Senior Manager, Research & Insights

At Manulife, our customers are at the center of everything we do, and millions of them rely on our products each day. To ensure we are solving the right problems and continually elevating customer experience, we deeply value the power of customer voice. Which is why we believe in the value of empowering you, as a self-driven, strategic, and analytically strong Senior Manager, Research & Insights, with the resources to drive customer research programs (both qualitative and quantitative) in championing the voice of customers and distributors across strategic business initiatives and projects.

Reporting to the AVP, Head of Customer Experience & Transformation, you will play an important role in helping Manulife Hong Kong & Macau achieve its customer-first ambitions and enable practical transformation across customer journeys and business initiatives, by deeply immersing into customers’ needs and synergizing insights across sources drive insight-led decision making as required.

Position Responsibilities:

• Support Director of Research & Insights to lead and execute full‑cycle research projects— from scoping, methodology design, recruitment, moderation, analysis, storytelling, to final presentation — across qualitative, quantitative, and mixed‑method studies.
• Partner closely with business units, product teams, project owners, squads, and senior stakeholders to define research objectives, clarify business questions, and align on expected outcomes
• Moderate in‑depth interviews, usability tests, focus groups, and co‑creation sessions to uncover behaviors, motivations, and pain points firsthand.
• Monitor and analyze social listening results (HK and China) to inform emerging trends, strategies, and opportunities on social media platforms
• Develop and maintain research communities of customers and agents, ensuring consistent engagement and high-quality input for ongoing insight needs.
• Manage research agencies and vendors — from sourcing and briefing to delivery and performance evaluation — ensuring best‑in‑class methodology, accuracy, and value for money.
• Ensure high quality and integrity of all research outputs, including data accuracy, analysis robustness, and compliance with internal governance standards.
• Translate complex data and customer insights into clear, compelling, and actionable recommendations that influence strategic decisions and shape experience, product, and transformation priorities.
• Synthesize insights across multiple sources — including tracking studies, ad‑hoc research, social listening, analytics, journey maps, and market intelligence — to create a holistic view of customer and agent needs.
• Apply emerging and innovative research and analytical methodologies, including AI‑driven tools, rapid testing, and new‑age insight techniques.
• Support continuous evolution of research practices, identifying opportunities to modernize tools, streamline processes, and enhance internal insight capabilities.
• Promote a customer‑centric culture internally by sharing insights, running workshops, and embedding customer voice into cross‑functional processes.

Required Qualifications:

Education & Professional Background

• University Degree in Business Administration, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Sociology, Market Research, or professional qualifications in a relevant discipline.
• 8–10+ years of proven experience in customer research, user experience research, market research, or related fields. Experience within financial services is highly preferred; insurance industry experience is a strong advantage.
• 4+ years of hands‑on experience owning and managing end‑to‑end research initiatives, from stakeholder alignment and methodology design to data collection, insight delivery, and presentation.
   

Research Expertise & Technical Skills

• Proven experience moderating in‑depth interviews, usability tests, and focus groups across various customer and expert segments.
• Hands‑on experience managing brand tracking studies (HK / Macau / MCV) and campaign tracking research.
• Experience running social listening projects (HK / China), including briefing agencies, validating data quality, and driving internal insight activation is a plus.
• Ability to design and apply best‑in‑class qualitative, quantitative, mixed‑method, and new‑age methodologies to generate actionable insights.
• Strong analytical capabilities, including pattern identification, storytelling, data visualization, and ability to uncover “moments of truth” that drive meaningful business action.
• Comfortable working with a variety of research and design tools (e.g., Qualtrics, UserTesting, Figma, Mural); able to learn new platforms quickly.
• Ability to leverage AI tools (Copilot and equivalent) and modern research methodologies throughout the research lifecycle

Customer‑Centric Mindset & Ways of Working

• Deep empathy for customers, agents, and employees; enthusiastic in listening, engaging, and advocating for their needs.
• Strong ability to integrate customer insights into business decisions and influence teams to improve customer/agent experience.
• Comfortable challenging conventional processes in a safe, constructive way to uphold Human‑Centered Design principles.
• Thinks big, with curiosity for innovation and emerging methodologies; embraces a growth mindset and creative problem‑solving.

Stakeholder Management & Collaboration

• Demonstrated experience working directly with senior business stakeholders, influencing decisions, and gaining alignment across diverse teams and priorities.
• Excellent people and communication skills, with the ability to simplify complexity and tailor messages to different audiences.

Execution Excellence

• Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple projects under tight timelines.
• Results‑oriented with a proactive, “can‑do” attitude; able to navigate obstacles and think creatively to achieve objectives.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and adaptable to changing priorities and business needs.
• High degree of ownership, accountability, and resilience in a dynamic, fast‑paced environment.

Language Proficiency & Productivity Tools

• Strong presentation and communication skills in English and Cantonese; proficiency in Mandarin is an advantage.
• Fluency in Cantonese and written Traditional Chinese is required.
• Strong command of Microsoft Office, especially Excel, PowerPoint, and Word; familiarity with Copilot / Copilot Studio is an advantage.

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.

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.

Hybrid