Senior Specialist, Investment Operation at Manulife in Quezon City

Job description

The Global Middle Office team provides operational oversight and support across the investment trade lifecycle, including trade matching, settlements, post-settlement activities, cash management, and term loan processing. The team serves as a key liaison between Front Office, custodians, brokers, fund managers, and other internal and external stakeholders to ensure accurate, timely, and controlled execution of investment transactions. The Global Middle Office Senior Specialist serves as the subject matter expert for one or more operational functions and is responsible for providing advanced operational support, driving issue resolution, mitigating operational risk, and promoting best practices. This position is accountable for ensuring accurate and timely processing, maintaining a strong control environment, supporting strategic initiatives, and enhancing operational efficiency through process improvements and knowledge sharing. The role also acts as a key escalation point for complex operational issues, supports change initiatives and system implementations, and contributes to the development of team capability through training, documentation, and continuous improvement efforts. Position Responsibilities: • Serve as the primary SME for assigned Investment Operations functions, including Trade Matching, Settlements, Post-Settlement activities, Cash Management, and Term Loans. • Perform and oversee daily operational activities, ensuring transactions are processed accurately, timely, and in accordance with established controls and procedures. • Investigate, resolve, and manage complex trade, cash, and settlement-related exceptions while minimizing operational and settlement risk. • Partner with Portfolio Managers, Traders, Custodians, Brokers, Fund Managers, Auditors, and internal stakeholders to resolve issues and maintain high service standards. • Act as an escalation point for operational incidents, critical business issues, and system-related challenges. • Lead root cause analysis activities and implement sustainable solutions to address recurring production issues. • Develop, maintain, and enhance operational procedures, controls, and process documentation. • Drive process improvement initiatives, automation opportunities, and data quality enhancements in collaboration with technology and business partners. • Support strategic projects, system implementations, migrations, testing activities, and operational readiness initiatives. • Provide coaching, training, and knowledge transfer to team members while promoting operational excellence and best practices. • Monitor operational risk indicators and proactively identify and address control gaps or workflow inefficiencies. • Provide timely communication and reporting of significant production updates, risks, and operational challenges to leadership. . Role requirements: 1.Core Domain Experience Must Have Minimum 5 years of experience in Trade Support, Middle Office, or Investment Operations. Advanced understanding of trade lifecycle management across multiple asset classes. Strong experience in settlements, cash management, term loans, reconciliations, and post-settlement activities. Experience working in a controlled and risk-sensitive operational environment. 2.Systems & Platform Expertise Must Have High proficiency in Microsoft Office (word, excel, power point). Power Platform tools and VBA knowledge is preferred. Business systems (Bloomberg, OMGEO CTM, Simcorp, 3.Technical & Functional Skills Must Have Strong understanding of investment operations processes and controls. Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills. Ability to perform root cause analysis and implement sustainable solutions. 4.Regulatory, Risk & Control Knowledge Must Have Strong understanding of operational risk management and investment operations controls. Experience in audit-ready environments and control-focused operations. 5.Stakeholder Management & Communication Must Have Strong communication and in