Senior Director, Tax Strategy

Join a Challenger

Being a traditional bank just isn’t our thing. We are big believers in innovating the banking experience because we believe Canadians deserve better options, and we challenge ourselves and our teams to creatively transform what’s possible in banking. Our team is made up of inquisitive and agile minds that find smarter ways of doing things. If you’re not afraid of taking on big challenges and redefining the future, you belong with us. You’ll get to work with people who will encourage you to reach new heights. We like to keep things fun, ask questions and learn together.

We are a big (and growing!) family. Overall we serve more than 670,000 people across Canada through Equitable Bank, Canada's Challenger Bank™, and have been around for more than 50 years. Equitable Bank's wholly-owned subsidiary, Concentra Bank, supports credit unions across Canada that serve more than six million members. Together we have over $125 billion in combined assets under management and administration, with a clear mandate to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people's lives. Our customers have named our EQ Bank digital platform (eqbank.ca) one of the top banks in Canada on the Forbes World's Best Banks list since 2021. 

The Work

The Senior Director, Tax Strategy plays a critical role within the Bank’s Accounting and Finance Department and is responsible for the tax planning/tax strategy efforts of EQB Inc and its subsidiaries including Equitable Bank, Concentra Bank, Equitable Trust, Concentra Trust, Bennington Financial, and others. Additionally, this role will play an integral part of an effective and efficient management process related to taxation including being a subject matter expert and supporting the review of tax filings, remittances, tax provisioning/journal entries, and financial statements notes.

This position requires strong communication and interpersonal skills combined with superior management and organizational expertise to oversee and manage a wide range of responsibilities.

Core Parts Of the Role Would Be:

• Oversee the tax planning/tax strategy efforts of EQB Inc and its subsidiaries to optimize tax obligations for the companies within the group. This includes activities related to:
• Corporate tax (federal and provincial)
• Commodity tax (ie. PST/GST/HST)
• Capital tax
• International taxation
• Manages and coordinates activities related to SR&ED claims, including gathering the reporting and information needed to support the claims and working with project teams
• Responsible for integrity, accuracy, and timeliness of tax filings and remittances through supporting the team as a subject matter expert and supporting the review process
• Manage tax changes and educate internal stakeholders on tax matters
• Resolving issues and requests in collaboration with other stakeholders
• Identifying and executing on opportunities to improve processes and controls, and building internal scalability
• Lead various tax related enterprise-wide reporting and projects, working with internal and external partners, including a focus on digitalization of tax functions and workflows
• Respond to federal and province tax notices, audits, and inquiries
• Provides taxation advisory support to business unit inquiries including new product and service launches

Let's Talk About You!

• Completion of a recognized accounting designation: CPA, CA; CPA, CGA; or CPA, CMA or a legal degree (JD or LLB)
• In depth knowledge of taxation, through the completion of additional specialized education in Canadian taxation and/or experience working in a related taxation role.
• 10 – 15 years of relevant experience
• 5+ years of tax planning/strategy experience
• Proven success as a finance leader in a manager/director or similar role, preferably in financial services
• Strong organizational skills to be able to set priorities, develop work schedules and timelines, and monitor and track progress
• Excellent written and oral communication, presentation skills
• Excellent leadership skills to generate enthusiasm, integrity, and build consensus amongst direct reports and staff members; and to be able to establish and maintain positive working relationships with external and internal partners

What we offer [For full-time permanent roles]

💰 Competitive discretionary bonus 

✨ Market leading RRSP match program

🩺 Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability benefits

📝 Employee Share Purchase Plan

👶🏽 Maternity/Parental top-up while you care for your little one

🏝 Generous vacation policy, personal days and even a moving day 

🖥 Virtual events to connect with your fellow colleagues

🎓 Annual professional development allowance and a comprehensive Career Development program

💛 A fulfilling opportunity to join one of the top FinTechs and help create a new kind of banking experience

The incumbent will be working hybrid and in office time will be spent working from Equitable Bank’s additional office space located at 351 King Street East, Toronto, ON.

Equitable Bank is deeply committed to inclusion. Our organization is stronger and our employees thrive when we honour and celebrate everyone’s diverse experiences and perspectives. In tandem with that commitment, we support and encourage our staff to grow not just in their career path, but personally as well. 

We commit to providing a barrier-free recruitment process and work environment for all applicants. Please let us know of any accommodations needed so that you can bring your best self to the application process and beyond. All candidates considered for hire must successfully pass a criminal background check and credit check to qualify for hire. While we appreciate your interest in applying, an Equitable recruiter will only contact leading candidates whose skills and qualifications closely match the requirements of the position.

We can’t wait to get to know you!