Senior Analyst, ISO 20022 COE

Payments Canada is at the forefront of the Canadian payment ecosystem. Our purpose is to make payments easier, smarter and safer for all Canadians. Every day we are working diligently to ensure your payments are cleared and settled. In 2025 alone, our systems cleared approximately $103 trillion or $411.9 billion every business day! If you are passionate about payments and want to help ensure that these financial transactions in Canada are carried out safely and securely, working with us is for you!

| Who we are 

We are a public purpose, non-profit organization situated at the center of Canada’s payment ecosystem. We own and operate payment systems that process hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of payment transactions every business day. We convene ecosystem participants to discuss their multiple and diverse interests and ideas and to navigate industry-level challenges. We adhere to a set of values that are our north star:

 Inspire trust, build community and enable change. 
 Payments Canada — where our country connects

| Our culture
With our people in mind, we have created a culture that fosters authenticity, collaboration, innovation and development. We empower one another, make meaningful contributions that not only impact the organization, but our country! We develop and nurture meaningful connections that drive innovation in our ecosystem. We are Payments Canada! 

Do you want to make payments easier, smarter and safer for Canada? Join us today!
You need to work here if

• You love working with passionate, ambitious and collaborative colleagues.
• You want to be challenged and lead unique initiatives.
• You want to grow, develop and become a subject matter expert in your field.
• You want your work to make an impact in your community and country.

Come and join us — where payments meet purpose!

 | What we are looking for

Reporting to the Manager, ISO 20022 COE, the Senior Analyst (Senior Technical SME) acts as the primary technical anchor and subject matter expert for ISO 20022 messaging standards across core payment rails, owned and operated by Payments Canada.

This senior role is responsible for executing advanced technical analysis, managing complex message schemas and leading hands-on technical validation and defect remediation across core payment systems. Operating as technical expert within the team, this role emphasizes owning the end-to-end integrity of technical artifacts, performing rigorous peer reviews and resolving intricate data mapping misalignments between domestic rails and global standards. The Senior Analyst leads strategic discovery and feasibility studies for emerging payment initiatives, spearheads technical triage during critical testing windows and provides mentorship to junior technical staff.

Duties and Responsibilities

Technical Leadership and Standards Governance

• Serve as a technical Subject Matter Expert (SME) for ISO 20022 message design, validation rules, schema versioning and market practice documentation across all payment streams with a primary focus on one of the payment systems operated by Payments Canada.
• Proactively manage the technical delta between legacy baselines and modern financial messaging standards.
• Author, review and maintain high-impact technical documentation, including Market Practice Documents, Message Specifications and Companion Documents.
• Identify, track, and mitigate complex architectural data risks, such as data truncation, character set misalignments and compliance mapping gaps (e.g., adoption of Structured Postal Addresses, Ultimate Parties, and FATF/CPMI requirements).

End-to-End Testing and Defect Remediation

• Serve as the single point of contact and final escalation tier for complex technical defect triage across System Integration Testing (SIT), User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and Industry Testing rounds.
• Partner with participants, external delivery partners, and central bank teams to resolve multi-party integration blockers.
• Establish automated frameworks for message validation tools, optimizing the testing lifecycle for participant financial institutions.

Strategic Projects and Discovery

• Lead technical scoping, impact assessments and feasibility studies for net-new strategic initiatives.
• Collaborate with Enterprise Architecture, Product, and external vendor teams to evaluate downstream impact assessments for proposed system upgrades.
• Formulate technical options and remediation paths for senior leadership to de-risk delivery timelines for the strategic initiatives.

Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration

• Work closely with industry working groups and represent the organization in relevant ISO 20022 forums with a focus on the primed payment system.

Mentorship and Peer Review Excellence

• Drive accountability and technical quality within the COE by establishing rigorous self-QA and peer-review protocols for all message mapping and technical drafts.
• Provide continuous technical mentorship and technical coaching to junior staff to uplift overall team capability and eliminate single points of failure.

Continuous Improvement

• Monitor evolving industry trends and regulatory changes related to ISO 20022 and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

Technical Competencies

• Knowledge of the Canadian Payments Industry, in particular the Canadian Payments Clearing and Settlement Systems.
• Strong understanding of ISO 20022 business model, logical data structure, and physical syntax (XML/JSON data formats)
• Proven experience using tools like SWIFT MyStandards to define, document, and publish market-specific Usage Guidelines (e.g., HVPS+, CBPR+).
•  Critical reasoning and analytical thinking
• Ability to perform research
• Ability to write in a clear and concise fashion
• Ability to create impactful presentations
•  Strong business acumen related to the Financial Services and payments industry

Professional Competencies

• Develop and Mentor others: Supporting others to develop and learn, recognizing their achievements, and building an organizational culture where knowledge and growth are valued and rewarded.
• Demonstrate Mature Confidence: Demonstrating confidence and realistic trust in one's own abilities. Understanding and managing their own emotions and drives, and the impact of self on others to minimize counterproductive actions, instill trust and inspire others.
• Think Strategically: Seeing and synthesizing different sides of an issue, examining the full range of options and outcomes, and building intellectual frameworks to guide analysis and action.
• Make Decisions: Using critical thinking, good business sense and organizational values to make decisions involving varying levels of risk and ambiguity.
• Drive Success: Understanding the workings, structure, culture, as well as the distribution of power within and beyond the organization; utilizing this understanding to solve problems and achieve desired outcomes.
• Apply Business Acumen: Continually seeking new ways to enhance performance, improve results and/or transform the business and the industry in which it operates.

| What you need to be successful

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business administration, computer science, or a related field.
• Minimum of five (5) years of progressive experience in payments, financial services, or market infrastructure with a focus on payment standards.
• Deep, practical knowledge of the ISO 20022 financial messaging standard, XML and JSON schema structures, and hands-on experience mapping high-value (HVPS+/CBPR+) and real-time (IP+) payment system schemas.
• Strong understanding of payment systems, payment messaging standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Proven experience diagnosing and parsing intricate schema and validation failures in multi-party enterprise software implementations.
• Strong communication and presentation skills influence and manage stakeholders.
• Knowledge of the Canadian financial services industry.
• Eligibility to successfully complete background checks that will be carried out by Payments Canada, including criminal, credit, identity, employment, and education checks.

| Salary range

Our target starting rate for this role is $100,300 with flexibility based on your experience and qualifications. The full salary range and benefits package are detailed below.

Please submit your application by November 27, 2026.

| What's in it for you?

• Flexible, hybrid (remote/office) environment.
• Competitive compensation package, including annual variable bonus and defined contribution pension plan with employer matching percentage (if eligible).
• Comprehensive health and dental benefit coverage, including mental health coverage, life insurance and a health spending account for you and your dependents (Permanent and temporary employees with contracts 12 months and over).
• Paid time off: minimum four weeks paid vacation, sick and personal days, December holiday shutdown and cultural holiday observance days.
• 26 weeks of paid maternity and parental leave top-up (if eligible)
• Rewards and recognition program.
• Access to office gym facilities.
• Internal and external professional development opportunities.
• Fun team and organizational events.
• Monthly all staff forums led by our Executive Leadership Team.

| Our Commitment to Fair Hiring

At Payments Canada, we are dedicated to fair, transparent and inclusive hiring. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. Our recruitment process uses automated tools, but not generative AI, to objectively screen and evaluate applications and confirm that a candidate’s qualifications meet job requirements.

It is important to remember that these tools support, but do not replace, human decision-making. Our trained recruitment professionals and hiring managers always make the final hiring decisions.

| Our diversity, inclusion and equity commitment

At Payments Canada, we are committed to making everyone feel they can be themselves and thrive at work. We will continue to build on a foundation of respect and appreciation for diversity in all forms and collectively create an inclusive and equitable culture where our differences are valued.

We are committed to employment equity and actively encourage applications from women, Aboriginal people, persons with disabilities and visible minorities. If selected for an interview, please advise us if you require special accommodation by emailing [email protected].

We thank all applicants for their interest in this opportunity. Preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview.