Regional Vice President, Global Surety Claims (Canada)

Department: Global Surety Claims

Location: Toronto, ON, Calgary, AB, Montreal, QC or Vancouver, BC

Reports To: SVP, Senior Claims Officer, Liberty Mutual Surety - Claims Management

The Opportunity:

At Liberty Mutual Canada, our Global Surety Claims team plays a critical role in protecting our clients, partners, and business. We are seeking a seasoned claims leader who thrives in complexity and brings strong legal and financial acumen to high-impact surety matters.

As Regional Vice President, Global Surety Claims - Canada, you will operate at the intersection of claims, legal strategy, corporate strategy, and underwriting, playing a pivotal role in guiding high-stakes decision-making and safeguarding the business. This is a highly visible, enterprise-level leadership position responsible for driving the continued growth and managing the complexity of Canadian Surety portfolio.

Leveraging deep legal expertise and executive business acumen, you will lead and develop a high-performing claims team - overseeing the investigation, analysis, and resolution of complex surety claims with a strategic lens across bond obligations, contract law, and financial risk. You will serve as a trusted advisor and thought leader to underwriting and senior leadership, ensuring claims strategy is aligned with broader organizational objectives and long-term business growth.

Serving as a key decision authority on high-exposure matters, you will exercise sound judgment across legal, financial, and reputational considerations within delegated limits. In close partnership with Global Surety Legal, you will ensure alignment with international standards while championing strategies tailored to the nuances of the Canadian market.

Reporting to the SVP, Senior Claims Officer, Global Surety (U.S. based), this role is instrumental in aligning Canadian claims strategy with global governance and legal frameworks across Liberty Mutual's worldwide surety operations.

Responsibilities:
Lead Complex Surety Claims

• Own and oversee a portfolio of high-severity contract and commercial surety claims, typically $10M+ CAD exposure.
• Drive end-to-end claims' strategy - from initial assessment through resolution, balancing client outcomes with financial performance and organizational risk.
• Lead critical decision-making on defaults, directing mitigation, resolution, and recovery strategies with a focus on long-term business impact.

Set Strategic Direction

• Ensure the consistent implementation of Corporate, SBU, and Global Surety policies and procedures, fostering a culture of compliance and accountability across the claims function.
• Serve as a market-facing thought leader, delivering executive presentations and industry-facing sessions on surety law and claims issues - while monitoring and interpreting legal developments that may impact the surety landscape.
• Provide Surety Canadian market insight to inform and shape broader global strategy and governance.
• Drive enterprise-level influence through strong executive presence, credibility, and cross-functional engagement.

Lead a High-Performing Claims Team

• Provide strategic leadership to a multidisciplinary claims team spanning legal, technical, and operational functions.
• Build, develop, and mentor top talent while fostering a high-performance, accountable culture aligned with organizational values.
• Set regional objectives, manage budgets, and drive continuous improvement across the claims function.
• Operate as a senior decision-maker, applying rigorous judgment across legal, contractual, and financial risk on complex, high-exposure claims.
• Direct the team in establishing and maintaining reserves, proactively identifying and escalating high-risk exposures to senior leadership.
• Deliver strong financial outcomes through disciplined oversight of loss ratios, expenses, and regional performance metrics.

Direct Litigation & External Partnerships

• Lead litigation strategy and direct the engagement of external counsel, consultants, and technical experts to ensure optimal outcomes.
• Serve as a key legal and contractual advisor on complex, high-stakes matters, ensuring strong representation of organizational interests at the highest levels.
• Cultivate and manage critical external partnerships in close collaboration with senior leadership, reinforcing Global Surety's market presence and reputation.
• Lead litigation strategy and oversee external counsel, consultants, and technical experts.
• Act as a key advisor on complex legal and contractual matters, ensuring strong representation of the organization's interests.
• Build and manage critical external partnerships in collaboration with senior leadership

Drive Recovery & Mitigate Loss

• Develop and execute sophisticated recovery strategies across indemnitors, principals, and third parties to maximize financial outcomes.
• Anticipate and mitigate risk through the implementation of proactive loss prevention strategies for distressed and high-exposure accounts.
• Lead decisive, high-impact action to minimize losses and drive optimal recovery outcomes in complex and challenging scenarios.

Elevate Thought Leadership & Industry Impact

• Serve as a trusted strategic partner to senior Surety leadership on complex, evolving, and high-stakes claims' issues.
• Represent Liberty Mutual at industry and legal forums, strengthening market presence, credibility, and thought leadership.
• Advance organizational knowledge by sharing expertise through internal and external forums, while maintaining a leading edge on legal, regulatory, and industry developments.

Bring Deep Technical Expertise

• Navigate highly complex surety scenarios, including contractor defaults, bond claims, disputes, and construction-related matters, with precision and strategic clarity.
• Apply strong commercial judgment and executive acumen across nuanced legal, financial, and operational environments to drive sound, defensible outcome.

Skills & Qualification:

• Law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) with membership in good standing with a Canadian provincial law society.
• 8-12+ years of progressive legal experience, ideally at a leading law firm with advancement to senior associate or equivalent, focused on surety, construction, or complex commercial matters.
• Deep expertise in construction law, contract law, surety practices, claims operations, and regulatory frameworks within the Canadian market.
• Significant experience managing the full claims lifecycle - including investigation, litigation, resolution, and recovery - across complex, high-exposure files.
• Advanced knowledge of claims handling practices, including coverage analysis, liability assessment, and risk evaluation.
• Broad understanding of insurance law and regulatory considerations across multiple jurisdictions.
• Proven ability to operate and influence at the executive level, driving alignment across senior stakeholders and cross-functional partners.
• Demonstrated success leading litigation strategy and directing external legal counsel, consultants, and advisors.
• Executive presence with exceptional communication skills and credibility across internal and external audiences.
• Strong commercial mindset with the ability to balance legal risk, client outcomes, and broader business objectives.
• Highly developed analytical, decision-making, and negotiation capabilities, with demonstrated sound judgment, resilience, and confidence in navigating complexity and ambiguity in high-stakes environments.
• Collaborative and results-driven, with a strong bias for action, decisive leadership, and a track record of operating with autonomy and accountability.
• Business-level bilingual proficiency in French is considered a strong asset.
• Willingness and ability to travel as required (approximately 25%).

This posting is for an active, current vacancy.

We do not use AI-based screening tools in our hiring process. Candidates who complete an interview and remain under consideration may request, and will receive, feedback within 45 days.