Senior Manager, Risk Strategy & Governance

Application Deadline:

12/04/2026

Address:

33 Dundas Street West

Job Family Group:

Business Management

Build the Future of Risk

Within the Office of the COO, Team FIRST ( F irst Line, I ntegration, R eview, S upport, T ransparency) enables Canadian Personal & Business Banking to make superior risk-informed decisions by marrying  governance & reporting with disciplined delivery. We simplify complex requirements, shine a light on material risks and emerging trends, and connect enterprise risk expectations to practical business execution. This is a visible role for a leader who can operate in ambiguity, influence across lines of defence and turn complex information into focused action.

Role Mandate

As Senior Manager, Risk Strategy & Governance, you will lead a team owning a portfolio of enterprise-aligned 1LOD risk programs and executive reporting activities across Canadian P&BB. You will provide end-to-end leadership across Risk Appetite, Risk Identification, governance forums, risk dashboards and related strategic or regulatory initiatives. You will work closely with business leaders, 1LOD risk and control partners, 2LOD Risk, and enterprise program teams to align expectations, challenge inputs, manage dependencies and deliver accurate, concise and audit-ready outcomes.

This role is broader than project coordination; success requires sound risk judgment, a clear point of view, strong executive synthesis, and the confidence to recommend a path forward when information is incomplete or stakeholders hold different perspectives. You see the risk path forward rather than the path already traveled.

What You Will Do

Lead integrated risk strategy and governance: Connect business strategy, Risk Appetite, Risk Identification, emerging risks, controls and executive reporting so that senior Risk & LOB leaders have a coherent view of the risk profile and implications for business execution.

Own Risk Appetite reporting and annual refresh: Lead quarterly Risk Appetite Metric reporting and the annual refresh across Group, segment and product views. Coordinate data owners and accountable leaders, assess trends and breaches, strengthen action plans and Path-to-Green visibility, support threshold calibration, and manage review, effective challenge and approval requirements.

Lead Risk Identification and material-risk governance: Coordinate the Canadian P&BB risk inventory and material-risk refresh across risk stripes. Structure stakeholder reviews, test assessment rationale, reconcile 1LOD and 2LOD perspectives, document effective challenge and drive executive review, approval and submission.

Strengthen the Vertical Risk Committee: Manage and continuously improve the Canadian P&BB Vertical Risk Committee, including the rolling agenda, risk-profile summary, priority-risk spotlights, pre-reads, speaking notes, minutes, decisions and action tracking. Ensure the forum meets enterprise governance, escalation and recordkeeping expectations.

Deliver executive and Board-level risk reporting: Optimize concise dashboards, decision papers, presentations, speaking notes and approval packages for senior executives and governance committees. Translate data and technical risk content into what happened, why it matters, the business or risk implication, and the recommended action.

Drive strategic and regulatory initiatives: Lead enterprise risk-framework enhancements and other cross-functional priorities such as governance standards, escalation requirements, KRI governance, emerging-risk activities, Board strategy risk content, cyclical reviews and audit or regulatory requests.

Provide effective challenge and quality assurance: Test assumptions, data integrity, completeness, consistency and business impact. Identify gaps early, seek evidence, constructively challenge weak or conflicting submissions, and escalate material issues or delivery risks when needed.

Manage a complex stakeholder network: Build trusted relationships across Canadian P&BB businesses, product teams, 1LOD risk and control partners, 2LOD, Finance, Audit and enterprise risk teams. Clarify decision rights, owners, milestones and dependencies, and influence outcomes without relying on formal authority.

Simplify and improve how the work gets done: Reduce duplication, improve controls and documentation, automate or streamline reporting where practical, and design scalable routines that improve speed, transparency, audit readiness and decision usefulness.

Lead and develop talent: Set clear priorities and quality standards, delegate effectively, coach team members, provide actionable feedback and create opportunities for others to build risk judgment, stakeholder-management and executive-communication capabilities.

What You Bring

·       7-10 years of progressive experience in enterprise risk management, risk governance, business management, strategy, transformation, finance, consulting or a related field, including experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives.

·       Proven ability to structure ambiguous problems, form a defensible point of view and move work from initial framing through stakeholder alignment, executive decision and completion.

·       Excellent executive communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex quantitative and qualitative information into concise, decision-ready narratives and presentations.

·       Strong stakeholder-management and influencing skills across LOB, 1LOD and 2LOD partners, including the ability to challenge constructively and resolve competing priorities.

·       Strong analytical judgment and attention to detail, including data reconciliation, trend interpretation, threshold or metric assessment, and quality assurance of high-visibility materials.

·       Advanced Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel skills. Experience with Power BI, workflow tools, SharePoint, Teams, automation or AI-enabled productivity is an asset.

·       Experience leading or coaching others and setting standards for ownership, accuracy, timeliness and executive readiness.

·       A degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Risk Management or a related discipline. An MBA, CFA, FRM, CPA, PMP or comparable qualification is an asset.

·       Bonus: Demonstrated knowledge of Risk Appetite, risk metrics and limits, Key Risk Indicators, Risk Identification, governance forums, effective challenge, escalation and risk reporting.

How You Will Succeed in this Role

·       Think like an integrator, connecting strategy, risk, controls, data, governance and execution rather than treating each program as a separate exercise.

·       Lead with judgment and recommendations, not solely coordination or data compilation.

·       Can balance strategic thinking with disciplined execution, detailed quality control and strong follow-through.

·       Are comfortable engaging senior leaders, adapting the story to the audience and responding confidently to challenge in the moment.

·       Create clarity in complex environments, hold stakeholders accountable respectfully and keep critical work moving under tight timelines.

·       Look for practical ways to simplify processes and improve decision quality without weakening governance or control requirements.

Salary :

$85,500.00 - $185,000.00

Pay Type:

Salaried

The above represents BMO Financial Group’s pay range and type.

Salaries will vary based on factors such as location, skills, experience, education, and qualifications for the role, and may include a commission structure. Salaries for part-time roles will be pro-rated based on number of hours regularly worked. For commission roles, the salary listed above represents BMO Financial Group’s expected target for the first year in this position.

BMO Financial Group’s total compensation package will vary based on the pay type of the position and may include performance-based incentives, discretionary bonuses, as well as other perks and rewards. BMO also offers health insurance, tuition reimbursement, accident and life insurance, and retirement savings plans. To view more details of our benefits, please visit:  https://jobs.bmo.com/global/en/Total-Rewards

About Us

At BMO we are driven by a shared Purpose: Boldly Grow the Good in business and life. It calls on us to create lasting, positive change for our customers, our communities and our people. By working together, innovating and pushing boundaries, we transform lives and businesses, and power economic growth around the world.

As a member of the BMO team you are valued, respected and heard, and you have more ways to grow and make an impact. We strive to help you make an impact from day one – for yourself and our customers. We’ll support you with the tools and resources you need to reach new milestones, as you help our customers reach theirs. From in-depth training and coaching, to manager support and network-building opportunities, we’ll help you gain valuable experience, and broaden your skillset.

To find out more visit us at https://jobs.bmo.com/ca/en .

BMO is committed to an inclusive, equitable and accessible workplace. By learning from each other’s differences, we gain strength through our people and our perspectives. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. To request accommodation, please contact your recruiter.

Note to Recruiters: BMO does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from a candidate. Any unsolicited resumes sent to BMO, directly or indirectly, will be considered BMO property. BMO will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume. A recruiting agency must first have a valid, written and fully executed agency agreement contract for service to submit resumes.