Director & Chief Product Owner

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

Job summary

Manulife is recruiting a Director & Chief Product Owner to lead one of our digital product value streams, shaping the end-user experience and driving business transformation. You will own the digital product vision, manage backlogs across agile squads, mentor Product Owners, and partner with IT to ensure feasible, high‑quality delivery aligned with corporate goals.

You will balance strategic thinking with hands-on leadership, leveraging data analytics and experimentation to drive measurable

Qualifications

• 8-10 years leading cross-functional SAFe/Scrum initiatives.
• Bachelor’s degree; post-graduate degree preferred.
• 5+ years in insurance and wealth product domains.
• Proven digital strategy and transformation experience in financial services.
• Familiar with Jira and Confluence; agile release management.
• Strong adaptability to change; analytical and decision-making skills.
• Excellent communication and collaboration across levels.
• Experience with data analytics and digital engagement.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Lead large-scale initiatives across value streams.
• Product Vision & Strategy: Define digital product strategy, vision, and roadmap.
• Customer-Centric Design: Represent the voice of the customer in product direction.
• IT partnership: Align with IT on solution design, development, QA, and testing strategies.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Use analytics and experimentation to optimize offerings.
• Agile Delivery: Own backlog and prioritization across agile squads.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Coordinate stakeholders for complex decisions.
• Mentorship & Leadership: Mentor Product Owners for customer-centric culture.
• Integrated Planning: Develop integrated plans with IT leadership.
• Performance Optimization: Monitor KPIs and drive improvements.
• Communication & Change Leadership: Present insights and progress to stakeholders.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Agile / SAFe

Data analytics

Stakeholder management

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business or Engineering

Post-graduate degree preferred

Tools

JIRA

Confluence

Job description

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.

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.

Acerca de Manulife y John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation es un importante proveedor internacional de servicios financieros que ayuda a las personas a tomar decisiones de una manera más fácil y a vivir mejor. Para obtener más información acerca de nosotros, visite http://www.manulife.com .

Manulife es un empleador que ofrece igualdad de oportunidades

En Manulife/John Hancock, valoramos nuestra diversidad. Nos esforzamos por atraer, formar y retener una fuerza laboral tan diversa como los clientes a los que prestamos servicios, y para fomentar un entorno laboral inclusivo en el que se aprovechen las fortalezas de las culturas y las personas. Estamos comprometidos con la equidad en las contrataciones, la retención de talento, el ascenso y la remuneración, y administramos todas nuestras prácticas y programas sin discriminación por motivos de raza, ascendencia, lugar de origen, color, origen étnico, ciudadanía, religion o creencias religiosas, credo, sexo (incluyendo el embarazo y las afecciones relacionadas con este), orientación sexual, características genéticas, condición de veterano, identidad de género, expresión de género, edad, estado civil, estatus familiar, discapacidad, o cualquier otro aspecto protegido por la ley vigente.

Nuestra prioridad es eliminar las barreras para garantizar la igualdad de acceso al empleo. Un representante de Recursos Humanos trabajará con los solicitantes que requieran una adaptación razonable durante el proceso de solicitud. Toda la información que se haya compartido durante el proceso de solicitud de adaptación se almacenará y utilizará de manera congruente con las leyes y las políticas de Manulife/John Hancock correspondientes. Para solicitar una adaptación razonable en el proceso de solicitud, envíenos un mensaje a [e-mail] .

Referenced Salary Location

Waterloo, Ontario

Modalidades de Trabajo

Híbrido

Salary range is expected to be between

$118,300.00 CAD - $168,300.00 CAD

Los empleados también tienen la oportunidad de participar en programas de incentivos y recibir una compensación vinculada al rendimiento empresarial e individual. El salario real variará según las condiciones del mercado local, la geografía y factores relacionados con el puesto como conocimientos, habilidades, requerimientos, experiencia y educación/formación. Si solicitas este puesto fuera de tu ubicación principal, por favor escríbenos a [e-mail] para conocer el rango salarial correspondiente a tu ubicación.

Manulife ofrece a los empleados aptos una amplia variedad de beneficios personalizables, entre ellos, beneficios de salud, odontológicos, de salud mental, oftalmológicos, por discapacidad a corto y a largo plazo, cobertura de seguro de vida y por muerte accidental y desmembramiento, adopción/subrogación y bienestar, y planes de asistencia al empleado/familiar. También ofrecemos a los empleados admisibles varios planes de ahorro para la jubilación (incluidos planes de pensiones y un plan mundial de propiedad de acciones con contribuciones equivalentes del empleador) y recursos de asesoramiento y educación financiera. Nuestro generoso programa de tiempo libre remunerado en Canadá incluye feriados, vacaciones, días personales y días por enfermedad, y ofrecemos la gama completa de ausencia laboral reglamentaria. Si se está postulando para este puesto en los EE. UU., póngase en contacto con [e-mail] para obtener más información sobre las disposiciones relativas al tiempo libre remunerado específicas de EE. UU.

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