Director & Chief Product Owner

Manulife/John Hancock; Southwestern Ontario; Hybrid; CAD 118,000 - 168,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision coverage

Pension and global share ownership

Generous PTO and statutory leaves

Job summary

Manulife/John Hancock is seeking a visionary Director & Chief Product Owner to lead the digital product strategy, backlog across multiple agile squads, and mentor Product Owners within a SAFe framework. The role focuses on delivering data-driven, customer-centric solutions that align with business objectives and drive transformation.

Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the position emphasizes strategic leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and continuous improvement to optimize digital

Qualifications

• 8–10 years leading cross-functional teams using SAFe/Scrum in a global org.
• Bachelor’s in Business/Engineering; post-grad preferred.
• At least 5 years in insurance/wealth products, processes, and customer needs.
• Proven digital strategy/transformation experience in financial services.
• Familiar with Agile development, release management, JIRA/Confluence.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: lead large-scale initiatives across value streams.
• Product Vision & Strategy: define digital product strategy, vision, and roadmap.
• Customer-Centric Design: act as the voice of the customer to influence direction.
• IT partnership: collaborate with IT on design, QA, testing strategies.
• Data-Driven Decisions: use analytics and experimentation to validate hypotheses.
• Agile Delivery: own backlog and prioritization across multiple squads.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: coordinate across stakeholders for decisions.
• Mentorship & Leadership: mentor Product Owners.
• Integrated Planning: develop integrated plans with IT leaders.
• Performance Optimization: monitor KPIs and drive improvements.
• Communication & Change Leadership: present insights to stakeholders.

Skills

SAFe / Scrum experience

Digital strategy

Analytical thinking

Communication

Influencing

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/Engineering or related

Post-graduate degree preferred

Tools

JIRA

Confluence

Job description

Position Overview

The Director & Chief Product Owner acts as the value stream lead and is responsible for defining desirable, viable, feasible, and sustainable solutions that meet end user needs. They are focused on executing continuous improvements within their value stream to ensure value is being consistently delivered to end users. They act as a bridge between the business and development teams, ensuring that the product strategy aligns with the overall business objectives, the development teams understand and deliver on objectives, and delivery expectations are set and managed with key stakeholders. We are seeking a visionary Director & Chief Product Owner to oversee strategic direction, development, and delivery of one of our digital product portfolio value streams. This role is pivotal in shaping the future of our end user experience and driving business transformation through innovative, data-driven solutions. Acting as the voice of the customer and a key influencer across business lines, you will partner with stakeholders and technology teams to define product strategy, prioritize features, and ensure successful execution of cross-functional, large-scale initiatives aligned with organizational goals. As the senior product leader within our SAFe Agile framework, you will own the digital product vision, manage the backlog across multiple agile squads, and mentor Product Owners to foster a culture of customer-centricity and continuous improvement. Your ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on leadership will enable you to deliver measurable business outcomes, optimize digital capabilities, and champion change across a globally diverse organization.

Position Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Partner across business lines and value streams to lead large-scale initiatives and ensure strategic objectives achieve intended outcomes.
• Product Vision & Strategy: Define and communicate the digital product strategy, vision, and roadmap in alignment with business priorities and global technology strategy.
• Customer-Centric Design: Act as the voice of the customer, incorporating feedback and insights to influence product direction and deliver meaningful experiences.
• IT partnership: Collaborate closely with IT counterparts, align on solution design, development, QA, and testing strategies. Work together to ensure technical feasibility, share solution concepts with stakeholders, gather feedback, and jointly determine the best path forward for delivering high-quality products.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Use advanced analytics, A/B testing, and experimentation to validate hypotheses and optimize product offerings.
• Agile Delivery: Own the product backlog and feature prioritization across multiple agile squads and initiatives, ensuring consistent delivery of business value.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Coordinate across multiple stakeholders to drive complex product development decisions, requirements, and success criteria.
• Mentorship & Leadership: Lead, develop, and mentor Product Owners to foster a culture of customer-centricity and continuous improvement.
• Integrated Planning: Partner with IT leaders to develop and manage integrated plans for initiatives, including milestone planning, testing, reviews, and approvals.
• Performance Optimization: Monitor KPIs and drive continuous improvement through data analytics and insights.
• Communication & Change Leadership: Present key insights, vision, and progress updates to stakeholders, acting as a change agent across the organization.

Required Qualifications

• 8–10 years of experience leading cross-functional teams and initiatives using SAFe/Scrum methodologies in a complex, globally diverse organization.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, or related discipline; post-graduate degree preferred.
• At least 5 years of industry experience with individual insurance and wealth products, service processes, and customer needs.
• Proven track record in digital strategy and transformation within financial services, with strong knowledge of emerging digital technologies.
• Familiarity with agile development methodologies, release management, and tools such as JIRA and Confluence.
• Strong ability to adapt to change and understand the impact of emerging technologies.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate effectively across all levels.
• Experience with data analytics, change management, and digital engagement strategies.

Benefits

• 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.

Referenced Salary Location Waterloo, Ontario Working Arrangement Hybrid Salary range is expected to be between $118,300.00 CAD - $168,300.00 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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