Director, Risk Oversight - Group Benefits

Manulife; Halifax; Hybrid; CAD 125,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

Manulife seeks a Director, Group Benefits Risk Oversight to provide independent second-line risk oversight for the Group Benefits business, working with Disability, Health & Dental, Underwriting, Plan Administration and more. You will identify themes, assess risk implications, and challenge controls for sustainable outcomes.

The role requires strong risk management expertise, leadership, and the ability to translate risk information into actionable insights for senior leaders and governance

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Risk Management, Accounting, or related field.
• 8–10+ years of experience in Group Benefits or related risk roles.
• Strong knowledge of operational risk, controls, governance, and issue management.

Responsibilities

• Provide independent second-line risk oversight across Group Benefits.
• Identify systemic risks and themes across functions.
• Assess how initiatives could change risk profiles and oversight needs.
• Challenge adequacy of controls and mitigation strategies for sustainable outcomes.
• Monitor emerging risks, regulatory expectations, and third-party dependencies.

Skills

Risk management

Regulatory knowledge

Communication

Analytical thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Issue management

Third-party risk

Operational resilience

Governance

Influence senior leaders

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/Finance/Risk Management/Accounting

Tools

Archer

Job description

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.

Giới thiệu về Manulife và John Hancock

Tập đoàn Manulife Financial là nhà cung cấp dịch vụ tài chính quốc tế hàng đầu giúp mọi người quyết định dễ dàng hơn và có cuộc sống vẹn toàn hơn. Để tìm hiểu thêm về chúng tôi, hãy truy cập https://www.manulife.com.vn/ .

Manulife là Nhà sử dụng lao động không phân biệt đối xử

Tại Manulife/John Hancock, chúng tôi luôn đón nhận sự đa dạng. Chúng ta cố gắng thu hút, phát triển và duy trì lực lượng lao động đa dạng tương tự như những khách hàng mà chúng ta phục vụ, đồng thời thúc đẩy một môi trường làm việc hòa nhập, đề cao thế mạnh của từng nền văn hóa và cá nhân. Chúng ta cam kết tuyển dụng, duy trì, thăng tiến và trả lương một cách công bằng. Đồng thời, chúng ta quản lý tất cả các hoạt động và chương trình của mình mà không phân biệt đối xử dựa trên chủng tộc, dòng họ, xuất thân, màu da, nguồn gốc dân tộc, quyền công dân, tôn giáo hoặc tín ngưỡng tôn giáo, đức tin, giới tính (bao gồm phụ nữ mang thai và các tình trạng liên quan đến mang thai), xu hướng tính dục, đặc điểm di truyền, tình trạng cựu chiến binh, bản dạng giới, biểu hiện giới, tuổi tác, tình trạng hôn nhân, tình trạng gia đình, khuyết tật hoặc bất kỳ căn cứ nào khác được pháp luật hiện hành bảo vệ.

Ưu tiên của chúng ta là loại bỏ các rào cản để đem lại cơ hội tiếp cận việc làm bình đẳng. Đại diện Bộ phận Nhân sự sẽ làm việc với những ứng viên có yêu cầu điều chỉnh hợp lý trong quá trình ứng tuyển. Tất cả thông tin được chia sẻ trong quá trình yêu cầu điều chỉnh sẽ được lưu trữ và sử dụng tuân theo pháp luật hiện hành và chính sách của Manulife/John Hancock. Để yêu cầu điều chỉnh hợp lý trong quá trình ứng tuyển, hãy liên hệ với [e-mail] .

Referenced Salary Location

Toronto, Ontario

Working Arrangement

Kết hợp

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 [e-mail] 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 [e-mail] 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 (https://careers.manulife.com/global/en/talentacquisitionprivacystatement) .