Director, Strategy & Transformation

The Canada Segment manages a significant portfolio of strategic investments and transformation initiatives. This role will help strengthen enterprise governance, portfolio oversight, and execution discipline to ensure investments are aligned to business priorities and deliver measurable outcomes.

The Director, Strategy & Transformation, will help build and evolve these capabilities, strengthening how investments are prioritized, governed, and delivered and providing greater transparency and decision support across the portfolio.

The selected candidate will be a rigorous, hands-on builder and self-starter with strong program governance and delivery discipline, analytical capabilities, and sound business judgment. They will bring fresh perspectives, challenge assumptions, and turn ideas into action, while navigating complex, cross-functional transformations and partnering with senior leaders to drive accountability and outcomes.

Key Responsibilities:

Transformation Portfolio Governance (75%)

• Lead and evolve portfolio governance and management practices, including prioritization, investment planning, delivery oversight, dependencies, and executive decision support. 

• Help build the Canada Segment’s next-generation transformation and portfolio management capability, including the evolution of broader PMO capabilities. 

• Lead annual and multi-year portfolio planning, partnering with Finance, business leaders and functional partners to assess investments, challenge business cases, and align resources to strategic priorities. 

• Provide senior leaders with clear portfolio insights, recommendations, and trade-offs, supported by consistent standards for reporting, benefits realization, and delivery performance. 

• Build strong cross-functional partnerships to surface risks and dependencies early, strengthen accountability, and continuously improve how the portfolio is governed and delivered.

 

Enterprise Visibility and Strategic Initiatives (25%)

• Support high-profile strategy and enterprise exercises, translating complex business issues into clear perspectives, recommendations, and executive narratives. 

• Develop compelling materials for Canada Segment and Enterprise Leadership Teams, the Board of Directors, Rating Agencies, and other senior stakeholders.

• Partner across the organization to synthesize strategic, financial, and business perspectives and ensure senior leaders are well equipped for key discussions and decisions.

 

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in transformation, program/portfolio management, strategy, governance, or complex project delivery, with experience supporting senior-level decisions and priorities. 

• Strong executive communication and presentation skills, with demonstrated experience developing clear, compelling materials and recommendations for senior executives, ELT, and Board-level audiences.

• Strong business and analytical judgment, with the ability to assess business cases, challenge assumptions, identify risks and dependencies, and support informed trade-offs. 

• Proven ability to translate complex strategy and delivery information into clear, executive-ready insights and recommendations. 

• Exceptional relationship-building and influencing skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively and mobilize cross-functional teams in a complex organization. 
• Bilingualism (English and French) is a strong asset. If the successful candidate is in Québec, proficiency in both languages will be required to support clients from various provinces outside of Quebec

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 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 [email protected].

Referenced Salary Location

Toronto, OntarioHybrid

Salary range is expected to be between

$145,130.00 CAD - $195,130.00 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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.