Director, Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery

Job Profile Summary

Reporting to the AVP, this role will provide effective Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery coordination of planning and testing activities for GF.

Additionally, the incumbent will be involved in supporting related risk governance and regulatory requirements. This position will establish strong interactive relationships and communication within GF Technology and Business Partners (when required) and across business segments. You will define, implement, maintain and optimize business continuity and disaster recovery processes and develop necessary metrics to assess performance, risk levels and potential areas requiring remediation, that will help Manulife eliminate resilience issues.

This role also provides counsel and supports the Global Technology Service Management (GTSM) vision by integrating the practice of business continuity and disaster recovery management with related disciplines such as incident, change and problem management, crisis management and overall technology risk management.

Job Posting Description

Join our Group Functions (GF) Technology Management Team!

Collaborating with the AVP, the Resiliency director will provide effective Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery coordination of planning and testing activities for North America and Asia GF assets. Additionally, the incumbent will be involved in supporting related risk governance and regulatory requirements. This position will establish strong interactive relationships and communication within GF and across business segments.

You will define, implement, maintain and optimize processes and develop metrics to assess performance, risk levels and potential areas requiring remediation.

This role also provides counsel and supports the Global Technology Service Management (GTSM)  vision by integrating the practice with related disciplines such as incident, change and problem management, crisis management and overall technology risk management.

How will you Contribute:

Strategic Leadership:

• Supports design / supplement vision, strategy directive, and target operating model for Business Continuity nd Disaster Recovery program
• Demonstrates the best industry practices to design and generate momentum for optimized enterprise wide GF business continuity and disaster recovery management framework via collaborative partnerships and partner relationship management.
• Crisis Management.
• Collaborates with colleagues within GF to drive development, maintenance and testing of business continuity plans for GF North America.
• Collaborates with colleagues to drive development, maintenance and testing of data centre disaster recovery plans for GF North America and Asia.
• Regularly reviews, updates and implement global process requirements for disaster recovery and business continuity across the organization.
• Implements and updates metrics to review performance, risk and remediation associated with strategic objectives.
• Provides directional leadership and team mentorship / coaching to direct and larger  teams in order to enable change.

Initiatives and Portfolio:

• Translates the GTSM and resiliency vision into portfolio of integrated strategic initiative(s) with targeted strategies/tactics.
• Develops strategic objective for the problem management field, formulates strategies and detailed roadmaps to move from current to target state vision in an integrated manner with other related disciplines. Obtains agreement from senior management on the implementation of strategy via the roadmap.
• Work across the various technology teams to identify areas of improvement leading to constant and improved state of readiness.
• Works with second line of defense to identify and adjust governance artifacts to reduce availability risk for the GF team.

Leadership & People Development:

• Models our six Values to drive the change required to transform GF team.
• Helps frame upskilling strategies in support of GF vision.
• Contributes to the enablement of workforce agility and improve talent management and skill development opportunities for employees.
• Set direction and vision for the team, coaching, and mentoring the team.
• Challenges, coaches, and enables team members to develop to their fullest and improve their contribution to their teams and organization.

Skills and Experience:

• Minimum of 10+ years of technology leadership experience in technical delivery in IT / Technology service delivery / disaster recovery / business continuity management space.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in computer science, computer engineering, management of information systems.
• Experience managing third party risk with focus on technology third parties.
• Must be an industry leader with 5+ years of enterprise service management experience with demonstrable experience in developing and driving strategic and tactical plans in these domains.
• CBCP designation or equivalent experience preferred
• Demonstrable ability to build a team that drives new-age thinking balanced with driving down costs and improved efficiencies.
• Solid understanding of Business and Technology Resilience processes and applicable industry regulations.
• Demonstrated critical and entrepreneurial thinking and planning at a strategic, divisional and global level. Ability to translate strategic plans into specific objectives, and to create and implement project plans to achieve objectives.
• Customer focused and see beyond short term project goals and existing limitations to deliver efficient, cost-effective solutions.
• Proven success at senior multi-functional project & service delivery, involving multiple technical teams, partners, and business functions.
• Working in a large, global, matrixed environment to deliver results.
• Exceptional communications skills and the ability to connect with all levels of management and team members.
• Ability to work well under pressure and composed to balancing the needs and interests with our internal technology infrastructure and initiatives partners.
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills and good interpersonal and relationship building skills.

Preferred Technical Leadership competencies:

• CBCP or equivalent experience.
• Service Management Best Practices Expertise (SRE, ITIL).
• Incident Management, Change Management, Problem Management.
• Knowledge of Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery enterprise tools.

What can we offer?

• A competitive salary and benefits packages.
• A growth trajectory that extends upward and outward, encouraging you to follow your passions and learn new skills.
• A focus on growing your career path with us.
• Flexible hybrid work policies and strong work-life balance.
• Professional development and leadership opportunities.

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.

Salary range is expected to be between

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 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 recruitment@manulife.com for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.