Manager - IT Service Management (Waterloo)

We are seeking a Manager, IT Service Management to lead a critical part of our IT Service Management and Production Support organization. In this role, you will drive consistent, high-quality support across customer‑facing products, enterprise applications, and core infrastructure services.

You will lead a multi-disciplinary team responsible for incident resolution, service request fulfillment, operational monitoring, reporting, and continuous improvement. This is a hands‑on technical leadership role that combines people leadership, ITSM process ownership, and broad technical expertise.

You will help improve service performance through clear service level agreements (SLAs), structured processes, data‑driven decision‑making, and an automation‑first mindset—enhancing reliability while reducing manual effort.

This role partners closely with global incident, problem, and change management teams, as well as IT Operations governance, representing both customer and internal stakeholder needs.

Position Responsibilities

You will lead and develop a team with complementary capabilities across frontline support, technical investigation, application support, and operational monitoring. The team is accountable for delivering high-quality incident and request handling while improving system stability and user experience.

Delivering effective incident management, service request fulfillment, and technical troubleshooting

Collaborating with engineering teams to improve system reliability and performance

Driving measurable improvements in service delivery and customer experience

Team Functions

Support Specialists (Tier 1 / Tier 2): Provide application support, user administration, documentation, and escalation management

Operations Engineers and Technical Analysts: Perform structured technical analysis, resolve system issues, and partner with engineering to reduce risks

Operations Monitoring & Reporting Analysts: Develop dashboards, alerts, and trend reports to proactively identify and address service issues

People Leadership & Team Management

Lead, coach, and develop a team of IT operations engineers and technical analysts

Foster an inclusive culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and psychological safety

Set clear performance expectations and development plans aligned to organizational goals

Manage workforce planning, onboarding, scheduling, and capacity

Partner with HR and leadership on talent development, engagement, and performance management

Service Desk & Incident Management

Oversee daily execution of Incident Management and Service Request Management

Ensure incidents are prioritized and resolved within defined SLAs

Act as an escalation point for complex or high‑impact issues

Deliver consistent, high‑quality user experiences through clear communication

Ensure accurate ticket documentation and lifecycle management

IT Operations & Operational Excellence

Maintain stability and reliability of core IT services and end‑user systems

Monitor trends and recurring issues across platforms and services

Collaborate with engineering and infrastructure teams to improve resilience

Support major incident coordination and post‑incident reviews

Automation, Toil Reduction & Continuous Improvement

Identify opportunities to reduce manual effort through automation and self‑service

Promote knowledge reuse, shift‑left practices, and proactive issue prevention

Use data and trends to identify improvement opportunities

Champion continuous improvement aligned with ITSM best practices

Reporting, Metrics & Stakeholder Communication

Contribute to reporting on incident trends, backlog, SLA performance, and service volumes

Translate operational metrics into actionable insights for stakeholders

Regularly review data to identify risks, opportunities, and capacity needs

Support service reviews and broader IT service governance

Required Qualifications

5+ years of experience in IT delivery, support, service operations, or IT service management

3+ years of people management experience leading technical support, operations, engineering, or service desk teams (Tier 1 / Tier 2)

Strong knowledge of ITSM practices (Incident, Service Request, Problem Management; familiarity with Change and Release Management)

Experience working in ticket‑based environments (e.g., ServiceNow, Jira Service Management)

Proven ability to drive KPIs through reporting, backlog management, SLA tracking, and trend analysis

Strong communication skills, with the ability to clearly explain technical issues to both technical and non‑technical audiences

Experience with documentation and knowledge management (e.g., runbooks, playbooks, reusable solutions)

Demonstrated ability to improve processes through automation, standardization, and self‑service

Exposure to SDLC and Agile environments, including supporting deployments and operational readiness

Preferred Qualifications

ITIL 4 knowledge or ITSM certification (ITIL preferred)

Experience implementing service operations automation and self‑service capabilities

Experience with monitoring and reporting tools (e.g., dashboards, alerting systems) in enterprise environments

Salesforce experience is considered an asset

People‑first leadership focused on trust, growth, and accountability

Strong operational mindset with attention to detail and service quality

Data‑driven decision‑making approach

Ability to balance short‑term operational demands with long‑term improvements

Composed and structured approach in high‑pressure situations

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 setting where well‑being and inclusion are more than just words.

As part of our distributed team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see.

Referenced Salary Location Waterloo, Ontario

Working Arrangement Hybrid

Salary Range $113,000.00 CAD - $163,000.00 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 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.

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 the personal information collection statement.

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 .

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