Director, FP&A and Expense Management

Manulife is seeking an experienced Director, FP&A and Expense Management to lead financial planning and analysis, expense management, budgeting, forecasting and management reporting for the Regional Office and assigned Asia functions.

The role will serve as a strategic finance partner to functional leaders and senior management, providing timely and insightful analysis of financial performance, expense trends, risks and opportunities. The incumbent will also strengthen expense governance, enhance FP&A and reporting capabilities and support informed decision-making across Asia.

Position Responsibilities:

Financial Planning and Analysis

• Lead the consolidation and review of submissions from business units and functions, assess the underlying business drivers and provide senior management with in-depth analysis and insights on the business performance.
• Lead the development and delivery of Asia Division IS Quarterly Review, ensuring high-quality, relevant and decision-focused commentary for senior management.
• Drive continuous improvement in financial analysis and reporting through enhanced analytical approaches, streamlined processes and greater standardization.
• Partner with Group Office and business units to ensure alignment and mutual understanding of financial planning and reporting requirements.
• Lead the review and challenge of business units’ annual IS budgets and forecasts, assess their reasonableness and feasibility and work with BU IS Finance and regional functions to resolve material issues.
• Initiate and lead strategic IS expense-management projects, ensuring alignment with Asia Division’s financial and strategic priorities.
• Direct and oversee financial and scenario analyses to support management strategies, resource allocation and business decision-making. 

Expense Management

• Lead the development and delivery of timely, accurate and insightful expense forecasts to support business decisions and drive expense accountability for Regional Office and the assigned Asia functions. 
• Act as a strategic finance partner to key stakeholders, including Function Owners, to challenge spending trend and patterns, identify potential savings and accrual requirements and anticipate emerging expenditure in support of Regional Office and Asia Division strategic objectives.
• Oversee the delivery of monthly expense reports to Regional Office functional heads, ensuring the key variances, risks and opportunities are clearly communicated and appropriately addressed.
• Oversee all intercompany charging activities and lead engagement with business units to ensure accurate accounting treatment and appropriate elimination at Group level.
• Own and oversee Group Financial reporting deliverables, ensuring accurate, complete and timely information is provided to support Group external financial statement publication.
• Partner with Corporate and business unit finance teams to lead the development, implementation and ongoing enhancement of expense policies, embedding a strong expense-conscious culture across Manulife Asia. 
• Lead and uplift the capabilities of Regional Accounting and Reporting Team, including both onshore and offshore team members, to deliver meaningful financial insights and support management decision-making.

Required Qualification:

• Bachelor Degree in Finance, Accounting or a related discipline.
• Chartered Accountant, Certified Public Accountant or equivalent professional qualification, with at least 10 years of relevant experience in FP&A, expense management, financial reporting.  Experience in the life insurance industry is strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to partner with, influence and constructively challenge senior stakeholders with strong business acumen and financial judgement.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to translate complex financial information into meaningful business insights and recommendations.
• Demonstrated leadership experience with ability to coach and develop teams in a regional and matrix environment.  Experience managing shared services/ offshore teams would be an advantage.
• Strong ownership and accountability with the ability to manage multiple priorities and drive outcomes in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with proficiency in written and spoken Chinese and English.
• Proficiency in Hyperion Essbase or other financial planning and reporting tools would be an advantage.

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.

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].

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