Director, Global Operations Risk & Control Governance

Join the Global Operations Risk & Controls team as Director, Global Operations Risk, Controls & Governance, providing enterprise-wide leadership across the first line of defense (L1b) for Global Operations. In this role, you will identify systemic pain points across segments, design scalable global solutions, coordinate executive-level risk reporting, and serve as the L1b Operational Risk lead for Group Functions (GF).

You will partner closely with Operations leaders, Segment Risk Leads, and Global Risk to translate complex risk information into practical tools, clear executive insights, and consistent execution of the Operational Risk Management Framework (ORMF) worldwide. Success in this role requires strong judgment, the ability to influence without authority, and a pragmatic mindset that balances global standards with local execution realities.

Position Responsibilities

• Own and evolve Global Operations risk and control assessment methodology, setting enterprise standards for risk identification, assessment, and testing.

• Define, document, and govern key controls for Global Operations processes to drive consistent execution and scalability.

• Lead design and enhancement of end-to-end risk activities (e.g., incident root cause analysis, RCSA, control testing, monitoring, and reporting).

• Drive a continuous improvement culture by identifying recurring pain points, inefficiencies, and inconsistencies across segments and functions.

• Serve as the primary Operations risk liaison to ORM/IRM, Compliance, Audit, and other forums on evolving practices, emerging risks, and improvement opportunities.

• Lead requirements and solution design for risk and control tools, leveraging low-code/no-code and AI capabilities.

• Pilot, deploy, and sustain risk and control tools—driving adoption, maintenance, and ongoing user support.

• Oversee the Global Functions control environment end-to-end: identify and remediate deficiencies, ensure assessment/documentation quality, manage audit/regulatory interactions, deliver executive risk reporting and trend insights, and enable cross-segment collaboration and mentorship.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Finance, Engineering, or a related field; MBA and/or relevant risk designation (e.g., CFA, FRM, PRM, CRCM) preferred.

• 10+ years of progressive experience in financial services (banking, insurance, wealth/asset management), with depth in operational risk, controls, audit, and/or operations leadership.

• Expert knowledge of operational risk management and control frameworks, including RCSA, control design/testing, incident management/root-cause analysis, and issue remediation.

• Strong understanding of financial services regulatory expectations and proven ability to partner with Compliance, ORM/IRM, and Internal Audit.

• Experience with risk and control systems and data (e.g., Archer or equivalent), including building dashboards/reporting and translating insights for executive audiences.

• Proven success operating at enterprise scale—coordinating across regions, segments, and functions—and influencing without authority to drive consistent execution.

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.

The role being advertised is an existing vacancy.

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html.

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].

Referenced Salary Location

Salary range is expected to be between

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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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.