With over $80B in assets under management and administration, with a mission to help people thrive by being a trusted partner for life’s defining moments and the ones in between. We’re looking for a passionate, engaged, and collaborative Product Owner to help us deliver on our refreshed strategy. Being able to navigate to get the best out of teams is essential. Effective communication, strong customer focus and leading through people for impact will be critical to delivering results.
Position Responsibilities:
Strategic Product Leadership
Define and evolve product strategy for complex digital platforms or products, grounded in user insights, market dynamics, and competitive intelligence.
Own the platform/product vision and roadmap, ensuring alignment with enterprise-level goals and long-term business outcomes.
Lead cross-functional collaboration to translate strategic objectives into actionable product initiatives, fostering alignment across stakeholders.
Execution Excellence & Scalable Delivery
Drive product development across multiple workstreams, ensuring iterative delivery and platform and program enhancements.
Prioritize and manage a dynamic backlog, balancing short-term delivery needs with long-term strategic investments.
Ensure delivery quality
Change Management and Go-to-Market Activities
Develop and implement change management plans to support smooth rollouts and stakeholder adoption
Collaborate with marketing, sales, and support teams to deliver effective enablement, communications, and product demos.
Organizational Influence & Team Leadership
Communicate product and platform strategy and impact clearly to executive leadership and key stakeholders, influencing enterprise priorities and investment decisions.
Build and nurture strategic relationships across the organization to foster alignment, collaboration, and shared accountability.
Manage vendor partnerships to ensure delivery excellence and strategic alignment.
Set clear goals and expectations, aligning individual and team objectives with broader business strategy.
Foster a culture of ownership, innovation, and customer-centricity, empowering team members to make strategic decisions and drive outcomes.
Optimize team structure and resource allocation to support evolving priorities and maximize business impact across complex digital platforms and products.
Required Experience:
Experience: 8+ years of progressive business experience, including the successful execution of complex projects.
Industry Knowledge: Excellent understanding of the financial services industry.
Financial Acumen: Strong financial acumen with the ability to build detailed business cases.
Communication and Influence: Excellent communication, influencing, and conflict management skills, with well-developed presentation abilities.
Leadership and Collaboration: Ability to work with and influence cross-functional teams, demonstrating strong interpersonal skills.
Strategic and Analytical Skills: Effective conceptual, diagnostic, analytical, and problem-solving skills. Strategic thinker with a results-oriented focus.
Adaptability: Demonstrated flexibility and judgment in a changing environment, with the ability to work effectively in a non-structured setting.
Project Management: Well-developed planning and project management skills, including process and change management abilities.
Education: University degree required; post-university degree or professional designation preferred. Industry-related education is also preferred.
Preferred Qualifications:
Industry Experience: Extensive experience within the financial services industry, particularly in roles related to strategic planning, business development, or product management.
Leadership Experience: Proven track record of leading high-performing teams and developing talent in a cross-functional environment.
Innovation and Change Management: Experience in driving innovation and managing change initiatives within an organization.
Technology Acumen: Familiarity with emerging technologies and their application within the financial services sector.
Stakeholder Management: Demonstrated ability to effectively manage and influence senior stakeholders and build strong relationships across the organization.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Proficiency in leveraging data analytics to inform strategic decisions and optimize business processes
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.
This job description is not a comprehensive listing of all job duties required for this role. We reserve the right to change these duties or assign additional duties at any time with or without notice.
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, OntarioWorking Arrangement
Salary range is expected to be between
$125,100.00 CAD - $175,100.00 CADEmployees 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.
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.