Compliance Specialist
Compliance • 3+ Years Experience • Calgary, AB or Langley, BC • Hybrid • Full-Time, Permanent
Own the licence. Lead the audit. Keep three brands compliant across three provinces.
Optiom is in an active period of regulatory growth, and the Compliance Specialist sits at the operational heart of that function. You will manage Optiom's insurance licensing regime end to end across Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. You will interface directly with the Insurance Council of BC, the Alberta Insurance Council, and FSRA Ontario - through licensing applications, audit correspondence, and examination response. You will lead audit preparation, run complaint-handling and privacy programs to regulator standard, and support Bamboo Premium Financing's growing obligations under provincial money-lending and premium financing legislation.
You will report to the Director of Compliance and work with real autonomy across the full breadth of Optiom's compliance function. The scope is wide and the mandate is hands-on. If you hold your Level 2 licence, you are working toward your CIP, and you have already sat across the table from a regulator - this is the role where that combination becomes genuinely valuable.
Who You Are
You are a compliance professional with direct, hands-on experience in insurance regulation. You have managed licensing lifecycles, built audit-ready documentation as a matter of standard practice - not just at exam time - and corresponded directly with provincial insurance councils, not just supported someone who did. You understand that compliance at a specialty MGA means owning a wide mandate: privacy reporting, licensing administration, complaint handling, audit facilitation, and policy maintenance are all yours. You take initiative, write clearly, and do not need to be told that a certificate is expiring or a regulatory bulletin requires a response. You want a role where the compliance function is central to the business - not peripheral to it.
You Bring
- Active Insurance Agent Level 2 licence in Alberta, BC, or Ontario - or demonstrably licensable within 60 days of hire. This is a hard requirement.
- CIP (Chartered Insurance Professional) designation or in active progress.
- 3+ years of direct compliance experience in insurance, financial services, or specialty finance. Supporting a compliance function does not meet this threshold - we need someone who has owned it.
- Documented, direct experience interfacing with at least one provincial insurance regulatory body - through licensing applications, audit correspondence, examination response, or regulatory submissions. Name the council and the nature of the engagement.
- Experience coordinating or serving as the primary compliance contact for a regulatory examination or parent-company compliance review. Distinguish your role from supporting one.
- Working knowledge of money-lending, premium financing, or FINTRAC/AML compliance obligations applicable to non-bank lenders or financing entities.
- Privacy compliance experience under PIPEDA and/or PIPA - including breach response, impact assessments, or board-level reporting.
- Strong written communication - your regulatory submissions, examination responses, and board reports must be clear, structured, and defensible. We will see this in your screening responses.
Bonus Points For
- Direct experience at an insurance MGA, managing general agent, or specialty insurance distributor.
- Multi-provincial licensing across two or more of AB, BC, and ON.
- BC Restricted Insurance Agent (RIA) licence or active eligibility - specifically relevant to Bamboo Premium Financing's March 2027 compliance transition.
- CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist) designation or formal AML compliance officer experience.
- Experience preparing for or responding to OSFI guidance, provincial insurance council examinations, or parent-company (insurer) compliance audits.
- Proficiency in BambooHR or comparable ATS/HR systems for compliance record management.
- Bilingual English/French.
What We Offer
- CIP designation fully funded - exam fees, study materials, and eligible CE costs covered by Optiom
- Level 2 licence fees and ongoing CE reimbursed
- A comprehensive group benefits plan, including medical, dental, vision, and EAP
- Three weeks’ vacation to start, increasing with tenure
- Group RRSP with employer contribution
- A hybrid work model, with flexibility between home and our office
Who We Are
Optiom helps Canadians worry less about their financial position and lifestyle when it comes to the benefits provided by traditional auto insurance. We take a customer-centric approach and provide greater value to Canadian drivers through our total loss vehicle replacement products and additional benefits. Optiom provides products in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.
We are a team of specialists who take pride in what we build and how we serve. Our products protect Canadians in moments that matter, and our people are the reason our broker and dealer partners trust us. Joining Optiom means joining a business with strong backing, a clear purpose, and real room to grow.
Optiom is a specialty MGA and a wholly owned subsidiary of Aviva Canada, one of the country’s largest property and casualty insurers. We design and distribute specialty insurance products through a national network of broker and dealer partners, embedded at the point of vehicle financing and leasing.
Optiom uses AI tools to assist with initial application screening. All hiring decisions are made by our human hiring team. We thank all applicants for their interest; only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.
