Investment Operations Director

at  Manulife

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JOB DESCRIPTION

Are you looking for a supportive and collaborative workplace with great benefits and clear career development? You’ve come to the right place.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

The role is accountable for the overall leadership of the Global Wealth and Asset Management (GWAM) Alternative Investment Operations teams within Manulife’s Global Business Services (“GBS”). The Alternative Investment Ops Director is responsible for approximately 80 full time employees (“FTEs”) with a potential span increase due to ongoing global transitions. This position entails increased complexity and responsibility given the scope of global functions and asset classes that are being supported by the group.

QUALIFICATIONS

• University degree in accounting, finance, or business management. Recognized investment, finance, or accounting designation preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in alternative investment operations, asset servicing, and/or trade and cash management. Industry certification such as CAIA, CFA, or FRM is a plus.
• Broad knowledge of life insurance and asset management businesses, audit methodologies, control frameworks, and risk management techniques.
• Extensive knowledge on various range of asset types including equities, fixed income, derivatives, mortgage, and alternative investments such as private equity/debt, real estate, commodities, and structured products – including how they are accounted for in investment book of records, trading platforms, custody records, and in SWIFT messages.
• Strong people management experience (6+ years) to lead, manage, and develop professional staff.
• Ability to work in ambiguous environment and adapt to change while managing time and workload with aggressive timelines.
• Experience leading global operations and working across multiple geographies/time zones.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders across cultures and geographies.
• Innovative thinker with the ability to negotiate, influence, and challenge the status quo to continuously improve processes.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability to work with complex financial issues and concepts.
• Ability to anticipate issues and think proactively to resolve issues and risk.
• Highly organized with an ability to work in a fast-paced, multi stakeholder environment and manage multiple priorities.
• Strong track record of continuous improvement projects leveraging various automation tools is an advantage.
• Familiarity with project management approaches, tools, and phases of the project lifecycle.
• Presents complex ideas clearly, with an ability to manage the complexities of executing meaningful change and influence individuals across business boundaries to achieve objectives.
• Flexible on shift and overtime may be required to meet business deadlines.
  This Job Description is intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed. It is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for this role.

Reporting directly to the GBS Service Delivery Head for MIM and GA Investment Operations, the Alternative Investment Operations Director is primarily responsible for leading the Derivatives, Mortgage, Corporate Real Estate, and Private Market Operations teams supporting Asia, North America, and UK in ensuring timely, accurate, and effective delivery of services that are in scope. The role in addition oversees Securities Lending, Collateral Surveillance, and Vendor Management functions for GWAM.

Responsibilities include the following:

• Lead the effort to accelerate transformations delivery, governance process digitization, and global operating model rollout, as a priority.
• Provide functional oversight to continuously enable the Alternative Investment Ops teams to efficiently deliver on change initiatives while continuing to produce high quality, value-add services for both the General Accounts and Asset Management businesses.
• Drive strategic initiatives to deliver risk-averse scalability, transparency, and synergistic alignment across the function.
• Provide senior management support with focus on ramping up efforts to digitize governance and oversight model within the function, while interfacing with key Business Unit decision makers.
• Collaborate with local and segment risk functions. Ensure the effective cascade and communication of operational risk awareness and management practices.
• Manage and mitigate operational risk and ensure that issues are escalated and resolved timely and effectively.
• To ensure customer-centered outcomes, act as a business partner for senior Business Unit stakeholders. Enable feedback channels to the business to align expectations and priorities.
• Define and periodically refresh service level standards across the teams within the domain and manage the achievement of KPIs as defined within the Service Level Agreements and Schedule of Services. Validate the accuracy of operational risk heat maps and other risk assessments.
• Timely and effective delivery on KPI and KRI reporting, business dashboards and other metrics as required.
• Drive the sharing of best practices, fostering collaboration and innovation across the teams within the group.
• Develop the group’s capability and functional expertise through training, coaching/mentoring, strategic talent and production management, succession planning, and supporting mobility.
• Manage a growing team with responsibility for hiring, compensation, promotion, and performance management.