Operational Resilience & BCM Lead

We seek an experienced leader to manage the Business Continuity Management and resilience of Manulife Singapore’s (MLS) critical processes, ensuring MLS meets its service commitments to customers and regulators. This role involves developing and executing on strategies to protect essential services and operations. By managing risk and fostering preparedness, this leader will ensure MLS thrives during challenges and maintains customer, stakeholder, and regulator trust.

Position Responsibilities:

Vision and Strategy

• Execute Operational Resilience strategy and Business Continuity Management (BCM) for MLS to meet objectives set by enterprise standards and regulatory requirements.

• Lead and inspire multidisciplinary professionals with an Operational Resilience and Business Continuity remit to drive resilience outcomes.

• Continuously assess and refine BCM, resilience strategies and execution approach through rigorous analysis and feedback, leveraging metrics and insights from execution and aligning with local regulations to make informed improvements.

• Manage relationships with cross-functional stakeholders to address issues, develop strategic plans, advocate for change, and implement solutions.

Critical Operations Identification, Assessment, and Improvements

• Assist in leading, establishing, execution and management of operational resilience governance model and deliverables.

• Collaborate with teams to identify critical operations leveraging the enterprise approach.

• Continuously monitor internal and external factors to re-evaluate inventory of critical operations and associated actions required.

• Support the analysis of critical operations including defining scope of critical operations, impact tolerance, end-to-end mapping of assets required for running of critical operations (people, location, technology, process, 3rd party), identify material points of failure, develop action plans to remediate vulnerabilities, and test readiness of critical operations through severe but plausible scenarios.

• Partner with Critical Operations owners, Operational Resilience Office, and enablement programs (Third-Party Risk Management, Disaster Recovery, etc) to align, execute, and monitor progress on remediation actions.

• Assist in developing and delivering tracking, and monitoring KPIs and KRIs on MLS’s Operational Resilience progress and posture.

Maintain Robust Business Continuity Plan

• Assist in leading and managing teams to develop and maintain MLS’s Business Continuity Plans (BCP), improving completeness and quality of BCP for critical and non-critical processes.

• Support teams in the completion and updating of the Business Impact Analysis (BIA), ensuring the alignment of business and technology recovery objectives.

• Provide advice and guidance in formulating Business Continuity strategies based on business needs, industry trends and best practice.

• Ensuring BC strategies are implemented into BCPs.

• Facilitate and lead regular testing and exercises to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of BCPs.

• Ensure BCPs are reflective of Critical Operations considerations, where applicable, including impact tolerance and material points of failure.

• Ensure the BCM Program satisfies local Regulatory Requirements.

Ensure Exit Plans for Critical Third Parties are Maintained and Tested

• Assist in leading and managing the validation of critical third parties for MLS as part of critical operations analysis.

• Partner with third-party relationship owners to develop and maintain exit plans for critical third parties.

• Conduct simulation exercise to ensure the feasibility and effectiveness of exit plans.

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum 8 years of experience in Operational Resilience and/or Business Continuity Management, with involvement in the full BCM lifecycle.

• Certification and/or membership from Business Continuity Institute/DRI International, is beneficial.

• Prior experience from Insurance, Banking, or Wealth and Asset Management, with 2-5+ years in Operations management role beneficial.

• Proven track record in delivering complex, cross-functional, and time sensitive programs that meets business goals and regulatory expectations.

• Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to inspire, motivate, and mentor a diverse and distributed team.

• Strong understanding of financial services’ regulations as they apply to Operational Resilience and Business Continuity, with ability to partner with internal stakeholders, including Compliance and Risk functions.

• Experience with executing simulation/scenario testing, process mapping, creating action plans, and identifying opportunities and risks within a business process.

• Diligent in maintaining project plans, adhering to a timeline, escalating appropriately and documenting outcomes for reporting to senior stakeholders.

• Knowledge of risk management principles, best practices, and tools beneficial.

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].