Work In Tech

Head, Government Relations & Public Affairs

At Interac, we design and deliver products and solutions that give Canadians control over their money so they can get more out of life. But that’s not all. Whether we’re leading real-time money movement, driving innovative commerce solutions like open payments for transit systems, or making advancements in new areas like verification and open banking, we are playing a key role in shaping the future of the digital economy in Canada.

Want to make a lasting impact amongst a community of creative thinkers, problem solvers, technical gurus and high-performance application developers? We want to hear from you.

Reporting to the Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, the Head, Government Relations & Public Affairs will champion the organization’s Government Relations and External Affairs strategies and programs to elevate Interac’s profile and solidify trusted relationships across government, public sectors, and external ecosystem stakeholders.

You’ll be responsible for:

• Driving public sector engagement to establish Interac as a recognized expert and resource in the digital transaction ecosystem, while delivering a measurable positive impact to contribute to Interac’s corporate objectives and goals.

• Establishing and maintaining key relationships with opinion formers and influencers across the public sector.

• Developing and implementing innovative strategies to effectively identify and influence public policy impacting the corporation, and work cross-functionally with the regulatory, privacy and legal teams on key issues impacting the company.

• Working closely with legal to drive the development of corporate positions on pending legislation and regulation and hold tactical responsibility for drafting relevant responses.

• Creating lobbying and engagement opportunities with various levels of government on emerging regulatory and policy issues, and advocating for Interac’s corporate and business position.

• Anticipating significant domestic and regional political trends while developing and modifying strategies to manage these trends.

• Directing and coordinating all the company's political activities and providing leadership and input to senior management in reviewing and analyzing policies affecting the company.

• Educating and advising government on key Interac lobbying priorities, e.g. payments modernization, open banking, privacy, retail payments oversight and more, and bringing insights and feedback back to business to support decision-making and enhance business strategies.

• Developing and executing public affairs strategies that enhance the organization's reputation and image.

• Engaging with industry partners and other stakeholders to build coalitions and alliances that support Interac’s public policy goals.

• Planning and overseeing public relations initiatives, media outreach, and crisis communications.

• Engaging with community groups, NGOs, and other external stakeholders to build positive relationships.

• Developing and implementing a comprehensive government relations and public affairs strategy aligned with the organization's goals.

• Coordinating with internal teams such as legal, compliance, and corporate communications to ensure effective communication while maintaining alignment in messaging and strategy.

• Providing training and guidance to employees on government relations and public affairs matters, including regular internal updates to share public sector insights.

• Tracking political, legislative and regulatory developments, as well as public opinion trends, and providing regular updates and strategic recommendations to leadership.

• Analyzing the impact of government decisions and public sentiment; identifying emerging risks and opportunities that could impact the organization's reputation or operations.

You bring:

• Knowledge of the legislative and political process; ability to analyze the impact of legislation on the company.

• Must be eligible to work for Interac Corp. in Canada in a Full Time Capacity

• Proven experience in developing and implementing effective legislative strategy, and consensus building.

• Knowledge of the digital transaction and financial services industry and its issues, particularly with respect to the payments industry is advantageous.

• Familiarity with large-scale / complex systems and operations delivery.

• Effective engagement skills to build beneficial partnerships and productive teams, maintain courteous and respectful business relationships and work cooperatively with all partners and business units.

• Strong written and oral communications skills; bilingual in English & French preferred.

• Experience leading team members without formal management authority and strong influencing skills to achieve alignment up and down the organization.

• The ability to foster an innovative, inclusive and diverse team environment, promoting positive team culture, encouraging collaboration and self-organization.

• Maturity, tact and judgment; strong negotiating skills and the ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders.

• An analytics-driven mindset with a demonstrated track record of driving continuous improvement initiatives.

Interac requires employees to complete a background check that is completed by one of our service providers. We use this service to complete the following checks:

• 5-year employment verification;
• Canadian criminal record check;
• Education verification;
• Canadian ID cross-check;
• Public safety verification; and
• Credit inquiry