Director, Internal Audit Services

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 Director, Internal Audit Services is accountable to; be a leader of the Internal Audit Services function ensuring the team strives and delivers against Internal Audit Services’ vision and its Board approved charter. Maintain, enhance and lead the practices and methodology for the overall function (Practice Management).Contribute to the strategic advancement of Internal Audit Services by providing thought leadership through to structured implementation on people, process, methodology and technology enhancements. Develop and recommend multi-year, risk based annual audit plan for all corporate areas for Meridian Credit Union and all subsidiaries. Provide independent, objective, effective, and impactful assurance and advice that supports the strategic objectives and success of the organization and aligns with the expectations of the board, senior management, and other key stakeholders. Lead and provide oversight, direction, coaching and guidance to the team.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership:

• Participate with the Chief Audit Executive, IAS in setting and achieving strategic goals and objectives
• Take overall accountability to identify, lead, encourage, support and recommend enhancements to IAS’s audit methodology, processes, and use of audit software by supporting and creating an environment that encourages and supports innovation (Practice Management). The objective is to ensure IAS is as efficient and effective.
• Keep apprised of emerging issues, best practices and trends in internal audit and the financial services industry.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with key corporate partners (e.g. Risk Management, Fraud, Privacy, Information Security, etc.) to ensure an integrated and efficient evaluation of risks and controls across the organization.
• Ensure the team conducts itself in accordance with the Board approved charter and with the Institute of Internal Audit’s (IIA) Global Internal Audit Standards

Ensure you and your team are:

• Performing their work with integrity and professional courage
• Ensuring all communications are accurate, clear, and respectful, even when expressing skepticism or offering an opposing viewpoint.
• Taking appropriate action even when confronted by difficult decisions or situations
• Foster and maintain a work environment where team members feel supported when expressing evidenced based engagement results, whether favourable or unfavourable
• Monitor on an ongoing basis the level and sufficiency and capabilities of resources to identify potential capacity and skillset/training issues in the current and future years and recommend appropriate solutions.
• Ensure the assignment of resources result in the appropriate complement of skills, knowledge and experience to conduct the audit work effectively and efficiently
• Identify and manage circumstances where external expertise is required and where necessary lead the identification (e.g. RFP), recommendation of and negotiation with an appropriate provider. Once selected co-ordinate and manage the engagement with the provider.
• Encourage, challenge, lead and provide direction on the continued development and maturation of the use of Data Analytics program by the Corporate team.
• Manage the coaching, development, hiring, training etc. of the team.
• Contributes to the ongoing development and enhancement of reporting to senior leadership and the Audit and Finance Committee, ensuring the identification of relevant and value-added themes, trends and insights.
• Proactively identify opportunities to provide advisory services to management.Work collaboratively with the other leader(s) in IAS, support a positive and desirable work environment and take accountability for employee experience.

Internal Audit Engagements:

• Manage the scheduling of all Corporate internal audit engagements.
• Ensure all risks, controls and tests maintained within the audit software are current, focused on appropriate risks, capture relevant controls and include efficient and effective testing, including the identification of data analytics where feasible.
• Review scoping documents prior to the execution of individual audits to ensure appropriate coverage and focus on areas of risk.
• Review, critically evaluate and approve completed audit work to ensure sufficient and appropriate work has been conducted, documented within the audit software and is in accordance with IAS audit standards and requirements.
• Review and issue audit reports to ensure that observations and recommendations are appropriately risk rated, written in a clear, professional manner, aligned with the seniority of the recipients and include recommendations and assessments of risk that are meaningful, appropriate and impactful.
• Ensure all major and medium audit issues are verified as complete with management and followed up/validated on a timely basis.

Internal Audit Services Planning:

• Prepare a multi-year Corporate Audit Plan for Meridian and all individual subsidiaries.
• Maintain and ensure the Corporate audit universes are kept up to date and are risk-assessed annually as an input into developing the annual plan.
• Manage the execution of individual Corporate audits against the Board approved audit plan to ensure the commitment is achieved and any potential for deferrals are identified and communicated to the Chief Audit Executive, Internal Audit Services on a proactive and timely basis.
• Monitor and identify significant changes in risk during the year and recommend potential substitutions to the plan.

Other:

• Identify opportunities for and oversee the execution of advisory engagements, as required.
• Provide advice on Meridian’s operating environment and policies from a risk and control perspective, as requested.
• Remediate and support any identified opportunities for improvement from the Quality Assessment and Improvement program
• Serve as the primary contact and manage the ongoing relationship with our internal audit software vendor.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge:

• Demonstrated expertise and in-depth knowledge of internal audit, including offering sound advice, and recognizing opportunities to add value.
• Knowledge of the IIA Standards is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated mastery of knowledge of the risks and the regulatory frameworks and requirements within which credit unions and banks operate in Ontario and Canada, respectively is required. Extensive enterprise-wide audit expertise across all corporate functions is required.

Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated ability to deliver clear, candid, and often difficult messages while maintaining strong, trust-based relationships, and to balance the provision of insightful guidance with the need to uphold independence and objectivity.
• Influences and partners with business leaders to drive understanding, acceptance, and timely implementation of audit recommendations, while maintaining strong, collaborative relationships.
• Proven ability to listen, apply professional judgement and effectively challenge staff and management in their assessments of risk.
• Proven ability to maintain independence of thought and action, objectively confront controversial issues and situations, make incisive decisions under pressure and stand firm on difficult issues.
• Ability to lead and develop a collaborative team that is engaged and committed to offering high standards of service.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills when communicating to senior leadership and the Audit and Finance Committee.
• Ability to provide professional advice and guidance.
• Innovation skills and an openness to promote new ideas and foster creative thinking
• Business savvy, strategic, disciplined thinker.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities. Ability to quickly prioritize and resolve critical issues as they arise.
• Strong interpersonal skills – able to interact independently (with minimal supervision) and competently with all levels of management and staff.
• Ability to foster effective teamwork and collaboration across departments
• Familiarity with audit technology platforms.
• Identify and use data analytics to improve efficiency and effectiveness

Education, Work Experience, and Professional Designations/Certifications

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent required.
• Professional accounting designation or professional auditing designation (CIA, CISA) is strongly preferred.
• A minimum of 10 years work experience with at least 5 years of internal audit experience or a combination of internal audit and other relevant functional experience, is required.
• Prior leadership accountabilities, including the management of a team.
• Experience working in the Financial Services industry, preferably a credit union or a bank is preferred.
  

• Comfort learning and adopting new digital tools, with an openness to using AI‑enabled technology to enhance productivity, accuracy, and the Member experience.

Salary Range: CAD $123,400.00 to $185,200.00 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. 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: