Head of Brokerage Operations

About Wealthsimple Investments Inc. (WSII)

• Wealthsimple Investments Inc. (WSII) is a registered investment dealer and member of CIRO, CIPF and Payments Canada.
• WSII is also a clearing member of CDS, DTC and OCC, and routes equity and derivatives orders to executing brokers in both Canada and the US.
• WSII’s brokerage powers most of Wealthsimple’s products, including self-directed investing (via our OEO platform), managed investing, crypto asset trading and many of the features that power the chequing account.

About the Role

• The Head of Brokerage Operations is responsible for leading and setting the strategy for our Brokerage Operations which includes Securities Operations (securities and options clearing, settlements, corporate actions and reconciliations), Registered Plans, Margin/Credit, Derivatives Operations, Tax, Reporting & Book of Record Operations, and Crypto Operations.
• The ideal candidate for the role will help Wealthsimple develop innovative ways to deliver value to our clients, enable new investing products like margin and complex derivatives, and responsibly scale our business in close partnership with our finance, compliance, product and engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the strategy for our Brokerage Operations that will successfully steer our business into the next phase of our growth and entry into more complex offerings for our clients.
• Lead a large and high performing Brokerage Operations team to deliver an exceptional and reliable experience for our clients and enable growth of new products and features.
• Partner closely with product and engineering leadership to ensure systems requirements for new product development are in place to support the brokerage, and to continuously improve the performance and resilience of our proprietary back-office systems through automation and controls.
• Support the launch and optimization of new products and features by ensuring operational readiness (e.g., building team capabilities, defining new processes).
• Ensure adherence to policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements.
• Continue the development of an operational risk framework that balances regulatory and industry standards with the company’s overall strategic objectives and risk tolerance.
• Define ambitious operational metrics and objectives and manage and deliver against them.
• Know what is required operationally from a regulatory perspective and meet those requirements.
• Participate in industry committees and events (e.g., IIAC, FOAS), advocate for industry improvements that will benefit our clients and Wealthsimple.
• Continue to build upon our kind, collaborative, and problem solving culture of operational excellence.
• Build a best-in-class, empowered and diverse team.

Qualifications

• Very deep knowledge of all aspects of back office operations (clearing, settlements, corporate actions, account operations, cash management, collateral management, etc).
• Significant experience working with margin, credit and derivatives products in a senior leadership role.
• 10+ years of experience leading a large and high performing team.
• Experience building back office operations from scratch, listing and supporting new asset types on the platform.
• Builder mentality with a proven track record of taking initiatives from start to finish; comfortable rolling up your sleeves and digging into the work at all levels.
• Business judgment - demonstrated ability to link business imperatives and regulatory requirements; business creativity and problem-solving mindset.
• Risk management - experience assessing and mitigating risks with a lens to impact optimization and enabling stakeholders.
• Stakeholder management - Excellent interpersonal skills and willingness to work in collaboration with various team members; confidence to express views that may be contrary to prevailing wisdom.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with superior attention to detail; ability to exercise strong judgment.