Associate Manager, Rehabilitation

Manulife’s National Rehabilitation Centre of Excellence is seeking an Associate Manager with strong people leadership, relationship-building expertise, and demonstrated rehabilitation and disability management experience. As a remote team, we welcome qualified candidates from across Canada.
Reporting to the Manager, National Rehabilitation, the Associate Manager will lead a team of Functional Rehabilitation Specialists and Vocational Rehabilitation Specialists who develop and deliver individualized, goal-oriented rehabilitation and return-to-work strategies. The successful candidate will combine effective people leadership with strong rehabilitation knowledge to coach clinical and vocational decision-making, support complex case consultation, and promote consistent, evidence-informed practices and outcomes.
Responsibilities
Leadership and People Development
· Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing remote team of rehabilitation specialists with functional and vocational expertise.
· Build specialist capability through regular case consultation, quality-focused feedback, knowledge sharing, and targeted development planning.
· Support sound professional judgment, clear documentation, effective communication, and timely decision-making in complex or sensitive situations.
· Foster an inclusive, collaborative, and engaged team culture aligned with Manulife’s values.
· Identify, develop, and retain talent, and recognize performance and contributions.
Rehabilitation Practice Leadership and Quality
· Provide practice leadership and consultation on complex rehabilitation and disability cases, including functional, workplace, and vocational barriers to recovery and return to work.
· Coach specialists in developing, monitoring, and adjusting individualized, goal-oriented rehabilitation plans that are aligned with functional abilities, job demands, medical information, and sustainable return-to-work or job-resolution goals.
· Guide functional rehabilitation approaches, including assessment of treatment needs, coordination with providers, evaluation of progress, and development of creative return-to-work solutions.
· Guide vocational rehabilitation approaches, including vocational assessment, transferable skills analysis, occupational research, career planning, retraining, job development, and job-search strategies.
· Promote appropriate interpretation and application of rehabilitation industry standards, disability insurance principles, medical terminology, job demands, and regional labour-market information.
· Review rehabilitation strategies and files for quality, clarity, appropriate rationale, measurable goals, cost effectiveness, and alignment with best practices.
· Support specialists in communicating difficult or complex information with professionalism, compassion, and appropriate boundaries.
Operational Excellence
· Oversee workflow, caseload distribution, productivity, and service delivery to meet service standards and client expectations.
· Use data and quality insights to identify trends, manage risk, prioritize work, and improve rehabilitation and return-to-work outcomes.
· Support effective vendor and budget management by coaching specialists to select appropriate, timely, and cost-effective services and programs.
· Promote consistent documentation, timely follow-up, and effective collaboration across functional and vocational rehabilitation services.
· Address escalated case, service, or operational issues and support appropriate resolution.
Client and Stakeholder Management
· Build and maintain strong relationships with plan members, plan sponsors, treatment and service providers, internal disability partners, and external clients.
· Partner with case managers, disability specialists, mental health specialists, and other stakeholders to support coordinated rehabilitation and return-to-work solutions.
· Participate in client meetings, presentations, and service discussions, translating rehabilitation concepts, strategies, and outcomes into clear business and client-focused language.
· Ensure consistent, professional, and responsive client experience across team interactions.
Strategy and Continuous Improvement
· Contribute rehabilitation expertise to national priorities, service design, and the evolution of functional and vocational rehabilitation practices.
· Identify opportunities to improve processes, tools, referral pathways, quality standards, and specialist capability.
· Support the implementation and adoption of evidence-informed rehabilitation and disability management practices.
· Promote innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning across the National Rehabilitation Centre of Excellence.
Qualifications
· Post-secondary diploma, CEGEP (DEC or DEP), or bachelor’s degree in a health, rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation, disability management, or related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
· Demonstrated experience in rehabilitation, disability management, or group insurance, with direct experience supporting complex rehabilitation and return-to-work planning.
· Strong understanding of functional rehabilitation principles, including functional abilities, job demands, treatment planning, recovery barriers, and sustainable return-to-work strategies.
· Strong understanding of vocational rehabilitation principles, including vocational assessment, transferable skills analysis, occupational research, retraining, job development, job search, and labour-market considerations.
· Sound knowledge of rehabilitation industry standards, disability insurance, medical terminology, case management, and disability and rehabilitation management best practices.
· Demonstrated ability to evaluate rehabilitation plans, provide case consultation, and coach others toward clear, evidence-informed, outcome-focused decisions.
· Experience with vendor and budget management, including consideration of service appropriateness, outcomes, and cost effectiveness.
· Proven experience leading, coaching, training, or developing professionals in a complex service environment.
· Strong analytical, organizational, problem-solving, and communication skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and escalated issues.
· Accredited Rehabilitation Professional (RRP), Canadian Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CCRC), Certified Disability Management Professional (CDMP), Certified Return to Work Coordinator (CRTWC), or eligibility for a related professional designation is considered an asset.
· Bilingualism in English and French is considered an asset.
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
CAN, Ontario - Full Time Remote
Working Arrangement
Remote
Salary range is expected to be between
$70 500,00 CAD - $117 500,00 CAD
Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive