Pension and Retirement Consultant - Cowan
(2024-06)
Retirement Solutions for local, national, and global stakeholders.
- Ensuring plan sponsors meet regulatory requirements, filing deadlines and CAP guidelines for all tax types as they apply
- Risk mitigation through in depth knowledge of products/services and their functionalities and clear understanding of how these meet the clients' needs
- Preparing and analysing clients' Biennial and Annual Plan Reviews, investigating member behaviour and plan utilisation
- Creating and presenting Group Education sessions of various topics, both in person and virtually
- One-on-One Make Sense member consultations for personal clients and other Consultants' clients and education communications
- Ensuring carriers deliver on service promises to plan sponsors and ensuring right fit of carrier to plan sponsor in unbiased marketings and requests for pricings
- Composing plan comparisons and benchmarking presentations
- Plan administration training
- Developed excellent partnerships with Benefits team as well as other LOB at Cowan
- Support my teammates whenever and however needed and am proud to call my colleagues my work family
Implementation Manager - Manulife Group Retirement Solutions
(2022-05 - 2024-06)
Project Management and installation of Large/Jumbo clientele (>10 million in assets), Group Retirement Solutions for local, national, and global stakeholders.
- Determining project scope, delivering timeline, coordinating ongoing internal and external project meetings with appropriate shareholders; virtually and in-person
- Risk mitigation through in depth knowledge of products/services and their functionalities and clear understanding of how these meet the clients' needs
- Utilizing escalation process when needed
- RFP consultations/composition and Shortlist presentations
- Ensuring sponsor fiduciary obligations are met; coordination between Compliance and Legal Departments; review of Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) literature /documentation and provincial level articles/documentation
- Disseminating technical information regarding automation processes and detailing outcomes and potential impacts to system users
- Innovative and creative conflict resolution when customer needs differ from employer capabilities thereby ensuring smooth transitions and more pleasurable experience to both sponsor and plan members
- Stretch projects (outside direct responsibilities): Onboarding/training of six new team members; procedure and training material creation and maintenance; Continuous Improvement (CI) projects and cross-team functionality coordination
Electronic File Analyst - Manulife
(2019-11 - 2022-04)
- Analyse and process both demographic and contribution clients for large and jumbo clients
- Eligibility and Membership monitoring for large and jumbo clients
- Assist Client Account Representatives (CARs) and CRMs in explaining information in errors regarding demographic and contribution files to sponsors/ Plan Administrators
- Understand and anticipate client issues involved in changes to demographic and/or contribution file transmission, processing, etc.
- Working closely with CARs, CRMs and Implementation Managers to address changes to client services such as changes to the files themselves, file transmission, processing, etc.
- Knowledge of Group Retirement products and their legislative and privacy requirements
- Assisting in onboarding of new team members and editing and creating training documentation
- Uploading Payroll schedules
- Accountable for accurate and timely processing of demographic and contribution files
Import Specialist - Link +
(2017-01 - 2019-10)
- Exemplary organizational skills and task prioritization an absolute necessity
- Exceptional time management: large financial penalties result if work not completed in a timely fashion
- Customs broker agent for over 100 clients
- Duties included monitoring ocean, air and land shipments, arranging delivery with freight department and providing payment to appropriate parties
- Directing clientele to valid departments/agents dependent on customer request
- Research of products and licences/permits required for border clearance
- Monitoring several email accounts concurrently; delegating emails for different offices and coordinating with other branches when necessary
- Remarkable customer service achieved as demonstrated by numerous unsolicited emails from clients as well as new clientele attraction
Data Entry Specialist - Davidson Custom Brokers
(2015-03 - 2017-12)
Primary responsibility was data entry and its submission to Canadian Customs for inbound shipments via land, sea or air. Contract position.
- Outstanding attention to detail necessary
- Duties also included fielding faxes and emails concerning new shipments
- Basic administrative duties such as reception, customer service and accounting duties such as invoicing clients and directing new clients to appropriate resources
- Dealing with Canadian Customs officers, dispatchers, drivers and warehouse operators in a courteous and effective manner
Administrative Assistant - Keller & Morrison LLP Barristers and Solicitors - Waterloo, ON
(2013-04 - 2013-09)
5 month temporary position; cover of employee's leave of absence.
- Maintaining and updating client data and client lists. Creating digital databases for legal documents, mailing lists, etc.
- Preparing legal documents for posting and dealing with both incoming and outgoing mail, including document transcription from dictation. Legal documents included wills, real estate and corporate documents as well as producing invoices
- This position required not only strong customer service skills but also understanding, discretion and confidentiality
Marine Turtle Project Coordinator - COTERC (Tortuguero Lowlands) - Costa Rica / Scarborough, ON, Canada
(2008-09 - 2012-02)
- Research duties included data collection, collation and assessment as well as data entry and database management on birds, mammals and sea turtles. Reported to the COTERC Board of Directors and worked in coordination with the Biological Station Manager
- Administrative duties included web postings, blog supervision and editing, advertising, and coordinating with board members. Written and verbal communication both in formal and informal settings with government officials, tourists, local Costa Ricans as well as with local, state, and federal enforcement agents
- Demonstrated excellent scheduling and time management capabilities. Reduced costs to the project through successful cost/benefit analyses, thereby improving the project's overall success and achievement of goals
- Deciphering satellite imagery and utilizing ArcGIS for mapping purporses
Teaching Assistant / Laboratory Instructor - McMaster University, Department of Biology
(2008-09 - 2014-04)
- Responsible for ensuring student understanding of all course material (lectures and textbook) for over 400 students per semester. This was completed through online activities and in-person office hours
- Lead Tutorial TA duties included marking and providing relevant feedback to students of first and second year biology courses in an efficient and timely manner. Was highly successful in instructing students and providing appropriate feedback on material by utilizing both traditional and non-traditional teaching methodologies. Received overwhelmingly positive student reviews
- Accountable for student safety as well as proper equipment utilization during laboratory instruction for first year biology courses. Provided technical instruction and marking and review of laboratory reports, literature reviews, and research proposals
- Liaised between faculty, course coordinators and students to enhance student understanding and success and to identify potential problems with course content or obstacles to student learning
- Primary authorship of a lab manual for second year biology course
