Senior Director, Customer Relationship Management - Corporate Real Estate

The Senior Director, Client Relationship Management - Corporate Real Estate will act as the strategic interface between Corporate Real Estate (CRE) and internal business units, championing workplace requirements that align with business priorities and enhance the colleague experience. This leader will cultivate strong, trust-based relationships with senior collaborators to understand evolving business needs and translate them into integrated accommodation strategies.

This role will collaborate closely with CRE’s Design & Strategy and Facilities Management teams to ensure workplace solutions are not only future-ready and aligned to business goals, but also operationally effective and experience-driven.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary CRE liaison for assigned internal business units and food services acting as a trusted advisor to senior leadership.
• Gain deep insight into each business unit’s strategy, headcount forecast, and functional needs to shape real estate plans and workplace solutions.
• Partner with the Design & Strategy team to develop experience-forward, business-aligned environments.
• Collaborate with Facilities Management to ensure day-to-day operations support a high-quality colleague experience.
• Lead regular accommodation reviews and strategic planning sessions with business leaders to align space needs with business growth.
• Represent business unit perspectives in enterprise-level portfolio planning and CRE decision-making.
• Analyze occupancy, utilization, and colleague feedback data to identify and implement continuous improvement opportunities.
• Drive alignment and accountability across CRE functions to deliver integrated, impactful workplace outcomes.

Key Accountabilities

• Business Unit Satisfaction: Establish baseline satisfaction metrics within 90 days; demonstrate measurable improvement by year-end.
• Workplace Strategy Alignment: Co-develop at least one long-term workplace solution or pilot per key business unit.
• Space Optimization: Identify and action improvements in space utilization across at least 25% of supported business units.
• Colleague Experience Feedback Loop: Launch or enhance a mechanism for capturing and acting on experience data.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Establish effective working models with Design & Strategy and Facilities Management teams.
• Strategic Roadmaps: Deliver 1-3 year accommodation roadmaps aligned to business and CRE strategies.
• Executive Engagement: Conduct regular senior collaborator reviews and maintain high engagement across assigned business units.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in corporate real estate, workplace strategy, or a related field.
• 5+ years in a senior-level business partner, strategic advisory, or relationship management role.
• Proven success working cross-functionally with design, strategy, and operational teams in a complex organization.
• Strong understanding of workplace trends, including hybrid work, employee experience, and change management.
• Excellent collaborator management, communication, and influencing skills.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to balance business requirements, operational realities, and human-centered design.

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.

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 recruitment@manulife.com.

Referenced Salary Location

Salary range is expected to be between

If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact recruitment@manulife.com for the salary range for your location. 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. Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance.

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 recruitment@manulife.com for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.