The Regional Manager, Underwriting Services, plays a critical leadership role in supporting Manulife Bank’s residential mortgage origination business. Reporting to the Director, Underwriting Strategy & Operations, this role is accountable for the end-to-end performance of mortgage origination activities within an assigned region.
As a key connector between distribution partners, underwriting, fulfillment, and risk teams, the Regional Manager ensures timely, accurate, and high-quality decision-making while reinforcing a strong, balanced, risk-based culture. You will promote responsible lending, operational excellence, and a frictionless experience for customers and independent advice partners, while leading teams through change, growth, and continuous improvement.
This role offers meaningful exposure to credit operations, regional real estate market dynamics, and enterprise risk practices, with strong opportunities for long-term professional growth.
How You’ll Create Impact
Your leadership will directly drive growth in Manulife Bank’s Residential Mortgage business by delivering a competitive, high-quality, and efficient mortgage origination experience. Through collaboration, risk stewardship, and people leadership, you will strengthen partner confidence, enhance adjudication quality, and ensure consistent service excellence across your region.
Position Responsibilities:
Regional Leadership & Operations
Provide day-to-day leadership across underwriting and fulfillment activities within the assigned region, ensuring productivity, quality, and turnaround time targets are achieved.
Maintain strong operational oversight by working closely with underwriting, fulfillment, and business analytics partners to align on capacity, service standards, and risk expectations.
Monitor regional performance, productivity trends, and market dynamics; identify and implement strategies to improve efficiency, quality, and customer experience.
Credit Risk & Decision Governance
Empower underwriters while holding them accountable for sound, consistent, and risk-aligned decision-making.
Provides strategic leadership to fulfillment officers, ensuring efficient execution, quality outcomes, and strong service delivery.
Review and approve escalated applications, including mortgage material exceptions and discretionary lending limits, ensuring independent, accurate, and thorough analysis.
Recommend credit applications exceeding delegated authorities with well-supported rationale and documentation.
Provide guidance on credit risk issues, including transaction structuring changes to strengthen Manulife Bank’s position and mitigate risk exposure.
Conduct quality checks on adjudication and productivity, driving continuous improvement in origination and underwriting quality.
Collaboration & Stakeholder Management
Act as a liaison between regional distribution partners, underwriting, fulfillment, and risk teams to support business growth and operational effectiveness.
Build and maintain strong relationships with internal partners and external stakeholders to support seamless execution and shared accountability.
Translate complex technical and credit concepts into clear, accessible guidance for teams and partners.
People Leadership & Change Management
Lead, coach, and mentor direct reports through regular touchpoints (minimum monthly), fostering engagement, accountability, and professional development.
Champion a culture of change, empowerment, responsible risk-taking, and continuous improvement aligned with Manulife Bank’s values and risk appetite.
Encourage collaboration, ownership, and excellence across geographically dispersed teams.
Required Qualifications
7+ years of progressive experience in financial services, with a strong focus on residential lending, mortgage operations, underwriting, and/or credit risk.
Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment and adapt to changing business and regulatory environments.
The successful candidate will be required to communicate in English and French to support clients from various provinces outside of Québec.
Must reside in the region supported to ensure understanding of local real estate market trends and cultural nuances.
Underwriting and adjudication experience within the residential mortgage lending environment.
Strong understanding of Quebec residential real estate markets and provincial regulatory frameworks.
Preferred Qualifications
Proven experience leading teams through change, including process transformation, productivity shifts, and evolving business priorities.
Leadership experience supporting cross-functional or multi-location teams.
Experience working with mortgage adjudication systems, CRM tools, and loan origination platforms.
Post-secondary education in Business, Finance, Economics, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
Previous banking experience.
Proven leadership experience with accountability for productivity, quality, and risk outcomes.
Strong influencing, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills with the ability to achieve consensus.
Outstanding oral and written communication skills, with the ability to translate complex concepts into clear, actionable guidance.
Strong analytical and decision-making capabilities.
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.
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
CAN, Quebec - Full Time Remote
Remote
Salary range is expected to be between
$88,800.00 CAD - $138,800.00 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.
