Manager, Travel Claims Vendor Risk & Oversight

Manager Travel Claims Vendor Risk & Oversight

Travel Claims is changing the way it works. Over the next nine months the way a travel claim is received routed reviewed and audited is being redesigned and part-automated through our delivery partner and Travel Claims is one of three areas of the business in scope. At the same time the volume of secondary reviews coming into the team has roughly doubled inside a year. We are looking for a manager who can run a team of experienced claims professionals through that change and come out the other side with a faster process better decisions and a team working in a genuinely different way.

This role leads the Travel Claims Risk Management Team the group that handles our highest-value most sensitive and most complex claim decisions. Much of the claim handling behind those decisions sits with a third-party administrator so a central part of the job is second-line oversight of that vendor: setting the control expectations testing whether they are being met and escalating when they are not. The role is also the business owner for the Travel Claims part of the transformation programme and the person who owns what the teams numbers say. It is deliberately built with more scope than the job it replaces and it is a natural development role for someone ready to grow into a director position.

Reports to the Director Affinity Claims Canada Segment. Leads a team of eight covering high-risk medical and non-medical claims denials appeals sensitive and escalated files legal and media threats regulatory inquiries and large-loss oversight. Works closely with the Audit and Operations team and shares the audit and recovery agenda with it. Represents Travel Claims to our third-party administrator to the transformation programme and to the Affinity Operations leadership team and works with first- and second-line risk compliance and vendor management colleagues on the oversight of that administrator.

We expect the person in this role to model a different way of working rather than simply manage through the change. That means building your own view of the work instead of requesting a report testing an idea in a short cycle and showing the result rather than writing a paper about it making the case for a change in numbers that the team and the executive can both check using AI as part of everyday work with a clear view of where human judgement stays and holding a position with a delivery or outsourcing partner when the evidence supports it.

Position Responsibilities:

Required Qualifications:

• Post-secondary education in a business health analytics or insurance discipline or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Five or more years leading a claims risk or audit team including leading people through a significant change to how the work is done.

• Strong technical grounding in travel or health claims and medical case management with sound judgement on high-value and complex decisions.

• Demonstrated use of data to run an operation. Builds their own analysis is confident in Excel and a reporting tool such as Power BI and can defend a number under executive challenge.

• Experience as a business owner product owner or equivalent on a delivery programme including backlog ownership user acceptance testing and go-live decisions.

• Practical experience applying AI or automation tools to real operational work with clear thinking on controls error tolerance and where a person must stay in the decision.

• Proven vendor relationship management. Has owned a material outsourced or third-party relationship day to day including performance conversations remediation and holding a position without damaging the relationship.

• Proven risk control and audit experience. Can define a control test it evidence a failure write it up and see the remediation through to close. Comfortable working with first- and second-line risk partners and with internal and external audit.

• Strong vendor governance experience. Has run a governance framework over a supplier: service levels scorecards issue and corrective action tracking and reporting the vendors risk position upward with a clear view.

• Strong written and verbal communication including presenting results and recommendations to senior leaders.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience taking a manual process to an automated one while holding or improving quality.

• Familiarity with fair treatment of customers expectations complaint handling and regulator enquiries in a Canadian insurance setting.

• Familiarity with regulatory and internal expectations for outsourcing and third-party risk in Canadian financial services.

• Nice to have: Bilingual (French & English) - The successful candidate could have to also communicate in French to support clients from various jurisdictions including Quebec.

In the first year the redesigned Travel Claims process is live and the team is trained on it the time a claimant waits for an answer has come down substantially and the team is absorbing higher volume without added headcount. The control expectations on our third-party administrator are written down and tested rather than assumed open issues have owners and closure dates and the vendors risk position can be explained to leadership or an auditor without a scramble. Audit findings feed process change every month a recovery baseline exists where none did before and the teams reporting refreshes itself.

When you join our team:

• Well empower you to learn and grow the career you want.

• Well recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words.

• As part of our global team well support you in shaping the future you want to see.

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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 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.

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Referenced Salary Location

Salary range is expected to be between

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 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 for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.

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