Common Wealth is growing again
Hiring for two positions
Common Wealth is looking for two new people of talent and integrity to join our team: (1) an Associate (a nimble generalist to support different parts of the business) (2) an Office Manager (to help us improve our operations as we scale).
What is Common Wealth?
We are a mission-driven business focused on strengthening retirement security and reinventing pensions for a 21st century workforce. Founded in 2015, we have grown to a team of 7, including former executives from some of the world’s leading pension plans and leaders from outside the pension industry with significant track records in multiple sectors and/or disciplines.
We do two main things:
(1) We design and manage value-for-money retirement plans for communities of people without access to workplace pensions. These communities include labour unions, associations, or groups of employers within a sector of the economy. Our objective with these plans is to deliver the maximum retirement security for every dollar of contribution for the members of these communities — and evidence shows that such collective arrangements can deliver 2–4x the value for money than people would typically get using a do-it-yourself approach to retirement. We can achieve this by following the principles of some of the world’s most successful pension organizations. Our first plan, a partnership with SEIU Healthcare called my65+, is a portable retirement plan for home care and community support workers, and is the first retirement plan for modest earners in Canada. We are currently working on two other broad-based plans, one with an association and one at a national sector level.
(2) We advise a wide variety of pension and retirement stakeholders on issues of strategy, regulation / public policy, governance, and innovation. We have had the privilege of serving some of the world’s leading pension funds, with a total of $800 billion in collective assets under management. We have also partnered with governments, the World Bank, innovative start-ups, leading think tanks, plan sponsors like unions and associations, and other retirement/pension stakeholders to help them solve some of their toughest pensions and retirement problems.
About our company culture
We are a young company, and so our culture is evolving. It will continue to evolve based on the people who join us. Here are some of the core things that we value:
- We look for both talent and integrity. Specifically, all hires need to be strong in three areas: a) problem solving; b) character; c) people leadership
- We want to hire people that are better than we are in some material respect
- We believe that the ability to learn, grow, and be self-reflective about weaknesses, mistakes, and failures is essential
- We believe that success comes from a combination of productivity and creativity. Not everyone is equally good at each of these, but the team as a whole needs to effectively combine the two
- We value heterogeneity. Our team members think and act differently. They have diverse backgrounds. We don’t expect everyone to conform to a single mould, but team members need to appreciate and value others’ different ways of seeing the world
- Our default setting is to be non-hierarchical, meritocratic, and inclusive in decision making — in exchange for this we expect team members to act like owners, think independently, and contribute to the collective success of the enterprise
- Outcomes and results, not effort or process, are the main things we are focused on
Why join us?
- Opportunity for impact — We are a mission-driven business. Succeeding in our mission will materially enhance the financial security of thousands of people
- Get in on the ground floor — We are a small, growing firm. Early employees will have an opportunity to shape and participate in the future of the company, and will have the chance to take on new responsibilities and leadership as the company scales
- Work on hard problems — Your work will require you to think creatively, combine different fields and disciplines, find ways to get things done with limited resources, and solve challenging problems
- Mentorship — We may be a young company, but we make up for that in experience. Our team members have 60+ years of pension industry experience combined, have co-founded multiple organizations, have advised government ministers and the Prime Minister of Canada, and have worked in a wide variety of sectors including law, management consulting, health care, media, tech, and nonprofit management. A small but seasoned team like ours brings great mentorship benefits for an early team member
- Competitive compensation — We pay competitively and there will also be opportunities for advancement and development over time
Read what our newest team member, Associate and Chief of Staff Connor Bays, wrote about his reasons for joining Common Wealth.
Opportunity #1: Associate
Mission of the Associate. To support Common Wealth’s product and advisory work by serving as an all-around resource to support analysis, document production, growth, and client, member, and employer service.
About the role
The Associate’s role is to serve as an nimble generalist, providing support as needed across different parts of the business. The Associate will provide support to Common Wealth’s co-founders, as well as to the plan operations team. As the company grows, the Associate’s role may evolve to become more specialized, but initially success will require an ability to perform a variety of tasks and produce a range of deliverables in an efficient, high-quality manner.
Activities and deliverables are expected to involve:
- Analysis: Qualitative and quantitative analysis related to pensions, retirement products, public policy, labour force issues, and more. Ideally the Associate should be able to draw on different disciplines and be able to perform high-quality, practical business analysis. The Associate should be comfortable conducting interviews and should have the ability to be creative and scrappy in framing, analyzing, and solving complex problems
- Document production: Producing high-quality memos, PowerPoint documents/slides, Excel-based models, and other materials for clients and internal Common Wealth use
- Member and employer service: Answer questions and resolve issues for the members of, and employers participating in, Common Wealth’s retirement plans, process certain non-automated transactions (e.g., transfers), support member and employer education and outreach activities. This work will include helping to build out and continuously improve Common Wealth’s member and employer service model
- Outreach and engagement: Outbound and inbound interactions with a wide variety of stakeholders (e.g., employers, associations, government officials, retirement industry participants) to assist in establishing new retirement plans and encouraging the growth of existing plans
The kind of candidate we are looking for
Personal attributes
- Excitement about the mission of the company
- Excellent communication and document production skills
- Strong problem-solving ability
- Attention to detail
- Strong presentation skills
- Flexible thinking and ability to work across disciplines
- Analytical rigour, including quantitative skills
- Client service orientation
- High integrity and track record of doing the right thing
- Curious and able to learn quickly
- Self-awareness, openness to feedback, and commitment to personal and professional growth
- Ability to deal with ambiguity in an innovative, early-adopter environment
- Ability to collaborate effectively and respectfully with people across a diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, and fields
Educational and professional background
- Strong educational track record
- A graduate or professional degree would be an asset
- A background in consulting, professional services, sales, and/or client service would be an asset
- Knowledge of or experience in any of the following fields would be an asset: pensions, investment management, financial services, financial regulation, technology, start-up growth
To apply
Please send a CV and a short (100–200 words) description of how you think you can contribute to jobs@cwretirement.com.
Opportunity #2: Office Manager
Mission of the Office Manager. To manage and improve Common Wealth’s office operations as the company scales.
About the role
The Office Manager’s role is to handle the day-to-day office operation for the organization. The role will provide support across a range of activities and to the Common Wealth’s senior management team. As the company grows, the Office Manager’s focus will shift from developing and implementing office procedures and systems, to continuously improving operations on an ongoing basis. The Office Manager will also have an important role in assisting with Common Wealth’s Plan Operations, including supporting member, employer, and client service, and will have opportunities to grow into other roles and responsibilities as the company scales.
Activities and deliverables are expected to involve:
- Finance and accounting: Manage office accounting function. Manage invoicing and accounts payable/receivable. Ensure financial objectives are met by assisting in the preparation of the annual budget, planning expenditures, analyzing variances, reporting and making adjustments as may be necessary. Work with outside bookkeeper and accountant to ensure financial integrity of operation, prepare for tax payment and filing, and prepare regular financial reports to senior management team
- Administration/logistics support: Manage office services by ensuring office procedures and systems are in place. Manage correspondence and incoming inquiries. Establish and oversee document management and company record keeping systems. Manage office equipment and supplies. records retention, protection, and disposal of records. Assist in troubleshooting IT issues or arranging for technical specialists to resolve issues. Manage schedules for projects and coordinating calendars and schedules for team members as well as making travel arrangements. Participate in the planning and execution of company events, conferences and meetings
- People: Manage office payroll. Provide coordination support for recruitment and hiring efforts, as well as other human resources processes. Manage team member expenses and ensure compliance with applicable expense policies and processes. Assist with onboarding of new team members and ongoing training for team members
- Operational excellence. In collaboration with Common Wealth’s senior team, recommend ways to further strengthen Common Wealth’s office operations (e.g., through improved policies or processes; technology; standardization / automation; training; data-driven analysis / evaluation)
- Support for Plan Operations: Provide general support to Common Wealth’s Plan Operations team by assisting with member service, employer service, board support, and client service. Respond to member queries and resolve member issues. Assist with reporting, tracking, and record keeping. Support retirement plan board governance by maintaining board documents, distributing board material, and coordinating logistics related to board meetings
The kind of candidate we are looking for
Personal attributes
- Excitement about the mission of the company
- Excellent organizational skills
- Strong planning skills
- Attention to detail
- Client service orientation
- Communication skills — ability to listen and communicate effectively (oral and written) and deal with stakeholders such as clients and members
- Proven diplomacy and tact as well as the ability to quickly establish trusted relationships
- Effective collaborator with others in the office
- Flexibility to adapt to a changing environment
Professional and educational background
- A post secondary degree (a graduate, professional, or specialized college diploma would be an asset)
- Experience in roles that require strong operational, coordination, and organizational abilities
- Experience with office operations and management functions, including finance / accounting, human resources, scheduling, payroll, would be an asset
- Experience with customer and client service would be an asset
- Comfort and proficiency working with a variety of IT tools and platforms (we use a combination of Microsoft Office, Google Apps, DropBox, Slack, Zendesk, and other tools)
- Knowledge of or experience in any of the following fields / industries would be an asset: pensions, investment management, financial services, technology, start-up growth
To apply
Please send a CV and a short (100–200 words) description of how you think you can contribute to jobs@cwretirement.com.
Other opportunities
We expect our needs to evolve rapidly over time. If you are excited about our mission, believe you could make an important contribution to it, but don’t feel either of the opportunities above are a good fit, don’t let that stop you from reaching out to us to let us know how think you can help advance our mission and strengthen our organization.
