Amoreena Birchall: Digging in and taking on challenges to grow a rewarding career

AB: I started in August 2005. My husband and I were in a tough situation in life. I needed a career with more stability and opportunity. I remember going to my parents’ place during a long weekend because they had Internet and applying for every entry level job I could find. The following Tuesday morning, I got a phone call from First National to come in for an interview. My interview lasted 45 minutes, and when I got back to my job, my husband called to tell me I got the role at First National. I started in the call centre on the 12pm – 8pm shift, reporting to Eddie Stamp. At that time, we were a team of eight. After a year, I applied for a supervisor role right before my mat leave. I got that position, and when I returned, the department had been split in two. I went to the administrative side. In November 2008, I took on my first people management role in the newly launched Residential Servicing Documentation team. In 2016, I saw a posting for Business Analyst role and I decided to move through my own discomfort, take on the challenge and apply. I grew with the BA department, eventually becoming AVP. In September 2024, I left BA and took over leadership of the newly created Project Management and Transformation Office (PMTO).

AB: I didn’t know anything about mortgages, so there was a lot to learn. It was a bit overwhelming at the time. I was used to selling product, and this was a completely different type of customer service. In coaching customers through their obligations, I really had to flex my empathy muscle and understand people’s stories. Three months into my role, Eddie Stamp recognized me for my hard work and contributions. I burst into tears. It was so affirming and the best thumbs up I had ever gotten in a workplace. 

AB: My three-month moment with Eddie obviously sticks out. But COVID cemented things for me in a different way. I got to make my first hire for the BA “team” in March 2020. Residential Administration (RAD) didn’t have a division leader at the time, and Jason was in the process of hiring Leigh Knowles. We were in crisis mode, with so much to solve for and fix. Jason was incredibly supportive, and IT was amazing. Everyone appreciated the problems we needed to solve to comfort customers who were terrified of losing their homes.

AB: Managing people and appreciating the work that goes into that has been really pivotal in my career. Solving problems drives what I do today. It’s incredibly challenging and rewarding to identify where we can do better and being the person that steps forward to figure it out by collaborating with others to find the solution. 

AB: My mindset is always, “there’s no problem that can’t be solved.” For example, in 2009, we had a data processing issue for adjustable rate mortgage renewals. It was a problem we had been struggling with for years. I talked to my staff, figured out how much time it took them to work around this problem and talked to IT to figure out their obstacles in solving it. I went to my boss with the internal dollar cost of this problem to justify dedicating an IT resource to solve it. It was a six-minute conversation, and six months later we solved this persistent issue. 

In 2017/2018, we launched a revamped version of My Mortgage, our customer mortgage management portal. When this project was in the planning phases, IT approached me and asked me to be the Product Owner for the project. I got CSPO certified and began my collaboration with IT. We created an amazing product that continues to evolve.

My involvement with IT and My Mortgage continued. Kamaljit Singh came to me one day to show me something he was working on to improve workflow management with data points coming out of My Mortgage. We took his idea and built a full-blown solution, which changed the way servicing receives its requests. With this capability, leaders in RAD now have full visibility with one click and can troubleshoot automatically. Team members log in at the start of each day and their workload is right in front of them, giving them the ability to prioritize workload and escalate as needed. With one solution, we improved the efficiency of servicing as a whole, as well as the job quality of our team members. It’s the most important contribution I’ve made so far in my career. 

AB: I’m proud of the team I’ve built in RAD BA. The collaboration is incredible. The team is close, and everyone loves what they do. I’m also proud of the caring work environment I’ve fostered. I’ve always wanted people to feel comfortable sharing struggles they may be having with their kids or that their dog is sick or that they aren’t feeling well but still really want to show up. I’ve worked really hard to build a reputation as someone that cares and will help no matter what. I’m really looking forward to creating that type of environment in the PMTO as well.

AB: I have a few. Being asked to be a product owner for My Mortgage elevated my career to a whole new level. When I was promoted to Senior Manager, Jason called me personally to tell me. That was incredible. In 2010, my daughter was sick, and I had to take three weeks off to be with her. When I came back to work, my Director came by my desk to ask about my daughter and to let me know that I was going to get paid for that time I was off. It was such a beautiful show of empathy and support. And recently, I participated in our volunteering initiative with Second Harvest. I was so touched that we had that opportunity and I learned so much about our level of privilege. It was a really meaningful experience for me. 

AB: All the values are baked into the job I do. They are intrinsic. 

AB: It’s phenomenal to be a woman working at First National. I’m an introvert by nature, but I’ve been given opportunities to step outside of my comfort zone and use my voice. I was part of a video for International Women’s Day and participated in “Ask us Anything” with Jason. I’ve always felt supported, lifted up and able to be myself. 

AB: We live in a diverse cultural landscape. By sharing experiences, we can all understand what it can be like to have to swim upstream. Through celebration and appreciation, we promote education, awareness and understanding. We have amazing people driving that education and stewarding those conversations. There is a genuine care that everyone feels present, welcome and alive. 

AB: Invest in yourself. The job or promotion you want isn’t just going to appear. Express your intent and desire to move forward to the people that will listen. Advocate for yourself. Tell people what you want and prove your own worth. Do the work. Be confident and brave. Sell yourself. Ask for help, information, coaching and opportunities. 

AB: Big changes are coming. We’re going to get even better at collaboration and prioritization. The creation of the PMTO is evidence of that. We’re just getting started.