Bilingual Implementation Specialist

Manulife/John Hancock; Southwestern Ontario; On-site; CAD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Manulife/John Hancock is seeking an Implementation Specialist to manage the onboarding of mid-case clients into Group Retirement Services, coordinating complex amendments, plan changes, and fund rationalizations. The role emphasizes relationship management, consulting, and project management throughout implementation and warranty phases.

The specialist will ensure timely delivery by coordinating with Account Executives, Client Relationship Managers, and internal teams while tracking progress and

Qualifications

• Knowledge of contract provisions and administrative practices of Group Retirement products and systems.
• Group Retirement experience.
• Good knowledge of Windows based software (Word, Excel).
• Fully bilingual (French/English) to support clients from various jurisdictions outside of Quebec.

Responsibilities

• Create implementation schedules and act as primary contact during the implementation phase.
• Coordinate and lead client meetings and align on plan details and delivery dates.
• Track progress, report status, and escalate issues to senior management as needed.
• Manage multiple implementations concurrently within size and complexity constraints.
• Collaborate with internal teams to resolve issues and ensure successful plan setup.

Skills

Bilingual French/English

Group Retirement knowledge

Contract provisions knowledge

Windows/Word/Excel

Education

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Job description

The role of Implementation Specialist is to implement the new business of our mid case clients into Group Retirement Services (GRS) and to project manage any complex amendments or plan changes for our mid case clients as well as simple amendments and fund rationalizations for the large case as required. The role involves relationship management, consulting, and project management. Utilizing a project management approach, the Implementation Specialist is involved during the implementation and warranty process to see the Customer through all aspects of the Implementation. Through a partnering relationship with the Account Executive, Client Relationship Manager and internal teams, the Implementation Specialist will ensure that Manulife is responding to the needs of the Customer as well as Manulife. The Implementation Specialist will have primary responsibility for project managing to ensure a successful implementation with tracking and reporting on the progress of the various implementation stages.

Position Responsibilities:

• Creation of implementation schedules
• Primary contact for the Client and/or Advisor during the implementation phase
• Works with the client and implementation team to obtain plan details, clarify requirements, and establish delivery dates for tasks in the project
• Coordinates and leads/facilitates the Client meeting
• Coordinates, delegates, negotiates, and follows up on all implementation tasks with each internal area involved throughout the process areas to ensure all areas have required information for plan set up and works as liaison with client to resolve issues, missing information
• Tracks and reports the status of each project and proactively escalates any significant barriers or issues to Sr. management as necessary
• Project manages the implementation schedule, provides status updates to Client and/or Plan Advisor and Account Executive and/or Client Relationship Manager
• Coordinates the initial enrolment period (paper enrolment forms, or electronic data) and contacts plan sponsor for missing employee information
• Communicates with internal teams to resolve exceptional situations and problems that arise during the issue process
• Implementation Specialists are expected to handle between 15 to 20 implementations at any one time: depending on size and complexity and the success of our sales organization

Required Qualifications:

• Knowledge of contract provisions and administrative practices of Group Retirement products and systems
• Group Retirement experience
• Good knowledge of Window’s based software (Word, Excel)
• Fully bilingual (French/English): The successful candidate will be required to communicate in English and French in order to support clients from various jurisdictions outside of Quebec.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Strong negotiation and problem-solving skills with the ability to recognize implications of issues and solutions
• Ability to handle fluctuating workloads and multiple priorities within set time constraints
• Customer service focused – ability to effectively negotiate/communicate with internal and external clients
• Strong analytical skills