ERM Product Risk, Lead

Who We Are:

Every transaction matters. Every Canadian matters. At Interac, we protect both — driving trust, security, and inclusion, so our digital economy thrives.
 
Founded in 1984, Interac connects Canadians through secure digital payments, advanced identity verification and industry-leading fraud protection. Connecting banks, businesses, and individuals, Interac enables millions to send, receive, and manage money safely and effortlessly every day — across both digital and physical environments.

As the backbone of Canada’s financial ecosystem, Interac facilitates over 20 million transactions daily, supported by trusted partnerships with government and financial institutions. Consistently ranked as Canada’s most reputable financial technology brand, Interac is deeply embedded in the daily lives of Canadians.

Who You Will Work With:  

The vacant Product Risk Lead position will report to our Risk Management Leader and operate as an experienced second line leader within the Enterprise Risk Management team.

The Product Risk Lead provides independent second line oversight and challenge across the product lifecycle, from strategy and design through launch, operation, material change, and retirement. The role maintains focused oversight of products and services supporting Prominent Payment Systems, including their platforms, participants, critical service providers, and operational dependencies.

This role ensures that ERM standards, risk appetite, taxonomy, control requirements, and issue management practices are applied consistently to product and payment systems risk. It enables risk informed decisions through independent assessment, credible challenge, monitoring, aggregation, and escalation, with particular focus on operational risk, operational resilience, incidents, deficiencies, risk acceptance, concentration risk, and third party dependencies.

The Product Risk Lead contributes to the broader Product and Platform Risk mandate by identifying cross product themes, strengthening enterprise insight, and supporting consistent oversight across product teams, business units, and functional groups. The role engages early with the first line while maintaining clear accountability boundaries: the first line owns product delivery, controls, assessments, incidents, and remediation; the Product Risk Lead provides independent oversight, challenge, monitoring, and escalation.
 

What You Will Do:  

Product and Payment Systems Risk Oversight

• Provide independent second line oversight and credible challenge across product strategy, design, launch, operation, material change, and retirement.
• Maintain focused oversight of products and services supporting Prominent Payment Systems, including platforms, participants, critical service providers, and material operational dependencies.
• Assess product and payment systems risk against enterprise risk appetite, taxonomy, policies, standards, and regulatory expectations.
• Independently review and challenge first line risk assessments, control design, residual risk conclusions, remediation plans, and risk acceptance decisions.
• Independently assess whether risk acceptance decisions are adequately supported, within delegated authority, time limited where appropriate, and escalated when exposure is outside approved appetite or tolerance.
• Oversee operational risk exposure, including incidents, control deficiencies, service disruption, processing risk, concentration risk, third party dependencies, and operational resilience.
• Assess the risk implications of material product, platform, technology, process, and third party changes, and provide independent second line review and challenge of support regulatory notification decisions notifications and supporting evidence without assuming ownership of the notification process where required.
• Monitor risk indicators, control performance, incidents, deficiencies, and remediation progress, escalating material concerns and policy deviations.
• Formally document unresolved second line challenge and escalate material concerns through the applicable product, executive, and risk governance pathways when first line action is not timely or sufficient.
• Aggregate product level insights to identify systemic exposure, cross product themes, emerging risks, and enterprise level implications.
• Assess forward looking product risks, including customer harm, market conduct, fraud evolution, technology concentration, data and artificial intelligence risk, ecosystem change, and unintended product outcomes, where relevant.
• Prepare independent risk reporting for management and Board risk committees, including clear conclusions, trends, decisions, and required actions.
• Promote risk informed decision making by translating ERM requirements into practical guidance without assuming first line ownership.
• Provide oversight of the completeness and quality of product risk, control, deficiency, issue, and risk acceptance records within the enterprise system of record.

ERM Integration and Collaboration

• Partner with Product, Technology, Operations, Fraud, Security, Compliance, Legal, Finance, Operational Resilience, and Third Party Risk stakeholders to develop a complete view of exposure.
• Connect product risk oversight to the enterprise risk assessment, risk appetite, control library, issue management, scenario analysis, and regulatory commitment processes.
• Establish consistent methods, guidance, and evidence standards for product and payment systems risk oversight.
• Support continuous improvement of the Product and Platform Risk mandate through lessons from incidents, changes, assessments, supervisory feedback, and industry developments.

Key Accountabilities

• Deliver credible, timely, and consistent second line oversight of product and payment systems risk.
• Provide a clear independent view of whether material product risks remain within approved appetite and tolerance.
• Identify and escalate systemic risks, cross product themes, control weaknesses, and unresolved remediation.
• Maintain defensible oversight evidence for management, Board, and regulatory review.
• Strengthen accountability by ensuring first line owners understand required decisions, actions, evidence, and escalation expectations.
• Demonstrate success through timely and well evidenced challenge, consistent and defensible risk conclusions, early identification of material exposure, effective escalation and closure of concerns, and reliable product risk oversight records.

What You Bring: 

• 10 or more years of progressive experience in enterprise, product, operational, technology, regulatory, or payments risk.
• Strong knowledge of payment products, payment systems, financial market infrastructure, or other highly available regulated services.
• Deep understanding of operational risk, operational resilience, controls, incidents, deficiencies, scenario analysis, issue management, and risk acceptance.
• Experience assessing material product, platform, technology, process, and third party changes.
• Strong understanding of enterprise risk frameworks, risk appetite, risk taxonomy, governance, and the Three Lines Model.
• Ability to provide independent challenge, form defensible risk conclusions, and escalate material concerns with confidence.
• Experience preparing concise risk reporting and evidence for senior management, Board committees, or regulators.
• Ability to influence product owners, executives, delivery leaders, and control partners while preserving clear accountability boundaries.
• Ability to translate complex risk and regulatory expectations into clear decisions, actions, and evidence requirements.
• Experience across all listed risk domains is preferred rather than required; candidates must demonstrate deep expertise in second line product or payments risk and the ability to apply that expertise across adjacent risk disciplines.
• Sound judgement, systems thinking, and the ability to connect product level observations to enterprise exposure.
• Eligibility to work for Interac Corp. in Canada in a full time capacity.

What We’re Offering: 

The hiring range for this position is $130,000-$145,000, and you will also be eligible for our short-term incentive plan. The exact amount will depend on factors such as skills, experience, and job-related knowledge, but Interac’s commitment goes beyond compensation. Our Total Rewards package is designed to support your well-being and future, and includes: 

• Generous vacation and wellness days to help you recharge 
• Comprehensive employer-paid benefits coverage for peace of mind 
• Market-leading employer-funded RRSP program to invest in your future 
• Flexible hybrid work model for better work-life balance 
• Access to a free and confidential 24/7 employee & family assistance program to offer support for you and your immediate family 
• Pregnancy and parental leave top-up to support growing families 
• Charitable donation matching with United Way to amplify your impact 

Why Join Us?

At Interac, the impact we make, and the people who drive it, is profound. When you become part of our team, you’re joining a purpose-driven organization that’s shaping the future of digital finance in Canada. Here’s what you can expect:

• Investing in the Future – Help us unlock digital prosperity for all Canadians.

• Innovative Thinking – Collaborate on products, practices, and platforms that redefine what’s possible.

• Inclusive Culture – Be empowered to bring your whole self to work and realize your full potential.

• Inspiring Community – Work in an ecosystem where we lift each other up and rise together.

• Intentional Support – Enjoy flexible, supportive offerings that prioritize your total wellness.

Additional Pre-Employment Requirements:

To ensure the integrity of our organization, successful candidates will be required to complete background checks, which may include, Canadian Criminal Credit Check, Canadian ID Cross-Check, Public Safety Verification, 5-year Employment Verification, Education Verification, Credit Check, and Social Media Check.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Interac is also an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We believe that innovation thrives when people from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives come together. That’s why we are committed to providing fair and equitable employment opportunities for all individuals, without discrimination based on race, color, ancestry, ethnic origin, place of origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital or family status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

If you require accommodation during any stage of the application or recruitment process, please contact us at humanresources@interac.ca. We will work with you to meet your needs.

Please be aware that certain individuals are misusing Interac Corp.’s name and logo to promote fictitious employment opportunities. Interac Corp. never requests, solicits, or accepts any form of payment in exchange for employment. Any such offers are fraudulent and should be disregarded. Interac Corp. assumes no liability for any claims, losses, damages, expenses, or inconveniences arising from or related to these fraudulent activities. Such communications do not constitute an offer or representation by Interac Corp. or its subsidiaries and affiliates.