Associate Director, Risk and Insurance

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Posting Reason:

Replacement of a regular position

Job Type:

Employee

Anticipated Duration in Months (for contracts and temporary assignments):

N/A

Job Family:

Risk Management

# of Open Positions:

1

Faculty/Service - Department:

Office of the Chief Risk Officer

Campus:

Main Campus

Union Affiliation:

N/A

Date Posted (YYYY/MM/DD):

2026/03/16

Applications must be received BEFORE (YYYY/MM/DD):

2026/04/13

Hours per week:

35

Salary Grade:

Non-Union Grade NM3

Salary Range:

$129,272.00 - $161,590.00

About the Office of the Chief Risk Officer:

The Office of the Chief Risk Officer offers a rewarding journey where your skills and passion for risk management will play a key role in shaping the future of the University of Ottawa. Our Office oversees Operational and Enterprise Risk Management, Insurance, Internal Audit, Protection Services, Emergency Management, and Health, Safety and Environmental Management. Our team is dedicated to ensuring the resilience and continuity of our operations. With a commitment to excellence, you'll have the opportunity to contribute significantly to promoting risk culture within our institution. We strive to be a valued partner and key player in advising and supporting University leadership, faculties, and staff, helping to foster a culture of informed decision-making. Join us in building a resilient future for the University of Ottawa and become part of our collaborative and forward-thinking team.

Position Purpose

Reporting to the Chief Risk Officer, the incumbent provides leadership for the development, implementation and management of the Enterprise Risk management framework, and the implementation of operational risk management assessments for faculties and services. They will direct the development of risk management policies, procedures and directives in consultation with management and faculties/services, as well as direct, oversee and evaluate the activities of the Enterprise Risk Management, Insurance, Loss Control, Claims Management and International Travel Risk sectors to bring, expertise and insight that will assist in the evaluation and decision-making process.

In this role, your responsibilities will include

• Risk Management : Leads and develops programs and leads risk management programs to operating risks, insurance, and any class of financial risk as well as overseeing the implementation of enterprise and operational risk assessments to ensure that appropriate risks are either accepted or mitigated in academia, research and support functions within the established framework, and where issues are identified, to negotiate the action plans to address identified issues and monitoring. Oversees the preparation of bi-annual and annual reports to the Board of Governors and associated committees on enterprise risk management to ensure that senior management are informed of, and are prepared to manage, the risks. Liaises with central functions and faculties, by reviewing risk, indemnity, and insurance-related contract provisions and provides advice, guidance and due diligence.

• Insurance and Claims​: Oversees the University insurance program including the determination of policy requirements, negotiation of contract wording, and pricing, to ensure the University and individual employees and students are protected against financial loss in the event of a risk issue. Oversees negotiations with insurance companies to ensure maximum value and protection for the University of Ottawa and its operations, assets and infrastructure. Strengthen partnerships with internal and external clients through consistent service delivery, strong personal relationships and innovative service offerings. Determines funding levels and budgeting requirements for risk finance strategies including, but not limited to, liability, property, cyber and crime insurance protection. Collaborates with external brokers and insurers in the development, analysis, placement, monitoring and renewal of uOttawa’s insurance policies and risk transfer strategies. Manages claims costs to ensure consistently improved outcomes, identifies problems and issues, recommends corrective actions, monitors solutions, and interacts with claimants as necessary.

• Risk and Loss Control:  Executes and implements business control priorities and strategy through monitoring key operational risks, loss trends, management concerns, strategic control initiatives, business evolution, risk and control governance and reporting. Develops risk control management programs for prevention and improving premises and operations and establishes risk awareness systems that allow stakeholders to make business decisions where the risks and opportunities are the key consideration for decision making.

• Contracts and Negotiations: Develops and ensures that the relationship between the University and external parties reflects an appropriate distribution of responsibilities and liabilities.  This can include reviewing and providing risk management-related input on contracts, MOUs, placement agreements and other documentation. Reviews procurement, service and project contracts and leases to ensure proper allocation of risk, ensuring the insurance obligations support the risk allocation and manages change, adapting contract risk and insurance templates to new requirements.

What you will bring:

• Master’s degree with a specialization in a Business-related field, or an equivalent combination of postsecondary studies and professional experience.

• Ten (10) years of experience in risk management and insurance.

• Five (5) years of experience in human resources management, ideally in a unionized environment.

• Professional designation in risk management Canadian Risk Management (CRM) or Chartered Insurance Professional (CPI).

• Knowledge of risk assessment, due diligence, management systems and corporate reporting.

• Knowledge of federal, provincial and municipal regulations and best practices in Canada and internationally.

• Knowledge of legal principles, contracts and loss prevention systems.

• Experience in developing and implementing institutional policies and procedures.

• Experience in project and program management.

• Experience in assessing policy and regulatory requirements and the methods and procedures for ensuring compliance.

• Experience in financial management an asset

• Experience in multi-stakeholder consultations and team building.

• Proven leader and strategic thinker.

• Bilingualism – French and English (spoken and written)

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Key Competencies at uOttawa:
Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa: 

Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.
Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact hrtalentmanagement@uottawa.ca to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Note: if this is a union position: The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.

If this is a front-line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language. The rating is determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.

Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 – Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.