Manager / Senior Manager, AI Model Risk Governance, Standards & Enablement

Manulife; Halifax; Hybrid; CAD 113,000 - 163,000; Full time

Job summary

Manulife seeks an experienced Manager / Senior Manager to lead the AI Model Risk Governance, Frameworks & Standards. You will shape enterprise AI governance, translate regulatory expectations into practical requirements, and drive policy, training, and stakeholder education across the organization.

You will work with business, technology, data science, legal, compliance, privacy, cybersecurity, validation, and risk teams to ensure consistent governance of AI, Generative AI, and Agentic AI

Qualifications

• 7+ years of relevant experience for Manager-level candidates or 10+ years for Senior Manager-level candidates.
• Bachelor’s degree in the listed disciplines.
• Experience in AI Governance, Model Risk Management, Data Science, ML, Policy development, or related disciplines.
• Experience developing policies, standards, governance frameworks, procedures, methodologies, or enterprise risk programs.
• Experience with AI/ML solutions in regulated financial services.

Responsibilities

• Lead development, maintenance, and enhancement of AI Model Risk Management policies, standards, procedures, methodologies, and governance guidance.
• Translate evolving regulatory requirements and emerging AI risks into practical governance requirements.
• Develop and maintain oversight methodologies, templates, and governance playbooks.
• Establish governance requirements for ML, Generative AI, foundation models, RAG, and Agentic AI solutions.
• Provide interpretation of AI model risk policies across the enterprise.
• Design and deliver AI model risk training and stakeholder education materials.
• Develop executive presentations and governance materials for senior leadership.
• Collaborate with business, technology, data science, legal, compliance, privacy, cybersecurity, validation, and risk teams to support adoption of AI governance.

Skills

AI governance

Policy development

Stakeholder management

Communication

Bilingual (English/French)

Governance frameworks

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, AI, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Risk Management, Business, or related discipline

Tools

Python

SQL

R

Job description

Manulife is seeking an experienced Manager / Senior Manager, AI Model Risk Governance, Frameworks & Standards to lead the development and evolution of the enterprise AI Model Risk Management framework from an independent second-line perspective. This role offers a unique opportunity to shape how AI, Generative AI, and Agentic AI are governed across the organization by translating emerging risks, regulatory expectations, and industry practices into practical and scalable requirements. The successful candidate will combine strong AI and data science knowledge with exceptional policy development, stakeholder engagement, training, and communication skills to drive consistent and effective AI risk management. This role will play a key part in enabling the responsible adoption of AI while strengthening governance maturity across the enterprise.

Position Responsibilities:

• Lead the development, maintenance, and enhancement of AI Model Risk Management policies, standards, procedures, methodologies, and governance guidance.
• Translate evolving regulatory requirements, industry developments, and emerging AI risks into practical, risk-based governance requirements.
• Develop and maintain Line 2 oversight methodologies, challenge frameworks, assessment tools, templates, and governance playbooks.
• Establish governance requirements and risk management expectations for machine learning, Generative AI, foundation models, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and Agentic AI solutions.
• Provide authoritative interpretation of AI model risk policies, standards, and governance requirements across the enterprise.
• Design and deliver AI model risk training, awareness programs, job aids, and stakeholder education materials.
• Develop executive presentations, governance committee materials, briefing notes, and communications for senior leadership.
• Partner with business, technology, data science, legal, compliance, privacy, cybersecurity, validation, and risk teams to support consistent adoption of AI governance requirements.
• Support targeted oversight reviews, thematic assessments, and challenge activities requiring policy interpretation or technical expertise.
• Monitor emerging AI technologies, regulatory developments, and industry best practices to continuously enhance the framework.

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of relevant experience for Manager-level candidates or 10+ years for Senior Manager-level candidates.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Risk Management, Business, or a related discipline.
• Experience in AI Governance, Model Risk Management, Data Science, Machine Learning, Technology Risk, Policy Development, Model Validation, or related disciplines.
• Experience developing policies, standards, governance frameworks, procedures, methodologies, or enterprise risk programs.
• Experience working with AI and machine learning solutions within financial services or another highly regulated industry.
• Proven ability to develop executive communications, governance materials, training content, and stakeholder-facing guidance.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication, and influencing skills.
• Bilingualism (English and French) is a strong asset. If the successful candidate is in Québec, proficiency in both languages will be required to support clients from various provinces outside of Quebec.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced understanding of AI Model Risk Management frameworks and model lifecycle governance.
• Experience designing governance requirements for Generative AI, large language models, foundation models, RAG, and Agentic AI.
• Practical familiarity with Python, SQL, R, machine learning workflows, or analytics environments.
• Experience translating regulatory requirements into enterprise-wide policies and governance standards.
• Experience developing training programs, learning materials, or organizational capability-building initiatives.
• Knowledge of AI-related regulatory expectations, responsible AI principles, technology risk, privacy, cybersecurity, and data governance frameworks.
• Experience supporting executive committees, governance forums, or board-level reporting.

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.

#LI-Hybrid

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

Toronto, Ontario

Working Arrangement

Hybrid

Salary range is expected to be between

$113,000.00 CAD - $163,000.00 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.