Director, Risk Oversight - Group Benefits

The Director, Group Benefits Risk Oversight, is responsible for providing independent second-line risk oversight and effective challenge to the Group Benefits business, with a strong focus on understanding the business, its operations, and the risks that could affect customers, plan sponsors, financial performance, regulatory obligations, and strategic objectives.

Reporting to Canada Segment Risk, you will work closely with leaders and teams across Group Benefits, such as Disability, Health and Dental, Underwriting, Plan Administration, Product, Distribution, and Transformation. The role requires someone who can look across these areas, identify themes and interconnected risks, and provide a broader risk perspective on how business decisions, operational challenges, and change initiatives could affect Group Benefits.

The successful candidate will combine strong knowledge of the Group Benefits business with risk management expertise, providing oversight across risk and control self assessments, issue management, change, third-party risk, operational resilience, and emerging risks.

Position Responsibilities

• Provide independent second-line risk oversight and effective challenge across the Group Benefits business, leveraging a strong understanding of its products, operations, strategic priorities, customer commitments, and risk profile.
• Establish strong relationships with leaders and subject matter experts across all business functions.
• Identify and assess risks arising from Group Benefits operations and business practices, such as claims management, underwriting, plan setup and administration, customer and plan sponsor servicing, and third parties.
• Look across individual issues and business areas to identify systemic risks, recurring themes, common root causes, and opportunities to strengthen the overall Group Benefits control environment.
• Assess how strategic initiatives, business transformation, technology implementations, process changes, new products, and operating model decisions could change the Group Benefits risk profile.
• Provide oversight and challenge of Group Benefits risk and control self assessments, issue and corrective action management, change risk assessments, third-party risk assessments, operational resilience, and critical operations.
• Review and challenge the adequacy of controls and mitigation strategies, with particular focus on whether they address the underlying drivers of risk and produce sustainable business outcomes.
• Monitor emerging risks and trends that could affect Group Benefits, including changes in customer expectations, workforce and capability, technology and automation, fraud, regulatory expectations, third-party dependencies, and the broader benefits and insurance environment.
• Connect risk information across Group Benefits to provide senior leaders with a forward-looking view of concentrations, trends, vulnerabilities, and emerging concerns, rather than assessing issues solely in isolation.
• Provide clear and practical risk insights to Group Benefits senior leaders and governance committees, helping management understand both individual risks and their potential broader business implications.
• Partner constructively with first-line stakeholders to strengthen risk management practices while maintaining appropriate second-line independence and effective challenge.
• Support regulatory reviews, audits, investigations, and other governance activities affecting Group Benefits.
• Bring insights from Group Benefits into the broader Canada Segment Risk organization and contribute to the continued evolution of risk frameworks, methodologies, and reporting.

Required Qualifications:

• 8–10+ years of relevant experience in Group Benefits.
• Relevant experience in insurance operations, risk management, audit, compliance, or a related discipline.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Risk Management, Accounting, or a related discipline.
• Strong knowledge of the Group Benefits business and operating environment, with experience in areas such as Disability, Health & Dental, Underwriting, Plan Administration, Product, or Operations.
• Ability to understand complex end-to-end business processes and identify how risks and issues in one area can have broader implications across Group Benefits.
• Strong understanding of operational risk, controls, governance, and issue management, with the ability to apply risk principles pragmatically within a complex business.
• Demonstrated ability to provide credible, constructive challenge and influence senior business and operational leaders.
• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills, including the ability to identify patterns, root causes, interconnected risks, and emerging themes from complex information.
• Ability to translate risk information into clear business implications and actionable insights for senior leadership.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing materials and recommendations for senior management and governance committees.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct experience within Group Benefits.
• Experience supporting or overseeing complex insurance operations with significant customer, financial, regulatory, and operational risk.
• Experience with major business transformations, technology implementations, operating model changes, or strategic initiatives within insurance or financial services.
• Experience identifying systemic issues or risk themes across multiple business processes or functions.
• Professional designation such as CPA, CIA, CRMA, CRM, or an equivalent risk, audit, or insurance designation.
• Experience within a federally regulated Canadian financial institution.
• Familiarity with GRC platforms such as Archer.
• Knowledge of regulatory expectations relating to operational risk, third-party risk, operational resilience, and risk governance.
• Bilingualism (English and French) is an asset. If the successful candidate is in Québec, proficiency in both languages will be required to support clients from various provinces outside of Quebec.

When you join our team:

• We’ll empower you to learn and grow the career you want.
• We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words.
• As part of our global team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see.

#LI-Hybrid

The role being advertised is an existing vacancy.

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html.

Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law.

It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact [email protected].

Referenced Salary Location

Toronto, Ontario

Working Arrangement

Hybrid

Salary range is expected to be between

$125,100.00 CAD - $175,100.00 CAD

Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact [email protected] for the salary range for your location.

Manulife offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits, including health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage, adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits, and employee/family assistance plans. We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in Canada includes holidays, vacation, personal, and sick days, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence. If you are applying for this role in the U.S., please contact [email protected] for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.

We use data and analytics technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and automated processing tools, to analyze and process the information you provide to us or third parties in the application process. For more information, please refer to our personal information collection statement.