Director - Privacy Office (Deputy Chief Privacy Officer); Head of Advisory and RCM

About KOHO

We’re on a mission to make financial services better for every Canadian. That means no hidden fees, no predatory interest rates - just financial products designed to help our users spend smart, save more, and build real wealth. We’re a performance organization with a strong heart: we care deeply about outcomes, and everything ties back to our mission - to financially empower a generation of Canadians.

At KOHO, we’re not your average 9-5. We believe real impact comes from people who are trusted, empowered, and supported to do their best work - without sacrificing their lives to do it. We prioritize work-life integration, not just work-life balance. That means asynchronous collaboration, flexible hours, and a remote-first setup built around autonomy and high trust.

KOHO is entering its next chapter - leaner, smarter, more AI-integrated. We’re building for impact, not bureaucracy. If you thrive in environments that value clarity, ownership, and bold thinking, you’ll fit right in.

About The Role

We’re looking for a seasoned Director - Privacy Office (Deputy Chief Privacy Officer); Head of Advisory and RCM to lead the advisory heart of KOHO’s Compliance function and to own our Privacy Office end to end. Reporting to the Chief Compliance Officer, you will be the trusted advisor to our business partners, such as product (lending, core banking, growth & onboarding), marketing, and user success, and before they build — translating a dense regulatory landscape into clear and useful guidance. You will also own KOHO’s privacy program, from Privacy Impact Assessments and consent design through to breach response.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who is energized by ambiguity, comfortable being the decision-maker in the room, and motivated by building durable programs rather than inheriting them. If you believe compliance should make good products possible rather than merely permissible, you’ll do your best work here.

What You’ll Be Doing

Compliance Advisory

• Act as the primary compliance advisor to business partners such as Product (lending, core banking, growth & onboarding), Marketing, Technology, Payments, Partnerships, and User Success, providing timely, practical, risk-based guidance on new products, features, campaigns, and business arrangements.

• Own the regulatory advisory and interpretation function, resolving novel questions with clear written positions and a defensible rationale that stands up to regulatory and audit scrutiny.

• Lead compliance review and sign-off of marketing materials, disclosures, and customer communications, and embed obligations into product development early.

• Own the Whistleblower and Ethics programs, including intake, investigation oversight, non-retaliation, and ethics reporting to the Board.

Regulatory Compliance Management

• In collaboration with Legal, own the regulatory compliance management program: horizon scanning, impact assessment, and coordinated implementation of new and amended regulatory requirements.

• Maintain KOHO’s regulatory obligations inventory and the mapping of obligations to responsible business owners, policies, and controls.

• Lead the development, refresh, and governance of compliance policies, standards, and procedures, including annual approval cycles.

Privacy Office (Deputy Chief Privacy Officer)

• Own and mature KOHO’s enterprise privacy program, aligned to privacy legislation, and act as KOHO’s designated privacy lead.

• Establish and run the Privacy Impact Assessment process for new products, vendors, data uses, and technology changes, and govern consent, collection, use, disclosure, retention, and cross-border transfer of personal information on a privacy-by-design basis.

• Lead privacy incident and breach response, including containment coordination, real-risk-of-significant-harm assessments, regulatory and individual notification, and root cause remediation.

• Own privacy complaints and access and correction requests, the data inventory and privacy notices, and privacy training and awareness across the organization.

Team Leadership and Industry Engagement

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of compliance and privacy professionals, setting clear priorities and raising the technical bar of the function.

• Partner closely with Financial Crime, Compliance Testing, Operational Risk, Internal Audit, Legal, and Tech/Cyber to ensure integrated coverage and no gaps between mandates.

• Represent KOHO externally with industry associations, peer forums, and regulator outreach, staying ahead of emerging compliance, privacy, and conduct risk trends.

• Prepare and present clear, decision-ready materials for senior management and applicable Board-level committees.

AI, Automation and Innovation

• Apply AI, automation, and data analytics to advisory intake, regulatory horizon scanning, marketing review, and privacy assessments.

• Advise the business on the responsible use of AI, including model transparency, fairness, explainability, and personal information use.

• Evaluate and implement RegTech and privacy technology that improves speed and consistency without diluting rigour.

Who You Are

• You have 10+ years of progressive compliance, privacy, or regulatory legal experience in financial services, with meaningful time spent in an advisory capacity.

• You have deep working knowledge of Canadian consumer protection, retail banking or payments, and privacy legislation.

• You have built or substantially matured a privacy program or regulatory change program, not just operated one someone else designed.

• You are a strong people leader and a clear writer — you can give a straight answer to a hard question and explain the reasoning behind it.

• You’ve worked in regulated fintech, neobank, or direct-to-consumer financial institutions, you’re passionate about empowering financial wellness, and a relevant designation (CIPP/C, CAMS, CRCM, LL.B/JD, or equivalent) is an asset.

The budgeted salary range for this role is $190,000-230,000CAD / year.

At KOHO, we are dedicated to providing pay transparency to all candidates. Compensation at KOHO is determined through various factors including but not limited to: comparable salary market data within Canada, technical skill assessment, a holistic view of previous work history, and internal pay equity with other KOHO team members.

Job Description in French

About the Role

We are looking for a seasoned professional to lead advisory services — the heart of KOHO’s Compliance function — and to take full charge of our Privacy Office. Reporting to the Chief Compliance Officer, you will be the trusted point of contact for our business partners, including the Product teams (lending, core banking, growth and onboarding), Marketing and User Experience. Your role will be to translate a complex regulatory environment into clear and useful guidance, upstream of the design of their products and initiatives.

You will also be responsible for KOHO’s privacy program, end to end: privacy impact assessments (PIAs), consent mechanism design, incident management and response to privacy breaches.

This is a very hands-on leadership role for someone who thrives in ambiguity, is comfortable making decisions, and wants to build lasting programs rather than simply maintain existing ones. If you believe compliance should make good products possible — not merely permissible — you will be able to thrive in this role.

What You Will Be Doing

Compliance Advisory

• Act as the primary compliance advisor to business partners, including the Product teams (lending, core banking, growth and onboarding), Marketing, Technology, Payments, Partnerships and User Experience, providing fast, practical, risk-based guidance on new products, features, campaigns and business arrangements.

• Lead the regulatory advisory and interpretation function, resolving unprecedented questions with clear, written positions and a defensible analysis that withstands regulatory and audit scrutiny.

• Lead the compliance review and approval of marketing materials, disclosures and customer communications, and integrate regulatory requirements early in product development.

• Be responsible for the Whistleblower and Ethics programs, including the receipt of reports, oversight of investigations, protection against reprisals and reporting on ethics to the Board of Directors.

Regulatory Compliance Management

• In collaboration with Legal, be responsible for the regulatory compliance management program: regulatory monitoring, impact assessment and coordinated implementation of new or amended regulatory requirements.

• Maintain KOHO’s regulatory obligations inventory and map these obligations to the responsible business owners, policies and controls in place.

• Lead the development, updating and governance of compliance policies, standards and procedures, including annual approval cycles.

Privacy Office

• Take charge of and advance KOHO’s enterprise privacy program in accordance with applicable laws, and act as the privacy officer designated by KOHO.

• Establish and administer the privacy impact assessment (PIA) process for new products, vendors, data uses and technology changes. Oversee consent and the collection, use, disclosure, retention and cross-border transfer of personal information using a privacy-by-design approach.

• Lead the response to privacy incidents and breaches, including coordinating containment, assessing the real risk of significant harm, notifying regulators and affected individuals, and implementing corrective measures to address root causes.

• Be responsible for privacy complaints, access and correction requests, the data inventory, privacy notices, and privacy training and awareness across the organization.

Team Leadership and Industry Engagement

• Lead, coach and develop a team of compliance and privacy specialists, setting clear priorities and raising the technical expertise of the function.

• Work closely with Financial Crime, Compliance Testing, Operational Risk, Internal Audit, Legal and Technology/Cybersecurity to ensure integrated coverage and avoid blind spots between mandates.

• Represent KOHO with industry associations, peer groups and regulators, and stay informed about emerging trends in compliance, privacy and business conduct risks.

• Prepare and present clear, decision-oriented materials to senior management and relevant Board committees.

Artificial Intelligence, Automation and Innovation

• Use artificial intelligence, automation and data analytics to improve the management of advisory requests, regulatory monitoring, marketing material review and privacy impact assessments.

• Advise the business on the responsible use of artificial intelligence, including model transparency, fairness, explainability and the use of personal information.

• Evaluate and implement regulatory technology and privacy protection solutions that improve the speed and consistency of processes without reducing rigour.

Candidate Profile

• You have at least 10 years of progressive experience in compliance, privacy or regulatory law in the financial services sector, including substantial advisory experience.

• You have in-depth knowledge of consumer protection in Canada, retail banking or payments, and privacy legislation.

• You have built or significantly advanced a privacy program or regulatory change program — you have not merely operated a program designed by someone else.

• You are a strong people manager and a skilled writer: you can give a clear answer to a difficult question and explain the reasoning behind it.

• You have worked in a regulated financial technology company, a neobank or a financial institution serving consumers directly. You are committed to promoting financial well-being, and a relevant certification — CIPP/C, CAMS, CRCM, LL.B./J.D. or equivalent — is an asset.

KOHO is for builders.

If you’re energized by challenge, motivated by mission, and want to be part of a team that punches above its weight - we want to hear from you.

The KOHO culture is one of collaboration, creativity, and diverse perspectives. We are committed to building and fostering an inclusive, accessible environment for everyone. If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding accessibility needs, please contact peopleaccessibility@koho.ca and the People and Culture team will be happy to help.

AI Disclosure: KOHO uses artificial intelligence (AI) in certain aspects of its recruitment process to screen, assess, or select applicants. For any questions or concerns, please contact us at talent@koho.ca.

Note: this posting is for an existing vacancy that we are seeking to fill.

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