Manager, Client Services

The Manager, AdminAdvantage Client Services, is responsible for leading a team of Client and Account Specialists delivering the end-to-end AdminAdvantage experience for Manulife’s plan sponsors. This role provides leadership, direction, and oversight to ensure seamless execution of highly complex client implementations, enrolments, and ongoing service delivery, with a strong focus on client outcomes, service excellence, and operational consistency.

Acting as a senior escalation point, the role leads the resolution of complex, high-impact issues and drives cross-functional alignment to protect client relationships and business outcomes. The Manager is accountable for the overall performance and consistency of service delivery, ensuring alignment to service standards and enabling scalable, reliable execution across client portfolios and varying levels of complexity. The role also contributes to the broader AdminAdvantage operating model by shaping service standards, influencing best practices, and driving consistency and performance across the organization.

Position Responsibilities:

Team Leadership & Delivery (30%)

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Client and Account Specialists responsible for delivering client implementations and ongoing service
• Set direction and elevate capability across the team, ensuring strong expertise in managing complexity, risk, and high-impact client relationships
• Oversee workforce planning and resource allocation across client portfolios, balancing capacity, capability, and business priorities
• Drive a high-performance culture with strong accountability for service quality, client outcomes, and operational excellence

Client Service Delivery & Oversight (20%)

• Provide strategic oversight of end-to-end delivery for AdminAdvantage clients, ensuring alignment to client expectations, contractual obligations, and service standards
• Ensure consistency and quality of client engagement, communications, and deliverables across client portfolios
• Support and guide team members in managing client structures, re-enrolments, and non-standard solutions
• Maintain visibility of portfolio health, proactively identifying risks and intervening where required to ensure successful outcomes

Escalation & Issue Resolution Leadership (25%)

• Act as a senior escalation point for complex, high-risk issues impacting clients, products, or segments
• Lead cross-functional resolution efforts, coordinating internal stakeholders to address systemic issues and minimize client and operational impact
• Provide strategic direction on issue resolution, balancing client needs, operational constraints, and business priorities
• Drive root cause analysis and ensure implementation of scalable, preventative solutions across the broader organization

Service Governance & Risk (15%)

• Establish and enforce governance frameworks, standards, and best practices to ensure consistent, high-quality service delivery across client portfolios
• Lead cross-functional alignment across AdminAdvantage, Distribution, Underwriting, IT, and Operations to enable seamless end-to-end service execution
• Own the identification, escalation, and resolution of systemic issues impacting service performance, coordinating stakeholders to drive timely and effective outcomes
• Drive root cause analysis and implement scalable, preventative solutions to improve service stability and reduce recurring issues
• Anticipate and manage risks across portfolios, ensuring proactive mitigation strategies and consistent application of risk and escalation frameworks
• Influence and drive improvements to operating models, processes, and tools to enhance scalability, consistency, and overall service effectiveness

Continuous Improvement & Strategy (10%)

• Drive and influence continuous improvement initiatives that enhance performance, scalability, and client experience across AdminAdvantage Operations
• Identify opportunities to standardize and simplify complex processes while maintaining flexibility for clients
• Contribute to the development of operational strategies, service models, and best practices for the broader organization
• Ensure adoption and sustainment of improvements across teams, embedding change at scale

Shared Responsibilities:

• Partner with leaders across AdminAdvantage, Distribution partners, Underwriting, and other key stakeholders to address challenges and improve end-to-end service delivery
• Promote a culture of accountability, continuous learning, and client-centricity across teams and stakeholder groups
• Contribute to organizational priorities, transformation initiatives, and strategic programs by influencing direction and ensuring alignment to business objectives  

Required Qualifications:

• Post-secondary education in business, technology, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• Extensive leadership experience managing teams in complex, high-volume, and client-focused environments
• Deep understanding of Group Benefits, including plan design, enrolment processes, and system capabilities
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 tools

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience overseeing large-scale, complex client implementations and service delivery across multiple clients or segments
• Strong expertise in project management, business analysis, and system implementation in complex environments
• Proven ability to influence and lead cross-functional stakeholders at senior levels
• Strong analytical and strategic capability, including use of data and insights to drive decisions and improvements
• Leadership & Organizational Development: Builds and leads high-performing teams; develops capability and leadership depth across the function
• Client Focus & Strategic Relationship Management: Drives exceptional client outcomes and leads resolution of complex escalations impacting AdminAdvantage clients
• Strategic Thinking & Enterprise Decision-Making: Applies broad business perspective to influence decisions and outcomes at a portfolio and organizational level
• Communication & Stakeholder Management: Influences and aligns stakeholders across functions and levels
• Problem Solving & Systems Thinking: Leads resolution of complex, systemic issues through data-driven insights and cross-functional collaboration
• Change Leadership & Transformation: Leads and enables change across teams, driving adoption of new ways of working at scale
• Collaboration & Enterprise Influence: Builds strong networks and influences across teams to achieve organizational objectives
• Operational Strategy & Excellence: Shapes and drives improvements to operating models, governance, and delivery frameworks  

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-HYBRID

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

Toronto, OntarioHybrid

Salary range is expected to be between

$92,900.00 CAD - $142,900.00 CAD

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.