Director – Education & Professional Standards

The role

Reporting to the Chief Strategy & Corporate Officer, the Director, Education & Professional Standards has enterprise functional accountability for the strategy, transformation, governance and performance of RECO's education and professional standards framework.

The Director leads the development, implementation and continuous evolution of RECO's education strategy and modernization agenda, strengthening registrant competence across the lifecycle through education, assessment, mentorship, continuing competence and remediation. The role works across regulatory functions to ensure education supports consumer protection, regulatory effectiveness and professional standards and translates regulatory priorities and emerging risks into education and competency requirements.

The Director is accountable for both the transformation and operation of RECO's education portfolio, including registration education, continuing education, examinations and assessments, instructional design, learner services, provider oversight and education operations. The role establishes priorities, operating models, performance expectations, investment requirements and governance approaches.

Position responsibilities

Education Strategy, Transformation & Professional Standards Leadership

• Leads the development, implementation and continuous evolution of RECO's education strategy and translates strategic direction enterprise and regulatory priorities into portfolio strategy, operating models, priorities, roadmaps, performance measures and investment requirements.
• Establishes the strategic direction and multi-year priorities for RECO's education and professional standards portfolio within the broader organizational and regulatory strategy.
• Leads the transformation of RECO's education model from an entry-focused system to a connected lifecycle approach to readiness for practice, professional competence and continuous learning.
• Provides strategic leadership for initiatives related to competency frameworks, assessment, mentorship and early-practice support, continuing competence, remediation, graduated licensing and other future-state reforms.
• Determines and recommends changes to education models, competency requirements, assessment approaches, delivery models and supporting infrastructure based on regulatory outcomes, evidence and emerging risks.
• Ensures education, assessment and professional standards support RECO's consumer protection mandate, regulatory priorities and strategic plan.
• Provides strategic advice to executive leadership, the Registrar and governance bodies on education, competence and professional standards matters, including strategic options, regulatory impacts, risks, resource implications and recommended courses of action.
• Provides authoritative functional advice on education and competency matters and influences enterprise and regulatory decisions where registrant competence is a material consideration.
• Represents RECO with regulators, delegated administrative authorities, post-secondary institutions and sector stakeholders and has authority to advance RECO's education and professional standards priorities within those relationships.
• Identifies emerging issues, risks and opportunities affecting registrant competence and recommends enterprise or regulatory responses where appropriate.

Education & Competency Framework

• Has accountability for RECO's education and competency framework across pre-registration, post-registration, the Broker Program, continuing education, examinations, assessments and remediation.
• Defines and maintains competency, ethics, conduct, assessment and readiness-for-practice expectations within approved legislative, regulatory and governance parameters.
• Establishes enterprise-wide standards, frameworks and quality expectations governing education, competency and assessment activities.
• Advances practical and scenario-based learning and assessment approaches that strengthen registrant competence.
• Leads the development of mentorship, supervised-practice and early-practice support initiatives.
• Works with Registration, Compliance, Enforcement and Policy to align education with regulatory intelligence, emerging risks and compliance trends.
• Determines how regulatory intelligence and compliance outcomes should inform education, assessment, remediation and continuing competence priorities.
• Ensures education requirements and professional standards remain aligned with TRESA, RECO policies and regulatory priorities.

Data, Insights & Continuous Improvement

• Uses examination results, learner feedback, provider performance, regulatory intelligence and program outcomes to identify competency gaps and improvement opportunities.
• Establishes performance measures, dashboards and evaluation frameworks to assess program effectiveness, learner outcomes and regulatory impact.
• Defines portfolio-level performance expectations and success measures and holds internal teams and external delivery partners accountable for results.
• Ensures education initiatives are informed by evidence and contribute to measurable consumer protection and professional standards outcomes.
• Uses data and evaluation findings to continuously improve education, assessment and remediation programs and to inform strategic investment and resource allocation decisions.
• Provides executive-level reporting on education performance, risks and outcomes.
• Evaluates the return and organizational value of significant education initiatives and recommends continuation, redesign, expansion or discontinuation where appropriate.

Stakeholder, Provider & Vendor Leadership

• Leads strategic relationships with designated post-secondary institutions, examination and technology vendors, learners, brokerages, regulators and sector partners.
• Oversees provider and vendor performance, governance, accountability and quality assurance.
• Establishes governance, performance and accountability requirements for significant education providers and vendors and ensures contractual and regulatory expectations are met.
• Leads consultation and engagement on education and professional standards initiatives while maintaining RECO's accountability for regulatory standards and outcomes.
• Negotiates and resolves complex or sensitive matters with external education providers, vendors and sector stakeholders where RECO's regulatory, operational or reputational interests are affected.
• Builds relationships with other regulators and delegated administrative authorities to identify leading practices and opportunities for collaboration.
• Represents RECO in sector and regulatory forums relating to education, competency and professional standards.
• Sponsors or leads significant procurement, partnership and service-delivery decisions for the education portfolio in accordance with organizational authorities and governance requirements.

Education Operations & People Leadership

• Has functional accountability for the performance, transformation and effective operation of RECO's education portfolio, including education programs, examinations, instructional design, learner services and education operations.
• Oversees RECO's multi-designate education model and centralized examination framework, ensuring consistent standards, quality, integrity and performance.
• Oversees continuing education and professional development programming to ensure learning remains current, relevant and responsive to changing regulatory risks and professional obligations.
• Ensures education services and operational processes are accessible, efficient, learner-focused and aligned with regulatory objectives.
• Oversees budgets, contracts, resources, risks and operational performance across the portfolio and makes resource allocation and investment recommendations based on strategic priorities, risk and expected regulatory outcomes.
• Develops and manages the portfolio operating plan and budget and is accountable for delivery within approved financial, resource and governance parameters.
• Leads and develops a high-performing team, establishes clear priorities and accountabilities, and ensures disciplined delivery against commitments.
• Sets the organizational structure, capability requirements and workforce priorities for the education function and recommends changes required to support future-state delivery.
• Leads complex transformation and change initiatives involving multiple stakeholders, vendors, technologies and processes.

Qualifications and experience

• Bachelor's degree in education, public policy, business, adult learning, regulatory administration or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Graduate-level education is an asset.
• Progressive leadership experience of sufficient depth and scope to lead a complex education and professional standards portfolio, with relevant experience across areas such as regulatory or professional education, education transformation, professional standards, competency development, assessment or a related field.
• Experience in a regulatory body, delegated administrative authority, self-regulatory organization, professional regulator, public-interest organization or another comparably complex environment is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading significant change or transformation initiatives, with exposure to education programs, competency frameworks, providers or vendors, technology, process redesign and/or organizational change.
• Strong understanding of regulatory environments and the role of education across entry to practice, ongoing competence, compliance and remediation.
• Experience developing, overseeing or materially contributing to competency-based education, professional standards, examinations, assessments or continuing professional development.
• Experience working with and providing oversight of external providers or vendors, which may include post-secondary institutions, assessment vendors, technology partners or education delivery partners.
• Strong analytical and data literacy, with the ability to use performance measures, dashboards, program evaluation and outcome measurement to inform decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into implementation plans, measures and operational results.
• Strong executive communication, stakeholder engagement, negotiation and relationship-management skills.
• Demonstrated people leadership experience and ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary, regulatory and corporate functions.
• Knowledge of Ontario's real estate sector, TRESA and RECO's regulatory framework is an asset.

Core competencies

• Strategic Thinking & Regulatory Acumen
• Transformation & Change Leadership
• Data-Informed Decision-Making
• Stakeholder & Vendor Leadership
• Operational Excellence & Accountability
• Influence & Executive Communication
• People Leadership & Team Development
• Collaboration & Relationship Management
• Judgment & Results Orientation

Pay Range 142000 - 177110 CAD