Project Manager, Group Benefits Operations

Manulife John Hancock; Southwestern Ontario; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Manulife John Hancock is seeking a Project Manager for Group Benefits Operations to lead cross-functional initiatives that improve plan sponsor and plan member outcomes, service performance, and financial results.

You will partner with Operations, Product, Technology, Finance, Risk, Compliance, Procurement, and external partners to govern initiatives, translate needs into requirements, and deliver measurable benefits.

Qualifications

• Five or more years of progressive experience leading complex projects in financial services.
• Experience in Group Benefits operations, products, claims, or benefits administration.
• Certification in PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, Lean Six Sigma, or equivalent.
• Proficiency with project and reporting tools (e.g., MS Project, Planner, Visio, Power BI).

Responsibilities

• Lead moderate-to-large Group Benefits Operations initiatives through intake, prioritization, planning, implementation, stabilization, and benefits realization.
• Partner with operational leaders to define problems, requirements, outcomes, operational impacts, and sustainable solutions.
• Maintain an integrated view of active and pipeline initiatives, including ownership, milestones, dependencies, risks, costs, benefits, and leadership decisions.
• Establish project governance and operating rhythms including plans, decision logs, risk/issue registers, change control, executive reporting, forums, escalations, and action follow-up.
• Lead initiatives to improve sponsor/member experiences, service performance, quality, capacity, and end-to-end processes.
• Identify and implement process improvement, digitization, automation, data, and AI opportunities to simplify work and deliver measurable benefits.
• Partner with Product and Technology to translate needs into requirements and coordinate testing, change management, training, communications, cutover, and stabilization.
• Support service recovery, workforce and capacity initiatives by validating data, identifying root causes, and coordinating remediation and risks.
• Support business cases, budgets, forecasts, resource plans, and benefit measures; monitor financial performance and expected value.
• Coordinate external partner/vendor deliverables and ensure compliance with regulatory and company requirements.
• Handle sensitive information with discretion and ensure proper approvals and closure.
• Build collaborative relationships and drive accountability across Group Benefits and enterprise functions.

Skills

Project governance

Stakeholder engagement

Analytical skills

Communication

Leadership

Problem solving

Education

Post-secondary degree or diploma in business/operations/finance/technology/project management

Tools

Microsoft Project

Planner

Visio

Power BI

SharePoint

Jira

Job description

The Project Manager, Group Benefits Operations leads cross-functional Group Benefits Operations initiatives that improve plan sponsor and plan member outcomes, service performance, operational effectiveness, risk management, workforce readiness, and financial results. The role applies governance, produces decision-ready insights, and coordinates delivery across Operations, Product, Technology, Finance, Risk, Compliance, Procurement, and external partners.

Position Responsibilities

• Lead moderate-to-large Group Benefits Operations initiatives through intake, prioritization, planning, implementation, stabilization, and benefits realization.
• Partner with operational leaders across Group Benefits to define problems, requirements, outcomes, operational impacts, and sustainable solutions.
• Maintain an integrated view of active and pipeline initiatives, including ownership, milestones, dependencies, risks, costs, benefits, and leadership decisions.
• Establish project governance and operating rhythms, including integrated plans, decision logs, risk and issue registers, change control, executive reporting, forums, escalations, and action follow-through.
• Lead initiatives that improve plan sponsor and plan member experiences, service performance, quality, capacity, and end-to-end operational processes.
• Identify and implement process improvement, digitization, automation, data, and AI opportunities that simplify work, strengthen controls, improve scalability, and deliver measurable benefits.
• Partner with Product and Technology to translate operational needs into requirements and coordinate testing, change management, training, communications, cutover, and post-implementation stabilization.
• Support service recovery, workforce, and capacity initiatives by validating data, identifying root causes, assessing resource impacts, coordinating remediation, and escalating material risks or delays.
• Support business cases, budgets, forecasts, resource plans, and benefit measures; monitor financial performance and expected value.
• Coordinate external partner and vendor deliverables, performance, risks, dependencies, and contractual obligations with business and control functions.
• Ensure projects meet legal, regulatory, operational risk, privacy, information-security, records-management, accessibility, and Company requirements; track corrective actions, control remediation, evidence, approvals, and commitments through closure.
• Handle highly sensitive, confidential, privileged, or NDA-protected information with discretion and sound judgment, sharing it strictly on a need-to-know basis.
• Build collaborative relationships, clarify roles and decision rights, resolve competing priorities, and drive accountability across Group Benefits and enterprise functions.

Required Qualifications

• Post-secondary degree or diploma in business, operations, finance, technology, project management, or a related discipline; an equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
• Five or more years of progressive experience leading complex projects, operational improvement, or transformation initiatives in financial services, insurance, benefits administration, or another regulated environment.
• Experience in Group Benefits operations, products, claims, benefits administration, plan sponsor servicing, plan member servicing, billing, eligibility, or plan design.
• PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, Lean Six Sigma, or an equivalent project management or process-improvement certification.
• Experience with Microsoft Project, Planner, Visio, Power BI, SharePoint, Jira, or equivalent project and reporting platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated full-lifecycle delivery experience, including scope, requirements, schedules, budgets, resources, dependencies, risks, issues, change control, implementation, stabilization, and benefits realization.
• Strong understanding of operations and service delivery, including customer journeys, transaction processing, service levels, quality, workflows, capacity, backlogs, and operational readiness.
• Proven ability to apply portfolio and project governance, support integrated plans, manage risks and issues, define measures, and produce concise executive reporting and recommendations.
• Experience contributing process redesign, automation, digitization, data, workflow, system implementation, or AI-enabled change in an operational environment.
• Strong business and financial acumen, including business cases, cost-benefit analysis, budgeting, forecasting, resource planning, vendor assessment, and benefits measurement.
• Working knowledge of operational risk, compliance, privacy, information security, records management, accessibility, third-party risk, and controls in a regulated environment.
• Strong analytical, communication, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder-influence skills, including the ability to engage senior leaders and cross-functional partners without direct authority.
• High degree of integrity, professionalism, and