Director, Retirement Underwriting

The Director of Retirement Underwriting at Manulife is a key leadership position passionate about shaping and driving underwriting strategies for the U.S. retirement plan sector. This role demands a deep understanding of the U.S. retirement landscape. As the Director, you will use your strong leadership abilities to improve operational efficiency, motivate change management initiatives, and collaborate with various departments. Additionally, the role highlights the importance of applying technology to improve the accuracy of risk assessments and contribute to business growth

Responsibilities:

• Design and implement underwriting processes that integrates seamlessly with the retirement plan sales process at Manulife John Hancock, improving collaboration and efficiency across teams and platforms.

• Use technology and artificial intelligence to optimize underwriting workflows, improving risk assessment accuracy and supporting informed decision-making.

• Collaborate with training and education teams to develop a proactive program that keeps the organization aligned as retirement offerings and record-keeping platforms evolve, ensuring teams are equipped with the latest knowledge and resources.

• Lead change management efforts to establish a scalable underwriting model for the U.S. retirement plan business, emphasizing efficiency and maintaining exceptions as genuine exceptions.

• Partner closely with the Product team to ensure the product catalog aligns with the needs of the Underwriting team, enabling effective product fit assessment.

• Establish robust processes and governance structures to support efficient underwriting operations in the group retirement business, defining clear criteria for opportunity evaluation and ensuring comprehensive documentation and onboarding protocols.

• Develop a framework for categorizing underwriting requirements, handling exceptions with careful scrutiny to assess their impact on sales, operations, and client experience.

• Implement detailed reporting mechanisms within the underwriting function to track key metrics, monitor trends, and inform strategic decisions on key features, capabilities and/or services, driving continuous improvement and business growth in the U.S. retirement plan market.

Requirements:

• Expertise with US Retirement recordkeeping and surround ecosystems including digital properties, CRM, core recordkeeping, trust and custody and regulatory communications applications.

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business administration, or a related field;

• Minimum of ten years of experience in US retirement.

• Strong understanding of underwriting principles, governance, and risk management.

• Proven experience in operationalizing product catalogs and implementing structured processes.

• Excellent leadership and team management skills, with a proven ability to drive critical initiatives and lead change.

• Effective communication and interpersonal skills for collaboration across departments and with external partners.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.

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-JH

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 recruitment@manulife.com.

Referenced Salary Location

USA, Massachusetts - Full Time RemoteRemote

Salary range is expected to be between

$120,750.00 USD - $217,350.00 USD

If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact recruitment@manulife.com 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/John Hancock 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/401(k) savings plans and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in the U.S. includes up to 11 paid holidays, 3 personal days, 150 hours of vacation, and 40 hours of sick time (or more where required by law) each year, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence.

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Company: John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.)