Director, AI Product & Business Partner - Distribution

Manulife; Hong Kong; On-site; HKD 600,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Manulife is seeking a Director of AI Product & Business Partner for Distribution to lead a Domain Squad focused on AI strategy, analytics roadmaps, and value realization. You will translate business needs into scalable AI solutions, partner with senior leaders, and drive cross-functional collaboration across data science, engineering, and risk teams.

You will define KPIs, govern AI initiatives, and ensure solutions align with regulatory standards while delivering measurable improvements in sales

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Actuarial Science, Economics, Business Analytics, or a related discipline.
• Master's degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in AI, data science, advanced analytics, digital product management, or related fields.
• Proven track record of partnering with senior business leaders and influencing strategic decisions.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and delivering business transformation initiatives.
• Demonstrated success delivering AI, analytics, or digital products that generated measurable business outcomes.
• Previous experience within life insurance, wealth management, banking, or financial services strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Distribution Domain Squad and act as the primary AI partner to Distribution leadership.
• Develop and maintain the Distribution AI and analytics roadmap aligned with business strategy and growth objectives.
• Identify, prioritize, and sponsor high-value AI and analytics use cases that improve sales productivity, lead generation, customer engagement, advisor effectiveness, and distribution performance.
• Partner with senior business stakeholders to define opportunities, investment priorities, success metrics, and expected business outcomes.
• Establish a culture of data-driven decision making across Distribution functions.
• Own the Distribution AI product portfolio and roadmap.
• Lead end-to-end delivery of AI and analytics initiatives from opportunity identification through deployment and business adoption.
• Drive realization of tangible business benefits and communicate outcomes to senior management.
• Apply advanced analytics, machine learning, and Generative AI to address Distribution business challenges.

Skills

Machine learning

Generative AI

LLMs

Executive communication

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional leadership

Data science

Business analytics

Stakeholder management

Analytical mindset

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Python

SQL

Modern analytics platforms

Job description

Director, AI Product & Business Partner - Distribution

Director, AI Product & Business Partner - Distribution

Position Responsibilities:

1. Domain Leadership & Strategy

• Lead the Distribution Domain Squad and act as the primary AI partner to Distribution leadership.
• Develop and maintain the Distribution AI and analytics roadmap aligned with business strategy and growth objectives.
• Identify, prioritize, and sponsor high-value AI and analytics use cases that improve sales productivity, lead generation, customer engagement, advisor effectiveness, and distribution performance.
• Partner with senior business stakeholders to define opportunities, investment priorities, success metrics, and expected business outcomes.
• Establish a culture of data-driven decision making across Distribution functions.

2. Business Partnership

• Build strong relationships with Distribution executives, sales leaders, and channel heads.
• Translate business challenges into AI and analytics opportunities with clear value realization plans.
• Act as a trusted advisor to business leaders on AI, advanced analytics, Generative AI, and emerging technologies.
• Drive executive-level discussions on AI strategy, prioritization, risks, and expected business impact.
• Own the Distribution AI product portfolio and roadmap.
• Lead end-to-end delivery of AI and analytics initiatives from opportunity identification through deployment and business adoption.
• Work closely with business and technology stakeholders to define product vision, requirements, success metrics, and delivery priorities.
• Ensure solutions are embedded into business processes and decision-making workflows.
• Define and track KPIs to measure adoption, business value, productivity gains, revenue uplift, and customer impact.
• Drive realization of tangible business benefits and communicate outcomes to senior management.

4. Advanced Analytics & AI Solutions

• Apply advanced analytics, machine learning, and Generative AI to address Distribution business challenges, including:
• Sales productivity and advisor effectiveness
• Lead generation and propensity modelling
• Customer segmentation and personalization
• Cross-sell and upsell opportunities
• Customer retention and persistency improvement
• Distribution performance management
• AI-powered sales and advisor assistants
• Evaluate emerging AI capabilities and identify opportunities to scale successful solutions across the enterprise.

5. Governance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, model governance standards, responsible AI principles, and enterprise AI controls.
• Partner with Risk, Compliance, Legal, and Technology teams to ensure appropriate oversight throughout the AI solution lifecycle.
• Support model monitoring, performance tracking, and ongoing governance activities.
• Lead a Distribution Domain Squad comprising data scientists and AI engineers, together with relevant cross-functional delivery partners, to deliver measurable business outcomes.
• Drive squad planning, prioritization, and execution against the Distribution AI roadmap.
• Foster close partnership with Distribution leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to accelerate adoption of AI solutions.
• Promote a culture of customer focus, business value realization, and continuous improvement.
• Develop squad capabilities in AI, analytics, and business consulting while creating a high-performing delivery environment.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Actuarial Science, Economics, Business Analytics, or a related discipline.
• Master's degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in AI, data science, advanced analytics, digital product management, or related fields.
• Proven track record of partnering with senior business leaders and influencing strategic decisions.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and delivering business transformation initiatives.
• Demonstrated success delivering AI, analytics, or digital products that generated measurable business outcomes.
• Previous experience within life insurance, wealth management, banking, or financial services strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of insurance distribution channels, sales management, and customer acquisition strategies preferred.
• Strong knowledge of machine learning, predictive analytics, optimization techniques, and statistical modelling.
• Experience with Generative AI, LLMs, AI agents, and enterprise AI solutions.
• Working knowledge of Python, SQL, and modern analytics platforms.
• Experience working with large-scale enterprise data environments.
• Strong understanding of AI governance, model risk management, and responsible AI practices.
• Ability to translate technical concepts into business language for executive audiences.
• Excellent business acumen with a demonstrated ability to connect AI investments to business outcomes.
• Strategic thinking and commercial acumen.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Excellent communication and executive presentation skills.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams in complex organizational environments.
• Strong execution focus with a demonstrated ability to deliver measurable business value.
• Self-starter with a passion for driving business transformation through AI.

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.

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. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact [e-mail].

We're committed to creating a workplace where employees feel empowered to grow the career they want.

Shouldn't there be more to a workplace than work? We think so. That’s why we offer a range of benefits to help you grow both personally and professionally.

Inclusion We believe that embracing inclusion is the key to creating a stronger, more resilient organization. It's not just a value - it's a strategic advantage that sets us apart.