Default Management Consultant

We are seeking an experienced and people-focused leader to join our Residential Lending Services team as Default Management Consultant.

This role is responsible for leading a team that supports customers experiencing financial hardship while balancing customer outcomes, operational effectiveness, and risk management objectives. The successful candidate will provide leadership and coaching to a multi-location team responsible for mortgage and lending delinquency management, loss mitigation activities, and resolution strategies across retail lending and demand account products.

The Default Management Consultant is accountable for delivering service excellence, maintaining regulatory and policy compliance, enhancing operational performance, and fostering a highly engaged, customer-focused culture. This leader will work closely with business partners across Lending, Risk, Legal, Customer Experience, and Operations to ensure effective resolution of complex customer situations while supporting Manulife Bank's risk appetite and customer commitments.

Position Responsibilities:

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team through ongoing performance conversations, development planning, mentoring, and recognition.

• Foster an inclusive, collaborative, and accountable team culture that supports engagement, innovation, and continuous improvement.

• Provide guidance and support in managing complex customer situations and escalated cases.

• Ensure employees possess the knowledge, capabilities, and tools required to effectively perform their responsibilities.

• Support workforce planning and resource management to meet service, quality, and operational objectives.

Customer Experience & Operational Excellence

• Drive exceptional customer experiences through empathetic, professional, and solution-focused interactions.

• Monitor work volumes, productivity, quality, and service performance to ensure operational objectives are achieved.

• Identify opportunities to improve processes, reduce customer effort, and enhance service delivery.

• Provide additional support by jumping into action and helping to manage cases during higher-than-normal volumes to guarantee service level standards are consistently met

Default Management & Risk Oversight

• Support activities related to delinquency management, loss mitigation, and resolution strategies across mortgage and lending products.

• Ensure delinquent and higher-risk accounts are identified and managed proactively and consistently.

• Support team members in evaluating customer circumstances and negotiating sustainable repayment solutions within policy guidelines.

• Review escalated arrangements, risk mitigation recommendations, and account strategies to ensure appropriate decision-making and escalate to the Manager, Default Management as required.

• Ensure account documentation, customer records, and collection activities meet regulatory, legal, and internal policy requirements.

• Support interactions with legal partners, insolvency proceedings, bankruptcy and consumer proposal activities, and third-party service providers, where applicable.

Compliance & Governance

• Ensure operational controls, audit requirements, and compliance procedures are being followed by the team.

• Identify operational, customer, and compliance risks to the Manager, Default Management.

• Support internal audits, reviews, and business initiatives as required.

Change & Strategic Initiatives

• Act as a key business partner on projects, process improvements, and transformation initiatives.

• Champion continuous improvement and leverage data-driven insights to enhance team effectiveness and customer outcomes.

• Support implementation of new tools, technologies, and operating models that improve efficiency and service delivery.

Required Qualifications:

• 3+ years of progressive experience in default management, mortgage servicing, collections, loss mitigation, banking operations, or a related financial services environment.

• Previous people leadership experience with demonstrated success developing and coaching teams.

• Strong understanding of residential mortgage products, lending practices, and delinquency management strategies.

• Knowledge of insolvency processes, bankruptcy legislation, collections practices, and applicable provincial regulations.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage complex customer and business situations.

• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and build collaborative relationships across multiple business areas.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• Strong organizational and decision-making skills with the ability to prioritize in a fast-paced environment.

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

The successful candidate will:

• Lead with empathy and accountability.

• Balance customer outcomes with prudent risk management.

• Develop and inspire high-performing teams.

• Use data and insights to drive results.

• Build strong partnerships across the organization.

• Champion change, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.

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.

#LI-HYBRID

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 hr@manulife.com.

Referenced Salary Location

Waterloo, OntarioHybrid

Salary range is expected to be between

$59,100.00 CAD - $98,500.00 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 hr@manulife.com 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 hr@manulife.com 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.