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Position/Title

Chair (Part-Time)

Agency

Ontario Public Service Pension Board (Ontario Pension Board)

Advertisement Date

26-Nov-2025

Closing Date

09-Dec-2025

Location(s)

Toronto, City Of

File Number

PAS-250068

Position Type

Part-Time

Remuneration

PER DIEM

Roles and Responsibilities

About Ontario Pension Board

Ontario Pension Board (“OPB”) administers Ontario’s Public Service Pension Plan (“PSPP”), a defined-benefit pension plan serving over 100,000 members - current, retired, and deferred. The PSPP (“Plan”) is sponsored by the Government of Ontario, and membership is comprised of employees of the provincial government and its agencies, boards, and commissions.

With over $35 billion in assets under management, the PSPP is one the largest and oldest pension plans in Canada.

OPB operates in a highly regulated environment with both strict pension and income tax regulation and is a fiduciary organization. OPB has two lines of business: pension administration and investments. OPB retains responsibility for oversight of, and setting the strategic asset allocation for, the portfolio, however management of the investment portfolio is outsourced to the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (“IMCO”);

OPB is governed by its Board of Directors (“Board Directors” or “Board”), the Chair of which is accountable to the President of the Treasury Board for OPB’s performance in fulfilling its mandate. The Board is comprised of five committees which each have specific responsibilities. The Board has delegated, to management, the responsibility for the day-to-day operations required to administer the Plan and manage the Fund.

OPB’s Board of Directors is fully responsible for the Plan’s stewardship, and members of the Board are accountable to both the membership and to the President of the Treasury Board.

Key Organizational Focuses

Plan Sustainability

In 2026, OPB intends to launch their new Strategic Plan, with focus on the sustainability, performance, and innovation of the Plan.

Pension Modernization

OPB is advancing their multi-year Pension Modernization Program which is an initiative to update their current pension administration processes and IT systems. This includes the replacement of end-of-life technologies such as the primary pension administration system used to calculate entitlements and managing information and cybersecurity risks - including supporting the data migration for pension modernization.

The Opportunity

The Board Director – Chair (“Board Chair” or “Chair”) will play a pivotal leadership role in guiding the organization’s governance, financial integrity and risk oversight. This position is responsible for identifying potential governance, financial, strategic, and operational risks, shaping effective mitigation strategies, and ensuring decisions are informed by robust data and sound judgment. The Chair will provide strategic direction and expert advice on financial implications and enterprise risk management by safeguarding the organization’s long-term sustainability.

Working collaboratively with fellow Board members, the Chair will oversee the management’s administration of OPB’s financial reporting, internal controls, IT systems, project management, and cybersecurity. This includes ensuring that all activities are conducted with the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability. The Chair will also serve as the Board’s Ethics Executive.  

The Chair will build and maintain trusted relationships with diverse stakeholder groups and have the extraordinary opportunity to contribute to the oversight and continued development of an inclusive organization with a reputation as an international industry leader for service excellence and good governance practices.

Key Responsibilities & Functions – Chair

The Chair plays a critical leadership role in ensuring effective governance and strategic direction for OPB, with the main responsibilities including:

Governance Leadership

• Lead the Board in fulfilling its fiduciary and strategic oversight responsibilities.
• Promote a culture of integrity, transparency, and accountability.
• Ensure the Board focuses on policy-level and strategic issues.
• Maintain knowledge of governance best practices and promote their adoption.

Board Management

• Preside over board meetings and in-camera sessions.
• Set meeting agendas in consultation with the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
•  Ensure timely and relevant information is provided to board members.
•  Facilitate effective discussion and decision-making during meetings.

Strategic Oversight and Fiduciary Responsibility

• Guide the Board in adopting and monitoring strategic plans and asset allocation.
• Oversee the sustainability of the pension plan and long-term funding strategies.
• Ensure the Board acts in a fiscally and ethically responsible manner.
• Lead the review of investment policies and procedures.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Represent the Board at official functions and public events.
• Act as a liaison between the Board and senior management.
• Foster relationships with external stakeholders, including government bodies and regulatory authorities.
• Serve as a spokesperson for the Board and the organization

Board Accountabilities

The Chair leads the Board in fulfilling its fiduciary and strategic oversight responsibilities. Board Directors are expected to actively participate in meetings and commit to ongoing training and education for Board skills and duties. There will be quarterly meetings, committee meetings, and occasional ad hoc meetings throughout the year.

OPB is committed to good governance and believes that an important prerequisite to good governance is having a Board that comprises of individual directors who, collectively, have the full range of skills, expertise, and experience necessary to oversee management and otherwise fulfill its duties and responsibilities. Working together, they ensure the Plan’s governance structure and practices reflect the highest standards. The Board retains overall responsibility for supervision of OPB’s business affairs, including:

• Approve OPB’s strategic plan, business plan and budget.
• Ensure that management has identified and is managing risks.
• Oversee the sustainability of the PSPP.
• Approve any recommendations made to the Plan Sponsor regarding Plan amendments and funding.
• Conduct performance and compensation reviews for the President & CEO.
• Builds a trusted relationship with IMCO.
• Oversee and monitor IMCO.
• Approve the Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA), which drives investment management asset mix decisions.
• Conduct an annual review of OPB’s Statement of Investment Policies & Procedures.
• Approve non-ministerial appointments to the IMCO Board of Directors.
• Approve material amendments to the Investment Management Agreement (IMA) and Investment Services Agreement (ISA)
• Supervise and approve all audit and risk management matters.
• Ensure that management is maintaining a culture of integrity.
• Hold accountability for leadership succession and monitor talent management and employee engagement.
• Monitor client service.
• Oversee compliance with OPB’s governance documents, including government directives and policies.
• Actively participate in meetings and commit to ongoing training and education for Board skills and duties.
• Adhere to any requirement set out in the Agencies and Appointments Directive (AAD) in Ontario.

In fulfilling their duties, members of the Board are directly accountable to stakeholder groups, including:

• The Plan’s beneficiaries (i.e., active, deferred, and retired members).
• Government of Ontario, the Plan Sponsor.         
• Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), the organization that oversees registered pension plans in Ontario.

Qualifications

The Board Chair should be a seasoned executive recognized for their strong governance leadership, and risk management expertise, and have experience serving on a Board of Directors, or in a senior leadership role with a focus on governance controls.

The Chair will be expected to bring a strategic lens to mitigate risks and identify opportunities in an evolving organization, with experience in the valuation of complex financial instruments and the actuarial valuation of pension liability.

The Chair should have a familiarity with regulatory compliance within financial institutions, evolving sustainability reporting standards, ESG disclosures, and corporate governance principles within the public sector. The Chair should be a strategic leader with deep business and information technology acumen. The Chair should have strong communication and leadership skills, and the ability to foster trusted, collaborative relationships with diverse stakeholder groups.

Term

3 years
3 YEARS

Time Commitment

20 to 40 days per year
In addition to quarterly Board meetings, committees set their own meeting schedule

Expenses

Yes
The per diem rate for part-time the Chair is $867. Appointees will receive reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred in carrying out Board duties in accordance with the relevant directives, guidelines and policies of the Treasury Board and Management Board of Cabinet and the Ontario Pension Board.