AVP, US Life Insurance Sales Desk

Manulife/John Hancock; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 208,000; Full time

Job summary

Manulife/John Hancock in Boston seeks an AVP, Life Insurance National Sales Desk to guide the internal sales support model, align with go-to-market strategies, and drive multi-year growth. The role leads Directors and managers, builds training that ensures licensing requirements are met, and collaborates with product, underwriting, marketing, analytics to optimize sales performance.

You will report to senior management, deliver regular performance analyses, and champion a high-quality, compliant

Qualifications

• BS/BA degree required.
• 5+ years in sales leadership or equivalent.
• Experience in life insurance sales/support and partner relationships.
• Licensing: Life/Health, Series 6, Series 26.
• Proven cross-functional leadership and collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the sales support department and team.
• Recruit, retain and develop talent for External Wholesalers, National Accounts, and B2B partnerships.
• Provide direction, training and support to Directors, Managers and sales support staff.
• Improve sales processes to increase efficiency and a seamless partner experience.
• Collaborate with product, underwriting, marketing, analytics, and other teams on go-to-market strategies.
• Develop and implement training to meet license requirements and promote product knowledge.
• Monitor performance metrics and present actionable insights to senior management.
• Ensure quality and compliance in partner interactions.
• Engage with customers to deliver high-quality sales value and support.
• Contribute to sales preparation and go-to-market processes.

Skills

Leadership

Life Insurance

Sales Support

Strategic Planning

Cross-functional

Training Programs

Licensing

Analytical Thinking

Communication

Project Management

Education

BS/BA Degree

Tools

CRM systems

Job description

The AVP, Life Insurance National Sales Desk, plays a critical role in facilitating the growth and success of our life insurance sales team. They will be responsible for overseeing and enhancing the internal support services that empower our sales team to excel. Their strategic guidance, leadership, and expertise will contribute to the achievement of our sales targets and the satisfaction of our valued partners. They will play a key role in building, implementing, measuring, and optimizing a world-class support model to meet a multi-year growth strategy.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement strategic plans and deploy tactical day-to-day execution to enhance the effectiveness of the life Sales Support department.
• Recruiting, retaining, and developing top talent to support External Wholesalers, National Accounts, and B2B partnerships.
• Team Leadership of a team of Directors, Managers and sales support professionals, providing direction, training, and support to ensure the achievement of department and company goals.
• Sales and Internal Process Improvement to continuously assess and refine sales support processes to increase efficiency and provide a seamless experience for sales organization and external customers.
• Collaboration to foster effective cross-departmental strategic priorities with product, underwriting, marketing, analytics, and other relevant teams to ensure a cohesive approach to sales support and go-to-market strategies.
• Sales Training, curriculum development, and implementation of training programs for the sales support team to pass required license requirements through call scripting, development of soft selling skills, improving their product knowledge, and consistent message delivery which support current and new product lines.
• Performance analysis to monitor and analyze key performance metrics that identify areas for improvement and create actionable recommendations.
• Prepare and present regular reports to senior management on the sales support department's performance and key initiatives.
• Quality Assurance to ensure that all interactions with partners and internal teams meet the company standards for quality and compliance.
• Customer Engagement strategy to build and maintain strong relationships with key internal and external customers, addressing their concerns and providing high-quality sales value and support.
• Assist and provide observations about marketing materials, presentations, and demos, based on teams’ direct interaction with partners.
• Actively participate in the sales preparation processes and go-to-market strategies.
• Provide technical, regulatory consultative sales leadership.
• Partner with Sales and Account Management to provide direction and co-create key measures and achievements to build a cohesive initiative-taking sales support model that considers various internal roles, and external partners' growth strategies and is aligned to overall key strategic directives.
• Co-design customized support models for new markets and direct B2B relationships.
• Develop proper sales compensation plans to recognize individual contributions while maintaining a collaborative and balanced team of team model across selling units and roles.
• Deliver targeted growth strategies aligned to company directives and deliver sales plans.

Job Requirements

• BS/BA Degree
• 5 + years of leadership experience in a sales organization
• 5+ years’ experience in inbound and outbound call operations and implementation of sales plans across varying groups and support models.
• Life Insurance Sales or Sales Support activities marked by strong business relationships, skilled leadership, and business results and be well-versed in leading multidisciplined and multiple teams.
• Strategic development of support models focusing both internally and externally, with strong operational leadership that delivers firsthand a deep understanding of the sales processes and what drives carrier selection in an intermediated distribution model.
• Agile and forward thinking to target continuous improvement opportunities and drive execution focused on enhancing and customizing our service delivery to boost the overall sales performance
• Superior communication, organizational, presentation, and negotiation skills
• Exceptional team selling sales skills and experience building scalable training curriculums that support talent mobilization.
• Ability to manage multiple projects with specific time deadlines
• Extensive product and industry knowledge
• Maintain relevant licensing - Life/Health, Series 6, Series 26
• Advanced analytical and critical thinking skills
• Ability to work cross-teams to solve sales problems, including Regional Wholesalers, National Accounts, Marketing, Operations, Implementation, Underwriting, and Analytics.
• Conversant with all current products and ancillary services
• Conversant with peer insurers' products and services, and ability to provide executive summaries to senior leaders on trends, client sentiment, and perception.

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. 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 Boston, Massachusetts Working Arrangement Hybrid Salary range is expected to be between $120,000.00 USD - $208,000.00 USD 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/John Hancock 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/401(k) savings plans and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in the U.S. includes up to 11 paid holidays, 3 personal days, 150 hours of vacation, and 40 hours of sick time (or more where required by law) each year, 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.

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Company: John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.)

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 industry-leading AI, 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.

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