execution of pension-related financial transactions, including contribution remittances, transfers, benefit payments, refunds, and reconciliations. The role ensures that all monetary activity aligns with plan rules, legislative requirements, and fiduciary obligations.

Reporting to the Managing Director, Specialized Operations, this role translates Pension Service strategy into a reliable, secure, controlled, and audit-ready pension payment framework. This role works closely with Pension Services Business Solutions, Technology, Actuarial, Finance, and Experience teams to ensure adherence to enterprise regulatory policy and risk appetite.

A core focus of the role is maintaining trust in UPP’s financial interactions with members and employers, ensuring accuracy, auditability, and transparency in all pension-related financial transactions.

This role is based in downtown Toronto under a hybrid work policy, allowing employees the flexibility to work remotely and in-office (min two days per week in-office).

This job posting is for an existing vacancy.

Specific Accountabilities

The Director, Pension Financial Transactions will have responsibility for but not limited to the following:

• Own the end-to-end planning, execution, and governance of incoming contribution remittances and outgoing benefit payments.
• Accountable for the timely and accurate payment of pension benefits, ensuring payments are set up consistent with the member’s election, and are paid on time via UPP’s trustee.
• Own the design and operation of effective and efficient financial transaction processes and controls within Pension Services, including employer and member contributions, transfers, benefit payments, refunds, and reconciliations.
• Ensure that all monetary activities across the member and employer lifecycle are accurate, compliant, and auditable in accordance with plan rules, legislation, and fiduciary obligations.
• Oversee a calendar of recurring financial activities and manage the resource capacity required to execute those activities effectively.
• Maintain accurate, up-to-date pensioner data, compliance requirements, operational risk, and business intelligence to ensure effective operational performance.
• Resolve payment escalations, such as overpayment recoveries, estate settlements, stale-dated payments and re-issued payments.
• Act as the business owner for systems, processes, and controls that support the movement of funds between employers, UPP, and members.
• Apply pensioner indexation accurately, including UPP and prior plan applications.
• Execute business continuity management (BCM) activities relating to pension payments, including table-top exercises, BCM planning approval, and quarterly testing.
• Ensure UPP’s financial interactions with members and employers are accurate, transparent, and trustworthy.
• Provide accurate data for financial reconciliation and financial statements to UPP’s Corporate Finance team.
• Partner with Finance, Pension Services Business Solutions, and Technology teams to ensure data integrity, automation, and reconciliation between pension administration systems (e.g., V3locity) and financial systems.
• Support readiness, testing, and change management for system upgrades or process changes impacting financial operations.
• Apply monetary approval limits as delegated in UPP Policies, report exceptions, remediations and claims to the CEO and/or the Pension Services Committee of the Board. This includes authorizing payments within Director-level approval limits.
• Translate organizational strategies into effective and efficient business operations.
• Cultivate an environment where team members are mentored and coached for continuous improvement and career development.

Enablement & Controls

• Design, implement, and maintain processes and controls across assigned functions, aligned with the Target Operating Model and enterprise risk frameworks.
• Foster a culture of constructive challenge by engaging with Second- and Third-Line functions, ensuring oversight and timely responses to feedback and findings.
• Promote ownership and accountability, using feedback from oversight to strengthen processes and controls.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; postgraduate degree is an asset.
• Minimum 10-12 years of progressive experience in pension administration, financial operations, or a comparable regulated financial services environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading or managing pension-related financial transaction processes.
• Strong understanding of Canadian defined benefit pension administration, including contributions, benefit payments, and reconciliations.
• Experience with financial controls, audit requirements, and reconciliation processes.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with Pension Services Business Solutions, Technology, Actuarial, Finance, and Service teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; clear written and verbal communication skills.
• Professional designations such as CEBS or PPAC are assets.

Attributes

• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
• High integrity and sound judgment in handling financial transactions.
• Operationally disciplined and process oriented.
• Comfortable managing recurring cycles and time-sensitive deliverables.
• Collaborative and pragmatic in cross-functional environments.
• Calm and effective when resolving issues or discrepancies.
• Improvement-oriented, with a focus on efficiency and risk reduction.
• Commitment to transparency and trust in member and employer interactions.

LIFE AT UPP

Do work that matters. We are duty-bound to serve our members’ interests with sustainability at the core to ensure a resilient future for today and generations to come.

Stronger together. Collaboration is our foundation, and every win is a shared win.

Grow every day. You’ll have opportunities to work on unique projects that maximize your skills and expose you to new ones.

Benefits

Prioritize wellness. Our inclusive employee-focused benefits program includes:

• Defined benefit pension plan
• Flexible hybrid work model
• Paid time off – vacations, personal days and wellness days
• Work remotely up to eight weeks/year
• Comprehensive group benefits including medical, dental, vision, etc.
• Extended paramedical and mental health service coverage
• Health care and lifestyle spending accounts
• Fertility treatments, paid parental leave, and gender affirmation coverage
• Education Assistance program

This posting will remain open for a minimum of seven days and will remain open until a sufficient number of qualified applications are received or finalist candidates have been identified. UPP enthusiastically welcomes applications from all qualified applicants, including individuals with lived experience as Indigenous persons or persons with disabilities, and other groups protected by human rights codes. Our goal is to create a barrier-free experience for every candidate throughout the recruitment process. For privacy information, see our Job Applicant Privacy Statement.

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