Manager, Pension Data Quality

THE ROLEReporting to the Associate Director, Pension Data Operations & Governance, the Manager, Pension Data Quality is responsible for the execution, oversight, and continuous improvement of data quality practices across Pension Services.
This role plays a critical part in ensuring pension data is accurate, complete, and fit for use across member administration, reporting, and regulatory processes. The Manager oversees day-to-day data quality activities, including data validation, issue identification and resolution, and monitoring of data quality trends.
Working closely with Pension Services, Technology, Data, and Employer Experience teams, this role supports the integration of data quality standards into operational processes, contributes to data governance practices, and ensures data-related risks and issues are effectively managed through clear ownership, controls, escalation, and evidence-based reporting.
This role is based in downtown Toronto under a hybrid work policy, allowing employees the flexibility to work remotely and in-office (approximately two days per week in-office).
This posting is for an existing vacancy.
SPECIFIC ACCOUNTABILITIESThe Manager, Employer Data Quality will have responsibility for but not limited to the following:
Oversees day-to-day data quality activities, including validation of employer-submitted data and internal data processing, ensuring alignment with plan provisions and operational requirements
Monitors data quality metrics and trends, identifying issues, patterns, and root causes, and supporting remediation activities with operational teams
Leads the identification, prioritization, and resolution of data quality issues, ensuring discrepancies are tracked, analyzed, resolved, and monitored through to root cause remediation to prevent recurrence
Owns the Pension Services data quality control framework, including validation rules, monitoring controls, exception management processes, quality standards, and supporting documentation, ensuring alignment with enterprise data governance frameworks.
Acts as a key Pension Services data steward, supporting the implementation of data ownership, data definitions, critical data element management, and enterprise data governance standards across core pension data domains
Maintains documented data quality controls, control evidence, exception logs, approvals, remediation records, and closure criteria to support audit, compliance, operational risk, and governance reporting
Establishes and manages data issue governance practices, including severity assessment, root cause analysis, escalation pathways, remediation ownership, target dates, and closure criteria for material data issues
Oversees and continuously improves data validation, testing, and quality checks/controls across onboarding, cyclical processing, and ongoing pension administration activities to ensure data accuracy, completeness, consistency, and timeliness
Develops, monitors, and reports on data quality metrics, scorecards, trends, risks, and remediation activities, providing actionable insights to governance forums and operational leaders
Partners with Pension Services, Technology, and Data teams to embed data quality practices into processes, systems, and reporting
Monitors the quality of employer and member source data, identifies systemic issues impacting pension administration, and partners with operational teams and employers to improve data quality at source
Supports data mapping, validation, and testing activities related to data conversion and system enhancements, ensuring data quality requirements are met
Leads continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen data quality controls, reduce recurring defects, improve operational efficiency, and increase automation of validation and monitoring processes
Supports audit, compliance, and risk activities related to data quality, including quality assurance reviews and documentation
Leads, coaches, and develops a team responsible for data quality monitoring, defect management, validation, controls, root cause analysis, and issue resolution, building capability and promoting a culture of data quality and accountability
Accountable for achieving agreed-upon pension data quality targets and service levels, including the monitoring and reporting of data quality performance across key pension data domains
Applies a risk-based approach to prioritize data quality issues based on potential impact to member outcomes, pension calculations, employer trust, operational efficiency, compliance, and reporting accuracy
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
The successful candidate will have a strong understanding of pension administration and data quality practices, with experience operating in a detail-oriented, high-volume environment.
Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience, with strong experience in pension administration or data management
Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) or Pension Plan Administration Certificate (PPAC) is considered an asset
Minimum of 8+ years of progressive experience in defined benefit pension administration, data quality, or a related operational role
Strong understanding of pension data, including data flows, validation requirements, and the impact of data quality on member outcomes
Experience working with data validation, data analysis, and reconciliation processes
Demonstrated experience identifying and resolving data issues in a structured and consistent manner
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and root cause analysis skills
Experience working with pension administration systems and data tools
Demonstrated leadership experience, including coaching and developing team members
Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate data issues clearly to operational and technical stakeholders
Ability to organize, prioritize, and manage multiple activities within established timelines
Experience working within a data governance, data stewardship, or data control framework, including issue management, control documentation, and governance reporting
Understanding of critical pension data elements, data lineage, data quality dimensions, and the impact of data defects on benefit administration, member outcomes, regulatory reporting, and operational risk
ATTRIBUTES
Detail-oriented with a strong focus on accuracy and data integrity
Strong analytical mindset with the ability to identify trends and root causes
Proactive problem solver with a continuous improvement mindset
Collaborative and able to work effectively across operational and technical teams
Strong sense of ownership and accountability
Clear and effective communicator
Self-motivated, flexible, and adaptable to changing priorities and new challenges
Excellent judgment and clear and precise communication skills;
written, verbal, listening and presentation, including a high degree of diplomacy and confidentiality with the ability to adapt communication style to the audience
Proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships
Governance-minded, with the discipline to document decisions, controls, evidence, risks, and remediation outcomes
Risk-aware and able to exercise sound judgment when prioritizing data issues that may affect members, employers, compliance, or operational delivery
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