The Director, Global Technology & Operations Strategy & Transformation will help shape and execute strategic priorities across Global Technology & Operations (GTO), with a significant focus on leading the AI program and translating strategy into measurable business outcomes.
The Director will lead the AI program across GTO, bringing together strategy, business case development, funding, program governance, technical delivery, adoption, and value realization. This includes managing AI program funding, ensuring funding is directed to the appropriate initiatives and teams, and maintaining visibility into how initiatives are progressing against delivery commitments, defined success criteria, and approved budgets.
Working closely with the VP of GTO and senior stakeholders across Business, Technology, Enterprise AI, Finance, and Risk, the Director will provide an integrated view of the AI program, drive accountability across teams, identify areas requiring leadership attention, and enable informed decisions on priorities, funding, execution, and outcomes.
The Director will also help shape how GTO delivers its AI agenda, establishing approaches to prioritize and sequence initiatives, accelerate execution, and scale reusable AI capabilities across segments and countries. This includes helping establish a practical path from opportunity identification through development, production, and adoption, while focusing resources on initiatives that can deliver the greatest strategic and business impact.
Position Responsibilities
- GTO Strategy & Transformation: Partner with the VP of GTO and senior leaders to translate strategic priorities into executable strategies, roadmaps, initiatives, and measurable outcomes. Connect priorities across teams, identify opportunities and risks, and provide insights and recommendations to support executive decision-making.
- AI Program Leadership & Governance: Lead the end-to-end AI and Automation program across GTO, establishing a single integrated view of initiatives, priorities, dependencies, funding, and outcomes. Establish program governance and operating rhythms and work across Product Owners, Segment Leads, Technology, and business and functional partners to drive execution, alignment, and accountability.
- AI Strategy, Prioritization & Delivery Approach: Help define how GTO identifies, assesses, prioritizes, sequences, and delivers AI initiatives. Develop practical prioritization and delivery approaches that consider strategic alignment, business value, delivery readiness, scalability, complexity, funding requirements, dependencies, and risk. Continuously assess the portfolio to ensure resources remain focused on the highest-value opportunities and identify where initiatives should be accelerated, repositioned, or deprioritized.
- Business Case & AI Program Funding: Lead the planning, mobilization, and partner engagement required to develop business cases for AI execution and future funding, including cost-benefit analysis, expected outcomes, success criteria, delivery requirements, and risk considerations. Manage AI program funding and recommend allocation or reallocation across initiatives and teams based on strategic priorities, expected value, delivery readiness, and performance.
- Delivery Excellence, Performance & Value Realization: Oversee AI initiatives across technical delivery, business outcomes, adoption, success criteria, budget utilization, risks, and dependencies. Assess whether initiatives are delivering against their original commitments, drive accountability for results, and identify where intervention, reprioritization, or funding adjustments are required. Ensure realized outcomes can be traced back to approved business cases and defined success measures.
- Executive Reporting & Stakeholder Management: Provide the VP of GTO and senior leadership with a consolidated view of the AI program, including roadmap progress, funding utilization, delivery performance, value realization, risks, dependencies, and decisions required. Maintain effective engagement across sponsors, segments, Technology, Enterprise AI, Finance, Risk, and other partners, translating complex information into clear executive insights and recommendations.
- AI-Driven Transformation & Reusable Capabilities: Identify opportunities to fundamentally redesign processes and ways of working through AI and Automation, moving beyond incremental improvements. Drive the development, reuse, and adoption of scalable AI capabilities, standards, playbooks, and common approaches that accelerate delivery and reduce duplication across GTO.
Required Qualifications
- 8+ years of experience across strategy and transformation, technology, AI, program management, product management, or related disciplines, with demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional programs.
- Demonstrated experience leading large-scale AI, Automation, technology, innovation, or transformation programs, including program governance, prioritization, funding, delivery oversight, and performance management.
- Strong strategic and analytical capabilities, with demonstrated experience translating strategy into prioritized programs, roadmaps, business cases, funding recommendations, and measurable outcomes.
- Strong financial acumen, including experience developing and evaluating business cases, cost-benefit analysis, managing budgets and funding, establishing success measures, and assessing value realization.
- Strong understanding of AI platforms and modern AI solution patterns, with sufficient technical fluency to understand delivery plans, challenge assumptions, assess dependencies and risks, and engage credibly with Technology and AI leaders.
- Strong program leadership capabilities, including the ability to oversee multiple concurrent initiatives, establish governance and delivery frameworks, manage complex dependencies, and drive disciplined execution across Business and Technology teams.
- Exceptional executive communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to synthesize complex strategic, financial, business, and technical information into clear insights, recommendations, and decisions for senior leadership.
- Demonstrated ability to influence and challenge senior stakeholders, drive accountability without direct authority, create structure in ambiguous environments, and manage competing strategic priorities.
- Demonstrated use of AI productivity tools and agentic workflows to accelerate analysis, synthesis, reporting, decision-making, and content development.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience leading or managing an enterprise-scale AI, Automation, technology, innovation, or transformation program, including prioritization, funding, delivery, and value realization.
- Experience establishing program governance, portfolio prioritization frameworks, business cases, executive reporting, and value-realization models.
- Familiarity with enterprise AI architecture, MLOps/LLMOps, AI evaluation, Responsible AI, model governance, and the considerations involved in moving AI solutions from development into production.
- Experience scaling reusable AI capabilities across multiple teams, business segments, or geographies.
- Experience partnering directly with senior executives on strategy, funding, program performance, prioritization, and enterprise transformation.
- Financial services or other highly regulated industry experience strongly preferred.
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.
#LI-Hybrid
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
Toronto, Ontario
Hybrid
Salary range is expected to be between
$113,260.00 CAD - $210,340.00 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 hr@manulife.com 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 hr@manulife.com for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.
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