We are a leading financial services provider committed to making decisions easier and lives better for our customers and colleagues around the world. From our environmental initiatives to our community investments, we lead with values throughout our business. To help us stand out, we help you step up, because when colleagues are healthy, respected and meaningfully challenged, we all thrive. Discover how you can grow your career, make impact and drive real change with our Winning Team today. 

Hybrid

Job Description

The opportunity

Manulife’s insurance business is a multifaceted and industry-leading area that includes a world-class underwriting organization. The Underwriting team is growing! We are looking for a high-energy, passionate, customer-obsessed, and creative individual to join our leadership team to help manage day-to-day business operations and drive performance through transformation.

Reporting to the Managing Director of Underwriting, the Underwriting Manager is primarily responsible for operational effectiveness and developing and supporting our strategy to ensure timely, cost-effective service.

Responsibilities

• Lead service delivery of the Underwriting area within the established service level agreements, handling escalated customer issues and ensuring the operations provide real value to our customers.
• Take personal ownership of consistently meeting standards and targets.
• Improve the efficiency of staff by recruiting and developing highly cohesive and motivated teams, evaluating individual and team performance, addressing performance-related concerns, initiating corrective action, conducting staff performance appraisals, managing reward and recognition, and talent management.
• Provide leadership and technical direction for the development of staff, and the creation of a positive and productive work environment.
• Build and maintain strong internal and external working relationships including presentations to advisors and distribution or office visits when needed.
• Ensure ongoing partnerships and collaboration.
• Work with multiple teams in all locations to ensure quality and service.
• Innovative and always looking for opportunities to continually improve our business and serve our customers.

How will you create impact?

The role provides overall management direction and builds and leads a successful Underwriting team. This is accomplished through effective recruitment, retention, and development of staff and the creation of a positive work environment that encourages participation, ownership, responsibility, innovation, initiative, integrity, and a sense of pride in the operations and in Manulife.

To succeed in this role, you need to thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic environment and commit to service excellence through building effective relationships across the organization at all levels. As a representative of Manulife’s brand, you will be encouraged to model our values and understand our business strategy and mission.

The Underwriting team is 120 strong consisting of Individual, Affinity, and Group business which supports multiple distribution channels including Advisor Services, Managing General Agencies, and National Accounts. The business services both advisors sold and direct to client markets. Several product lines such as Life, Critical Illness, Disability, Mortgage Creditor, and Health and Dental are handled by the underwriting team. The team is also diverse in people and location. We have people in all offices as well as working-from-home individuals. The Underwriting team is responsible for risk assessment, analyzing experience, and projecting trends.

What motivates you?

• You obsess about customers, listen, engage and act for their benefit.
• You think big, with curiosity to discover ways to use your agile approach and enable business outcomes.
• You thrive in teams and enjoy getting things done together.
• You take ownership and build solutions, focusing on what matters.
• You do what is right, work with integrity and speak up.
• You share your humanity, helping us build a diverse and inclusive work environment for everyone.

What we are looking for?

• For Québec candidates, bilingualism is required (French/English) -The successful candidate will be required to communicate in English and French to support clients from various jurisdictions outside of Quebec.
• Demonstrated leadership skills and accountabilities including staff development and team engagement.
• Excellent understanding of Insurance Products and Industry knowledge – underwriting background an asset specifically living benefits
• Outstanding relationship skills, building strong relationships with internal and external business partners.
• Resilient and adaptable when working under business pressures and sales deadlines
• Superior communication skills, both written and verbal
• Excellent negotiation, influencing, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to effectively work with a remote and geographically diverse team.
• Willingness to problem-solve directly with key stakeholders.
• Strong operations orientation
• Results Oriented
• Presentation skills
• Dedication to learning and professional development

What can we offer you?

• A competitive salary and benefits packages.
• A growth trajectory that extends upward and outward, encouraging you to follow your passions and learn new skills.
• A focus on growing your career path with us.
• Flexible work policies and strong work-life balance.
• Professional development and leadership opportunities.

Our commitment to you

• Values-first culture
  We lead with our Values every day and bring them to life together.
• Boundless opportunity
  We create opportunities to learn and grow at every stage of your career.
• Continuous innovation
  We invite you to help redefine the future of financial services.
• Delivering the promise of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  We foster an inclusive workplace where everyone thrives.
• Championing Corporate Citizenship
  We build a business that benefits all stakeholders and has a positive social and environmental impact.

#LI-HYBRID

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across our offices in Asia, Canada, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. We provide financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2022, we had more than 40,000 employees, over 116,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 34 million customers. At the end of 2022, we had $1.3 trillion (US$1.0 trillion) in assets under management and administration, including total invested assets of $0.4 trillion (US $0.3 trillion), and segregated funds net assets of $0.3 trillion (US$0.3 trillion). We trade as ‘MFC’ on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges, and under ‘945’ in Hong Kong.

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].

The annual base salary for this role is listed below.

CAN, Ontario, Waterloo, 500 King Street North

Salary range is expected to be between

$78,975.00 CAD - $142,155.00 CAD

If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact [email protected] for the salary range for your location. 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. Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance.

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.