Director, Risk Oversight - Group Benefits

Manulife John Hancock; Toronto; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Manulife John Hancock in Toronto seeks a Director, Group Benefits Risk Oversight to provide independent second-line risk oversight and challenge across the Group Benefits business, with a focus on understanding products, operations, and risk profile.

The role collaborates with Disability, Health & Dental, Underwriting, Plan Administration, Product, Distribution, and Transformation teams to identify systemic risks and drive robust risk management across initiatives and third-party dependencies.

Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of experience in Group Benefits.
• Experience in insurance operations, risk management, audit, or compliance.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Risk Management, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Provide independent second-line risk oversight and challenge across Group Benefits.
• Establish strong relationships with leaders across all Group Benefits functions.
• Identify and assess risks from Group Benefits operations such as claims management, underwriting, plan setup and administration, servicing, and third parties.
• Scan for systemic risks, recurring themes, root causes, and opportunities to strengthen the control environment.
• Assess how strategic initiatives, transformations, and new products could change the risk profile.
• Oversee risk and control self assessments, issue management, change risk assessments, and third-party risk assessments.
• Review adequacy of controls and mitigation strategies to ensure sustainable outcomes.
• Monitor emerging risks and regulatory expectations affecting Group Benefits.
• Provide forward-looking risk insights to senior leaders and governance committees.

Skills

Group Benefits knowledge

Risk management

Stakeholder influence

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Finance

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 & 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 go