Business Analyst – AdminAdvantage Operational Controls …, Waterloo

The AdminAdvantage team within Group Advantages Operations is seeking a Business Analyst to strengthen and sustain our operational controls. This role is critical to ensuring that controls are well‑designed, properly monitored, automated where possible, and operating effectively to support accurate, timely, and compliant administration services. This position is ideal for someone who is passionate about operational risk management, enjoys partnering closely with operations teams, and excels at turning data, reporting, and automation into meaningful control insights. You will work closely with AdminAdvantage operations and business leaders to ensure controls are embedded into daily workflows and supported by reliable data and tools. This role connects people, processes, data, and technology to protect the end‑to‑end operational experience for clients and members. Position Responsibilities: Operational Controls & Risk Management Design, document, and maintain operational controls that mitigate risk across AdminAdvantage processes. Assess control effectiveness and identify gaps, breakdowns, or emerging risks. Support control remediation activities and track issues through resolution. Ensure controls are embedded into operational processes rather than operating as standalone activities. Control Reporting & Monitoring Analyze control results and exceptions to identify trends, root causes, and improvement opportunities. Ensure reporting is accurate, timely, and actionable for operational leaders. Partner with stakeholders to continuously improve control measurement and visibility. Automation Oversight & Tool Effectiveness Support and monitor automation tools and system‑based controls to ensure they are functioning as intended. Partner with technology teams to validate automation logic, triggers, thresholds, and outputs. Identify opportunities to enhance or automate manual controls to improve consistency and efficiency. Support issue investigation when automated controls fail or produce unexpected results. Data Validation & Quality Assurance Perform data validation, reconciliations, and reasonableness checks to ensure control outputs are reliable. Investigate data anomalies and partner with operations or technology teams to resolve root causes. Ensure upstream and downstream data dependencies supporting controls are clearly understood and documented. Promote strong data governance and disciplined use of control data. AdminAdvantage Operations Support Act as a trusted partner to AdminAdvantage operations teams, helping them understand control expectations and outcomes. Translate control results into clear, operationally relevant insights. Support operational teams during control changes, enhancements, or issue remediation. Provide guidance and clarity to frontline teams on control execution and documentation. Requirements & Analysis Translate operational and control needs into clear business requirements for reporting, automation, and enhancements. Conduct impact assessments for control changes across people, process, and systems. Support user acceptance testing (UAT) and production validation for control‑related changes. Continuous Improvement Identify opportunities to simplify controls, reduce manual effort, and improve sustainability. Apply structured problem‑solving and continuous improvement methodologies to enhance the control environment. Balance risk mitigation with operational efficiency and practicality. Required Qualifications: Strong experience in operational controls, operational risk, or control monitoring within business operations. Proven ability to build and interpret control reporting and operational metrics. Strong analytical skills with hands‑on experience validating and reconciling data. Experience partnering closely with operations teams to support execution and issue resolution. Solid business analysis skills including requirements gathering, process mapping, and impact analysis. Comfort working with systems, automation tools, and datasets. Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain control outcomes to both technical and non‑technical audiences. Ability to work through ambiguity and manage competing priorities in an operational environment. Preferred Qualifications: Experience in group benefits administration or financial/insurance operations. Familiarity with operational risk frameworks or internal control environments. Strong working knowledge of tools such as Excel, SQL, Power BI (or similar), Jira, and Confluence. Experience supporting automated or system‑based controls. Exposure to Lean, continuous improvement, or process optimization approaches. 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. 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 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 . Referenced Salary Location Halifax, Nova Scotia Working Arrangement Hybrid Salary range is expected to be between $56,175.00 CAD - $93,625.00 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 our personal information collection statement. We're Manulife. And we’re on a mission to make decisions easier and lives better. Better is what drives us. It’s what inspires us to find new ways to support customers and colleagues in living longer and healthier lives. It’s the reason we’re dedicated to investing in digital innovation and accelerating a sustainable and economically inclusive future. Joining us means you’ll be empowered to learn and grow your career. We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words. And as part of our global team, you’ll help shape the future you want to see – and discover that better can take you anywhere you want to go. We’re proud of our accomplishments and recognitions. Recent awards include: 2024 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award Winner Manulife Named one of Forbes World’s Best Employers 2023 Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2023 We’ve been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers (2024) Manulife included in Bloomberg’s 2023 Gender-Equality Index To receive our latest job opportunities directly to your inbox, create an account or sign in and navigate to the ‘Job Alerts’ section located in the top right corner of the page. From there, you can sign up to receive job alerts. Our ambition is to be the most digital, customer-centric global company in our industry. Learn more at Apply on Kit Job: kitjob.ca/job/2pshvr