Associate Product Owner, Travel

Company 1 - The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company; Southwestern Ontario; Hybrid; CAD 59,000 - 99,000; Full time

Job summary

Manulife/John Hancock is seeking an Associate Product Owner to drive business analysis and requirements gathering for travel solutions. The role collaborates with business and technology stakeholders to document current and future state processes, support system changes, and ensure successful implementations within an agile environment.

The ideal candidate brings data-driven decision-making, strong communication, and experience working with customer management systems, Excel, and Agile tools

Qualifications

• Experience in business analysis, data analysis, or insurance/travel operations.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex data.
• Experience documenting business requirements, process maps, and workflow diagrams, especially within the Agile delivery framework.
• Knowledge of testing methodologies, use case development, and quality assurance practices.
• Experience working with customer management systems.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Analyze and interpret data sets to support business decisions, operational improvements, and strategic travel initiatives.
• Gather, document, and validate business requirements for projects and operational enhancements.
• Develop and maintain current state and future state documentation.
• Create process maps and workflow diagrams to identify efficiencies, gaps, and improvement opportunities.
• Support the delivery and IT teams by providing business analysis expertise throughout the agile project lifecycle.
• Collaborate with technology teams to troubleshoot configuration issues and implement system enhancements.
• Testing and QA of system changes and projects, including test planning and execution.

Skills

Analytical Thinking

Requirements Gathering

Data Management

Stakeholder Collaboration

Communication & Documentation

Attention to Detail

Problem Solving

Testing & QA

Excel

Education

Bilingual English/French (asset)

Tools

JIRA

Confluence

Job description

It’s an exciting time in Affinity Travel. We are transforming how we deliver for our customers and partners and creating the foundation for our next chapter of growth. With an ambitious vision for the future, we are investing in our products, capabilities and technology to enable a unified, end‑to‑end Travel ecosystem powered by modern digital capabilities to deliver scalable growth and superior customer experiences. As part of this growth we’re expanding our Delivery team, bringing together the talent and capabilities we need to support our growth ambitions for 2027 and beyond. The Associate Product Owner is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the delivery and enhancement of travel solutions that support evolving business needs and growth ambitions. This role works closely with business and technology stakeholders to create business requirements, document current and future state processes, support system changes, and ensure successful implementation of travel solutions and enhancements. This role also offers hands‑on exposure across both business and technology, providing an opportunity to build your skills while contributing to meaningful initiatives.

Position Responsibilities:

• Business Analysis & Process Improvement Analyze and interpret data sets to support business decisions, operational improvements, and strategic travel initiatives.
• Gather, document, and validate business requirements for projects and operational enhancements.
• Develop and maintain current state and future state documentation.
• Create process maps and workflow diagrams to identify efficiencies, gaps, and improvement opportunities.
• Support the delivery and IT teams by providing business analysis expertise throughout the agile project lifecycle.
• System Administration & Configuration Maintain and update administrative tables and configuration settings within TripX.
• Ensure sellers, partners, and vendors are accurately configured and maintained within travel systems.
• Support data integrity and system governance activities related to partner and seller management.
• Collaborate with technology teams to troubleshoot configuration issues and implement system enhancements.
• Testing & Quality Assurance Identify business use cases and test scenarios for system changes and project implementations.
• Plan, coordinate, and execute complex testing activities that require cross-functional business participation.
• Validate system functionality and ensure business requirements are met prior to deployment.
• Document test results, defects, and recommended resolutions.
• Stakeholder Support Coordinate and support annual tax-related activities and compliance requirements.
• Assist with ongoing operational processes and system maintenance activities.
• Provide analytical support for reporting, audits, and business reviews.
• Work collaboratively with internal stakeholders to resolve issues and support continuous improvement initiatives.

Required Qualifications:

• Experience in business analysis, data analysis, or insurance/travel operations.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex data.
• Experience documenting business requirements, process maps, and workflow diagrams, especially within the Agile delivery framework.
• Knowledge of testing methodologies, use case development, and quality assurance practices.
• Experience working with customer management systems.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively in a fast‑paced environment.

Nice to have:

• Proficiency with Agile software e.g. JIRA, Confluence.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bilingualism (English and French) is an asset. If the successful candidate is in Québec, proficiency in both languages will be required to support clients from various provinces outside of Quebec.

Skills:

• Analytical Thinking
• Business Process Improvement
• Requirements Gathering
• Testing & Quality Assurance
• Data Management
• Stakeholder Collaboration
• Attention to Detail
• Problem Solving
• Communication & Documentation

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 [e-mail].

Referenced Salary Location Waterloo, Ontario Working Arrangement Hybrid Salary range is expected to be between $59,100.00 CAD - $98,500.00 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 [e-mail] 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 [e-mail] 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.

We're Manulife. And we’re on a mission to make decisions easier and lives better. Better is what drives us. It’s what inspires us to find new ways to support customers and colleagues in living longer and healthier lives. It’s the reason we’re dedicated to investing in digital innovation and industry‑leading AI, and accelerating a sustainable and economically inclusive future. Joining us means you’ll be empowered to learn and grow your career. We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well‑being and inclusion are more than just words. And as part of our global team, you’ll help shape the future you want to see – and discover that better can take you anywhere you want to go.

We’re proud of our accomplishments and recognition. Recent awards include: 2026 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award Winner Manulife Named one of Forbes World's Best Employers 2025 Financial Times World's Best Employers Asia‑Pacific 2026 We’ve been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers 2026 #1 Life Insurer for AI Maturity by Evident 2026

Our ambition is to be the number one choice for customers. Learn more at https://www.manulife.com/.