Senior Director, Governance and Execution Oversight

The Senior Director, Governance & Execution Oversight, Global Risk Intelligence and Technology (GRIT) is responsible for driving execution discipline, governance effectiveness, adoption management, and value realization across Global Risk transformation initiatives in AI, Data and Technology. The role serves as a key partner in Global Risk Technology and Intelligence governance, translating strategic priorities into executable workstreams while ensuring governance decisions result in measurable business outcomes.

This position will oversee intake and prioritization processes, establish operating frameworks and governance disciplines, and define the metrics and reporting needed to measure adoption, benefits realization, capacity utilization, and portfolio performance.

The role acts as a critical link between strategy, governance, execution, and sustained business value realization across the Global Risk portfolio.

Key Responsibilities:

Transformation Governance & Strategic Execution

• Partner with senior leaders to translate approved priorities into executable workstream plans.
• Establish and maintain governance processes supporting prioritization, intake, qualification, approval, and execution oversight.
• Drive accountability and follow-through on decisions arising from governance forums.
• Coordinate cross-functional stakeholders to ensure alignment of delivery plans, dependencies, milestones, and outcomes.
• Monitor execution progress and escalate delivery risks, constraints, or resource challenges.

Portfolio Management & Prioritization

• Support development and administration of portfolio intake, assessment, and prioritization frameworks.
• Evaluate transformation opportunities against strategic objectives, capacity constraints, risk considerations, and value criteria.
• Facilitate portfolio planning processes and support leadership decision-making.
• Maintain visibility into transformation demand, delivery capacity, investment priorities, and execution status.
• Develop and implement portfolio reporting and performance management practices.

Adoption & Value Realization

• Define and implement measurement frameworks for technology, automation, AI, and Data transformation initiatives.
• Establish and report on key performance indicators measuring adoption, utilization, business outcomes, benefits realization, and operational effectiveness.
• Develop methodologies for measuring product value, customer value, business impact, and sustained adoption.
• Monitor trends and identify opportunities to improve user adoption and business outcomes.
• Partner with product owners, business stakeholders, and transformation leaders to address adoption barriers and optimize value realization.

Operating Model & Process Excellence

• Design and formalize governance operating models supporting transformation management and execution oversight.
• Develop and maintain RASCIs, Standard Operating Procedures, playbooks, operating frameworks, qualification frameworks, intake processes, and governance documentation.
• Establish repeatable and scalable operating practices across transformation portfolios.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that improve governance effectiveness and execution efficiency.

Reporting, Insights & Performance Management

• Establish and execute recurring reporting cycles covering adoption performance, benefits realization, capacity utilization, portfolio performance, transformation progress, and product value realization.
• Develop dashboards, scorecards, and management reporting for executive audiences.
• Generate actionable insights supporting portfolio optimization and strategic decision-making.
• Track and communicate transformation outcomes to senior leadership.

Stakeholder & Executive Engagement

• Build strong relationships with executives, product owners, transformation leads, and business stakeholders.
• Support leadership decision-making through structured governance, analysis, and reporting.
• Facilitate alignment across teams involved in transformation delivery and adoption activities.
• Present recommendations, portfolio insights, and performance updates to leadership forums.
• Promote a culture of accountability, adoption, continuous improvement, and outcomes-based delivery.

Qualifications:

Education

• University degree in Business, Finance, Risk Management, Information Technology, Organizational Change, or a related field.
• Professional certifications such as CPA, PMP, Agile, Prosci, Lean Six Sigma, CBAP, or equivalent are considered an asset.

Experience

• 8+ years of progressive experience supporting large-scale business transformation, strategic execution, portfolio governance, program management, organizational effectiveness, or technology adoption initiatives.
• Experience working with executive governance forums and senior leadership teams.
• Experience developing performance reporting, operational metrics, dashboards, and value realization frameworks.
• Experience driving cross-functional initiatives across complex organizations.
• Financial services, risk management, compliance, governance, or transformation office experience 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.

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

Base 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 base 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.