Director, business operations, global real estate operations

Supporting regional offices across Canada, the United States, and Asia, the Global Real Estate (“GRE”) Operations team is accountable for developing and maintaining global policies and standards, tools and managing global processes and platform reporting, providing operational scale consistency and value for our regional investment teams.

The Director, Business Operations, within the GRE Operations team is responsible for efficiently developing, managing and communicating business unit operational policies and procedures, compliance and risk management programs, contract management and business continuity plans. The role reports to the Managing Director, Global Real Estate Operations, and actively coordinates with all functional groups within our business.

Manulife Investment Management (“MIM”) is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. MIM's global real estate platform provides investment solutions globally as part of its comprehensive private markets’ capabilities, offering core, core-plus, and value-add strategies.

MIM’s GRE team leverages its global platform and regional market knowledge to identify opportunities and drive results for its clients. As of September 30, 2024, its sustainably operated platform includes 90 million square feet of office, industrial, retail, and multifamily assets located across Canada, the United States, and the Asia Pacific region, with over $25 billion CAD of real estate (500+ properties). The team is expanding its capabilities to meet evolving market opportunities, building a strong and diverse global culture as an entrepreneurial investment manager.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Develop, own and lead implementation of GRE operational policies and procedures.
2. Act as owner and subject matter expert on leasing policies, procurement policies, playbooks, and templates. Maintain an inventory of business unit policies, procedures, and templates. Track timing and refresh dates of the policies, ensuring that policy owners are keeping policies up to date.
3. Lead third-party manager oversight programs (e.g., annual tenant engagement survey, property management and leasing broker scorecards etc.)
4. Develop and lead a process related to onboarding and offboarding of investments.
5. Develop and lead a process related to onboarding of new ventures and funds, including development of a fund operational playbook and aligning accountabilities with various functions within the business unit.
6. Find opportunities to build efficiencies in operational processes and support change.

Compliance and Risk Management:

1. Manage business unit compliance and risk management programs.
2. Responsible for collecting, organizing, and maintaining all business unit managed contracts, including master agreements, service contracts, and vendor agreements ensuring they are all easily accessible.
3. Overall lead for response to internal audits on behalf of the GRE platform.
4. Coordinate and oversee the external audit process as necessary.
5. Responsible for the administration of the AML/ATF program within GRE to ensure compliance with all applicable internal MFC policies and external regional, federal, and state laws, regulations, and industry best practices.
6. Organize compliance reporting programs such as anti-money laundering, privacy assessments, and fraud risk assessments.
7. Identify continuous improvement opportunities to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the AML/TF program.

Contract Management:

1. Lead coordination of business unit managed contracting process and contract management.
2. Ensure the business managed procurement policy is followed by the GRE team and is adhering to the company’s third-party risk management standard. Train users on the standard and act as subject matter expert.
3. Own and manage contracting and relationship with certain third-party vendor relationships.
4. Develop business cases and obtain consensus for new contract types.
5. Maintain a centralized contract database or inventory system, where all relevant details of procurement contracts are recorded.
6. Track contract renewal and expiry dates, proactively managing the process to ensure that the contract owners are renewing contracts timely or renegotiating rates as necessary.
7. Responsible for receiving, reviewing, and processing invoices from vendors and suppliers in a timely and accurate manner.

Business Continuity:

1. Business unit owner of the business continuity plan.
2. Ensure that all employees are familiar with the business continuity plan, understand their roles and responsibilities during a crisis, and are prepared to implement the plan effectively.

Knowledge/Skills/Competencies/Education:

1. Bachelor’s Degree in business, finance, accounting, or real estate management preferred.
2. Minimum 10 years of experience, with minimum 5 years of experience within the investment management industry.
3. Ability to work independently and prioritize deadlines.
4. Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel. Experience with real estate accounting systems required, experience with Yardi, VTS and Anaplan a plus.
5. Strong knowledge of real estate investment, asset management, accounting, and administration concepts.
6. Excellent influencing and communication skills. Sound analytical and problem-solving skills.
7. Ability to juggle competing priorities and work under pressure to meet demanding response times, all while paying strict attention to detail.

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.