Director Compliance, Designated Complaints Officer

The DCO reports directly to the CCO, and has two direct reports, but is expected to work closely with MWI legal counsel, sometimes external counsel, and MWI’s vendor partners and insurance carriers and brokers.

The DCO is expected to stay attuned to regulatory, legislative and enforcement trends and developments which can impact MWI. This can be achieved by attending regulatory events in person or in webinars, and other events, as required.

The DCO will be expected to have experience and skill at leading sometimes complex, confidential, time-sensitive investigations by themselves or with the team or with MWI’s global investigative services team.

The DCO should be familiar with relevant sections of the Securities Act, Ontario, and the CIRO rulebook, as well as past industry regulatory precedents to help guide MWI to the right outcomes.

MWI also has an insurance distribution affiliate, for which the DCO must be comfortable addressing complaints or investigations that span this coverage area.

The DCO must be comfortable with providing timely reporting to the CCO, and must know or be willing to learn SharePoint, as well as the traditional Microsoft suite of software tools.

The DCO must have superior written and verbal communication skills to address issues expertly with regulators and customers. They must also be comfortable with occasional difficult investigations or negotiations. Attention to detail, deep due diligence, curiosity, and prompt follow up are required to conclude investigations optimally.

The DCO must be an authority in the complaint handling and investigation process. They will be expected to lead and conduct sophisticated and higher risk complaint and internal investigations ensuring thorough due diligence, communicating, and corresponding with interested parties, preparing, and delivering analyses and reports, handling related records and documentation, and delivering detailed and appropriate recommendations for resolution within regulatory or agreed timelines.

The role will liaise with other departments at MWI, other business divisions within Manulife affiliates, and external organizations, such as regulators and insurance providers, as required.

Handle Client Complaints & Regulatory Investigations.

Lead staff of two and their investigations.

Growth mindset for adopting new opportunities.

Oversee the end-to-end client complaint process for assigned complaints, including:

Investigate allegations and prepare substantive response letters for client complaints or investigation reports for allegations of advisor misconduct.

Handle the collection of information and documents from advisors through Compliance staff and other departments where applicable.

Act as a primary contact for the dealer in matters involving the Errors & Omissions (E&O) insurance provider.

Follow the appropriate protocol determined by complaint or investigation type (i.e. advanced complaint, high profile investigation).

Recommend appropriate settlement offers in respect of client complaints and disciplinary sanctions in respect of advisor misconduct.

Act as primary contact for, and responsible for response to, regulatory inquiries and matters advanced to CIRO, OSC, AMF, FSRA, OBSI, for assigned complaints.