Director, Innovation

Vancity Centre
Vancity Centre
183 Terminal Ave
Vancouver, BC V6A4G2, CAN

Vancity is a member-owned credit union built on the principles of inclusion and social justice. A relentless commitment to their values has helped them challenge the status quo and break down barriers since day one in 1946. They have bold commitments to make Vancity net-zero by 2040 across all mortgages and loans and are pursuing strategies on Indigenous banking and to improve the financial resilience of their members.

Vancity is the largest private sector Living Wage Employer in Canada and has been consistently recognized as one of the Top Employers in Canada. If you’re interested in joining their team of 2,700 diverse individuals and accessing competitive rewards and benefits, all while knowing you are part of a greater movement, then apply today!

About the workplace

This is a permanent, full-time role that will enjoy hybrid working arrangements which can be fulfilled primarily from the Vancity head office location and your Lower Mainland based home office. Periodically, you’ll be required to attend in-person activities or events.

As the Director of Innovation, you will be responsible for driving the innovation agenda and building the research and development capabilities at Vancity. This includes formulating and testing ideas for incubation, managing change, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. This role requires strategic oversight of the organization's innovation initiatives, collaborating with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to implement new solutions, monitor performance, and ensure organizational alignment with business objectives.

A typical day would involve:

Develop and Incubate Ideas

• Curate ideas that drive the mutual objectives of creating impact for our members while driving revenue for the organization.
• Test and prototype top ideas for delivery.
• Oversee the implementation of innovation projects across the organization, ensuring smooth and efficient execution.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams such as Technology to scale initiatives and drive organization-wide adoption.
• Lead change management efforts to facilitate smooth transitions, securing stakeholder buy-in and preparing teams for new innovations.

Performance Monitoring and Reporting:

• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and monitor performance, adjusting strategies to maximize impact and ensure alignment with organizational goals.
• Regularly report on the progress of innovation projects to leadership.

Research and Implementation of Best Practices:

• Lead the research and implementation of tools, methodologies, and best practices to promote, support, and drive innovation and continuous improvement.
• Develop strategies for idea generation, creative thinking, and business solution development.

Collaboration with Senior Leadership:

• Work with the Senior Leadership team to establish priority innovation and business improvement projects.
• Lead and manage significant and complex projects, engaging internal and external partners and cross-functional teams.

You have:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Technology, or a related field. A Master’s or relevant post-graduate degree is a nice to have.
• 5 – 7 years of experience in developing and implementing innovative enterprise initiatives, preferably within the banking or financial services industry.
• Exposure to areas such as generative AI, open banking, FinTech, cryptocurrency, blockchain/IoT, web3, decentralized finance.
• Strong experience leading and guiding teams through periods of change.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, leadership and influencing capabilities on a multi-cultural environment.
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with ability to manage ambiguity and make data-driven decisions.

You are:

• A Strategic partner – you deeply understand the business strategy and operations to be able to recommend strategies and enable short and long-term goals.
• Curious & innovative – you’re constantly on the lookout for trends and opportunities to experiment with. Your innovative approach drives you to develop and test new solutions that keep the business competitive and forward-thinking.
• A Strong Communicator - you use your strong communication and interpersonal skills to create clear understanding of expectations; address challenges and issues for the business unit; and represent the unit across the organization.
• Analytical - with your strong problem solving and decision making skills, you can diagnose challenges and opportunities to develop innovative solutions.
• Technology savvy – you are constantly seeking to leverage emerging technologies to drive innovation.
• Committed to continuous development – you’re continuously striving for improvements and evolving plans to adapt to changing member and organizational needs.

We value lived experience, so if you are interested in this role, we encourage you to apply even if you feel your skills don't perfectly align with those listed.

The salary range for the role is $121,000 to $181,200. The upper half of the salary range is typically reserved for individuals who have demonstrated consistent strong performance in the role and possess a high level of job knowledge and skill.

• Our permanent employees qualify for attractive benefit packages that can be customized and changed each year to meet their evolving needs.
• New employees receive between three to four weeks of vacation allowance per calendar year, and the number of vacation days grows — to a maximum of six weeks per year — as their length of service increases. In addition, full-time, permanent staff may be able to purchase extra days of vacation through our flexible benefits package.
• In addition to the 10 statutory holidays in British Columbia, Vancity provides an additional three statutory holidays. We offer care days for periods of short-term personal illness or emergency family illness, plus opportunities to take unpaid leave for a variety of reasons.
• Our health care & dental benefits offer three levels of health care and dental coverage for you to select from. These benefits will also be effective immediately based on your hire date.
• We understand that retirement means different things to different people and at Vancity we will offer you a Defined pension plan that pays you a retirement income for life.

Please note that all shortlisted candidates for this role will be required to complete a background check which includes employment verification, credit check, and a criminal record check. Vancity is an inclusive and equitable employer and actively seeks to advance racial equity, inclusion and belonging across the organization.

We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment experience for all candidates. If you require any accommodations at any stage of the recruitment process, please reach out to our Talent Acquisition team at recruitment@vancity.com for confidential support. In-person assistance is also available. We will collaborate with you to ensure your needs are met promptly and effectively.