Director, Strategic Programs & Portfolio Management

Manulife Insurance Malaysia; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 145,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and dental coverage

Pension and share plans

Generous paid time off

Job summary

Manulife Financial Canada seeks a Director of Strategic Programs & Portfolio Management to drive the strategic transformation agenda for Canada Operations. You will lead governance, financial management, and execution oversight of a portfolio of strategic investments that advance business growth, efficiency, and customer experience improvements.

Reporting to the AVP, Operations Excellence, you will partner with senior leaders across Operations, Technology, and Finance to align initiatives with

Qualifications

• 8–12+ years in project, program, portfolio or transformation leadership.
• Proven experience leading large cross-functional transformation programs.
• Experience in insurance or financial services highly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to manage scope, schedule, budget, and risks.
• Strong financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and benefits realization.
• Experience preparing executive presentations and governance materials.

Responsibilities

• Lead governance and oversight of the Canada Operations strategic initiative portfolio.
• Establish portfolio management practices with transparent performance metrics.
• Prioritize investments based on strategic value, financial impact, and outcomes.
• Own development and governance of business cases with robust analysis.
• Lead executive reviews to validate assumptions, risks, and ROI.
• Provide consolidated portfolio financial reporting to executives.
• Support annual planning, funding requests, and forecasting exercises.
• Monitor ROI, productivity gains, and benefits realization.
• Develop executive-ready reporting for leadership and governance committees.

Skills

Executive leadership

Portfolio management

Financial acumen

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Operations, Engineering, or related field

Tools

PMP

PgMP

MSP

Lean Six Sigma

Job description

The Director, Strategic Programs & Portfolio Management plays a critical leadership role in driving Canada Operations' strategic transformation agenda. Reporting to the AVP, Operations Excellence, this position leads governance, financial management, and execution oversight of a portfolio of strategic investments that support business growth, operational efficiency, and customer experience improvements. This role partners closely with senior leaders across Operations, Technology, and Finance to ensure initiatives are aligned with business priorities, supported by sound financial analysis, and deliver measurable business outcomes. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to influence enterprise-wide transformation initiatives while shaping portfolio management practices and strategic decision-making.

Position Responsibilities

• Lead governance and oversight of the Canada Operations strategic initiative portfolio.
• Establish portfolio management practices that provide transparency into investment performance, risks, dependencies, and outcomes.
• Partner with Operations and Technology leaders to prioritize investments based on strategic value, financial impact, customer experience improvements, and organizational capacity.
• Own the development, review, challenge, and governance of business cases across Canada Operations.
• Ensure business cases are supported by robust financial analysis, operational assumptions, implementation plans, and clearly defined benefits.
• Lead executive reviews and challenge sessions to validate assumptions, risks, and expected outcomes.
• Manage financial oversight of strategic investments, including budgets, forecasts, funding approvals, and portfolio spend tracking.
• Provide consolidated portfolio financial reporting and strategic insights to executive leadership.
• Support annual planning activities, strategic funding requests, and forecasting exercises.
• Monitor and report on ROI, productivity gains, risk reduction, customer outcomes, and benefits realization.
• Develop executive-ready reporting materials for leadership teams, Finance, and Governance Committees.
• Lead portfolio review meetings and governance forums while translating complex data into actionable recommendations.

Required Qualifications

• 8-12+ years of project, program, portfolio management, or transformation leadership experience.
• Proven experience leading large-scale, cross-functional business transformation programs.
• Experience within insurance, financial services, or other highly regulated industries.
• Demonstrated expertise managing scope, schedule, budget, resources, risks, and stakeholder communications across complex initiatives.
• Strong financial acumen, including business case development, investment analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and benefits realization.
• Experience preparing executive-level presentations, governance materials, and strategic recommendations.
• Exceptional communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Operations, Engineering, or a related discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading enterprise portfolio management or strategic investment portfolios.
• PMP, PgMP, MSP, Lean Six Sigma, or equivalent certification.
• Experience supporting executive governance committees and funding approval processes.
• Strong understanding of operational transformation, process improvement, and change management methodologies.
• MBA or advanced business-related degree.

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.

Salary

Location: Toronto, Ontario. Working Arrangement: Hybrid. 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 salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training.

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.
• 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 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.

Awards

• 2024 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award Winner
• Manulife Named one of Forbes World’s Best Employers 2023
• Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2023
• We’ve been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers (2024)
• Manulife included in Bloomberg’s 2023 Gender-Equality Index

Our ambition is to be the most digital, customer-centric global company in our industry. Learn more at https://www.manulife.com/.