[Hiring] Regional Manager– Residential Mortgage Origination @Manulife

Role Description

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

• 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.
• Empower underwriters while holding them accountable for sound, consistent, and risk-aligned decision-making.
• Provide 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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.

Benefits

• 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.

Company Description

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better.