Manager, Forecasting Models - Retail & Small Business

Requisition ID: 209939

Join a purpose driven winning team, committed to results, in an inclusive and high-performing culture.

The world is changing faster than ever and so are we!

“Big data”, “machine learning” and “AI” are not just buzzwords; they are an ever-increasing part of our daily life. We have decades of data powering hundreds of models deployed across a multitude of systems that are crying out for smart talented team players who are results-oriented, embrace transformational challenges and relish the opportunity to help us turn our vision into reality.

Our goal is to be nothing less than The Leading Bank in The Americas by putting Customers First. Achieving this requires a Winning Team that can build, manage and govern stable high-performing models and provide our business partners with the best analytic insights and advice possible. To put things in perspective, the models that we build underpin automated risk-management decisions and forecasts that impact millions of customers and keep hundreds of $billions safe every single day.

What Are We Looking For?
We want talented pragmatic analytically oriented data scientists who are equally at home interpreting and applying statistics as they are ingesting and massaging data, translating regulatory requirements into models and explaining complex issues in simple concise ways.  We want bright and energetic minds who come armed with a bottomless sense of curiosity about everything (great models and analytics are about so much more than just the numbers!), a passion for getting things done right – the first time – and a deep sense of personal and professional accountability.

To be a Manager in Forecasting arm of Retail Models & Analytics, it isn’t enough to just be a great model developer (though that is incredibly important as well); you also need to be a collaborative team player who actively listens to stakeholders and customers because you are passionate about helping them win and you need to be interested in building something lasting and great. Working with internal customers (stakeholders) across the bank to understand and translate their needs into outcomes, exploring both novel and legacy data sets and methodologies, collaborating with technology partners to get things implemented flawlessly, and monitoring, tuning up (when necessary), and governing the models that your team “owns” will all be equally important.

We are results driven, we work hard, we play hard, we nerd out and we bring service, smiles and solutions to every problem that we face; so should you.

Make an Impact
As a Manager, you will report directly to a Senior Manager or Director and be a critical member of a team overseeing a portfolio of forecasting models and analytic processes. You will support – from conception through execution and governance – the regulatory capital (AIRB) models covering all of the Bank’s retail and small business product lines. You will collaborate, on a regular basis, with a wide range of stakeholders and internal partners including Provisioning, Model Operations, Finance, Collections, Model Validation and Governance, Technology & Data, Compliance and Audit.

You will have access to both traditional SAS tools and a modern machine learning stack that includes on-premise GPU computing, open source Jupyter development environments, a Hadoop cluster, containerized API model deployment and data visualization business intelligence tools.

Under the guidance of your Director, your team of risk modeling experts will use these tools to develop advanced risk prediction and loss estimation forecasting models that will be used to make decisions worth $billions every month and therefore they need to be not only precise and accurate, but highly stable, explainable, compliant, secure and useful. You will be responsible for understanding the goals & priorities set for you, executing them efficiently with a perpetual eye on quality, asking questions often and delivering results in harmony with your teammates.

Is This Role Right for You?

• You believe, first and foremost, in always doing the right thing and doing things the right way
• You are both deeply curious and highly pragmatic
• You are comfortable with ambitious but realistic goals and are committed to achieving them
• You are social, engaging, not afraid to ask questions and relish the opportunity to learn from global partners across the firm (who may be more, or less technical than you)
• You relish the opportunity and yet also understand the responsibility and weight that comes with the fact that the output of your models will directly influence the bank’s financial statements
• You can read complex and lengthy regulatory requirements and identify opportunities for optimization while always remaining committed to compliance excellence
• You understand what PDs, LGDs, EADs & RWA really are, from the ground up, and can model them precisely for any product
• You have a genuine love, passion and talent for programming, data, and predictive modeling
• You are committed to quality in everything you do – statistically, process and governance wise 
• You look forward to sharing your insights through high-quality verbal & written communications
• You are professional, motivated AND FUN. We mean it.

Sample projects that you might work on include:

• Complete specialized analysis, develop statistical solutions and recommend improvements to estimation techniques and/or forecasting models
• Prepare attribution and/or stock-flow analysis of product portfolios 
• Collaborate with risk management, vendors, technology and compliance + audit to ensure effective governance, measurement & communication of model performance
• Accurately estimate impacts and implement the models developed, recalibrated and maintained in production platforms 
• Identify, promote and lead process improvements for model development and monitoring
• Ensure that the data used for model development is reliable and robust and that it adheres to industry and regulatory standards 

What Do You Need to Succeed?
General

• Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering or an equivalent technical field
• A demonstrated history of analytic problem solving and sound judgment 
• Experience as an analyst or data scientist with a track record of accomplishments working on cross-functional teams
• Strong English-language verbal and written communications skills: the ability to distill abstract business requirements into analysis, concisely convey technical outcomes, tell a story visually with data, prepare and edit high-quality documentation and be accepted as a trusted advisor by peers
• Able to work remotely and on-site on multiple activities simultaneously and meet deadlines 

Technical

• Strong fundamental understanding of statistics
• 2+ years of overall experience in analytic roles developing and using predictive, risk and/or forecasting models
• Highly proficient in 1 or more analytical programming languages (Python, R, SAS, etc.), SQL (Teradata, Oracle, DB2, SQL Server) and multiple environments (Unix & Windows)
• 1 or more years of experience with big data platforms / integration (Hadoop, Spark, Hive, Avro)
• Knowledge about credit risk models / scorecards 

Nice to Have’s

• Proficient reading, writing and speaking Spanish
• Experience with credit risk forecasting and/or financial reporting frameworks
• Experience developing credit risk models / scorecards
• Experience working within loss forecasting, AIRB or IFRS9 frameworks
• Domain expertise with any retail & small business banking products and/or risk management practices
• FRM, CFA credentials
• Experience training and deploying machine learning models using common Python open source frameworks (i.e., scikit-learn) and/or Python DevOps
• Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, PowerBI) power user
• Experience working with FICO / TSYS / CGI decision systems (TRIAD, OM, ACE, CACS) 

What’s in It for You?

• We have an inclusive and collaborative work environment that values curiosity & ownership, encourages pragmatic creativity (i.e. true innovation), and celebrates success!
• You'll get to work with and learn from an incredibly friendly and diverse group of accomplished leaders
• Access to thousands of online and in person courses so you can brush up on skills, or learn new ones
• Multiple career paths and innumerable progression opportunities. We hire you for your talent and not just for the job. We want to see you succeed not just in your role but in your career as a whole
• A competitive rewards package that includes a base salary, a performance bonus, company matching programs on pension and profit sharing, paid vacation, personal & sick days, medical, vision and dental benefits that start from day one and much more!

Location(s):  Canada : Ontario : Toronto 

Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets.  

At Scotiabank, we value the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the Bank, and are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. If you require accommodation (including, but not limited to, an accessible interview site, alternate format documents, ASL Interpreter, or Assistive Technology) during the recruitment and selection process, please let our Recruitment team know. If you require technical assistance, please click here. Candidates must apply directly online to be considered for this role. We thank all applicants for their interest in a career at Scotiabank; however, only those candidates who are selected for an interview will be contacted.