AVP, Technology, Manulife Bank

Join the leadership team of Manulife Bank as we make Canadians lives better by saving them money and time with their banking. As the leader of our product engineering team, the AVP, Technology, Manulife Bank, ensures we develop, drive and support technology strategies that enable Manulife Bank to achieve their strategic objectives.

Reporting to the CIO, Canada Segment, this position will work in close collaboration with the Canadian Division Technology (CDT) team and the Leadership of Manulife Bank and will act as a key senior technology partner and thought leader to develop and implement the right technology solutions to drive the business. The successful candidate will establish an appropriate organization in support of agile development/delivery for all Manulife Bank initiatives ensuring compliance with required OFSI regulations and will provide ongoing “thought leadership” with technology solutions to enhance the customer experience.

The position is a dynamic leadership role and is accountable for the management of key technologies that includes the following as scope:

• Full Product Development Lifecycle

• Continuous improvement initiatives

• New Business Modernization Projects

• Bank core systems and surrounding capabilities

• Lead architecture, API and data strategy

Key Accountabilities

Strategic Technology Development

• Lead the development, testing, implementation and delivery of large scale technology solutions that deliver value to customers and execute against the technology strategy to drive the Manulife Bank business goals - both strategic and operational with a key accountability to be able to balance a relentless commitment to strategic thinking with a relentless commitment to implementing to drive the technology strategy related to the Bank Strategy. Focus is on Business Leading Technology (e.g., cloud), as the theme to continuous development of strategic technology thinking.

• Alignment of Manulife Bank technology strategies with the fast-paced changes in our competitive industry segments.

• Timely and efficient deployment of business applications, adhering to Global Strategy standards and Business Unit specific technology Key Performance & Key Risk Indicators as well as Outcomes and Key Results (OKRs)

• Manage the delivery of self-serve technology solutions to ensure they are safe, sound and secure mitigating technical debt and lowering organizational risk

• Accountable for delivering all IT aspects of Bank Projects. Works with direct reports and partners to address emerging issues and delivery projects on time, on budget, and within scope.

• Act as a technology thought leader to the business to increase their understanding of emerging and available technologies to drive the business strategies efficiently and with a customer centric lens.

• As a catalyst for change, maintain relationships throughout Manulife to identify technical practices that can be adapted to the advantage of Manulife Bank Technology.

• Effective stakeholder management, including collaborating with internal and external Manulife Bank partners to drive and deliver enterprise grade solutions quickly and efficiently.

Operations and Compliance

• Oversee all aspects of technology for the Manulife Bank.

• Responsible for the delivery of a stable processing platform, which meets the required service levels of the business. This includes modernization of platforms as required.

• Ensure various components and applications of the platform are compliant within the regulatory framework for each of the applicable business functions.

• Partner closely with key risk stakeholders within the bank to ensure solutions meet industry risk practices (OSFI B-10 and Operational guidelines).

• Adhere to Global Standards, Complaince and Information Risk Management technology requirements

• Establish operating and investment budgets that are consistent with short and long-term Manulife Bank financial goals. Deliver on Technology specific financial and Strategic Cost Management (SCM) targets

People Leadership

• Drive an impactful culture that focuses on profitable growth while caring about the customer and each other.

• Inspire, coach, guide and actively engage employees, resulting in top quartile engagement scores.

• Manage performance, provide formal and informal feedback and coaching. Establish accountabilities and performance standards.

• Build talent capability and engage employees through focused career discussions and professional development opportunities.

• Demonstrate inclusive behaviors and provide opportunities to collaborate across teams.

• Foster an environment where employees share insights and generate ideas, to become more innovative and create new value for the customer in everything they do.

What we are looking for

• Minimum of 7-10 years of progressive leadership experience in technology strategy execution for large scale organizations; experience in the Banking industry preferred

• Previous experience leading high performing Product, UX, UI teams within Digital Banking with prior success building roadmaps to optimize digital customer experience.

• Demonstrated success in leading transformational changes within an engineering culture; an ability to navigate a complex, highly regulated, marketing focused, growth business.

• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement a technology strategy and tactics to drive business goals, in collaboration with external and internal partners.

• Ability to go into the weeds and whiteboard, plus an executive presence for high-level leadership conversations and presentations.

• Demonstrated success at senior cross-functional project delivery involving multiple technical teams, stakeholders, and business functions, including Risk.

• Strong Portfolio Management Skills, including the ability to manage multiple complex projects at the same time and under tight deadlines, operating in a cross-functional environment.

• Experience and understanding of OFSI and Bank Act. Experience in a federal regulatory environment an asset, and appreciation for evolving dynamics and trends related to a regulatory environment.

• Exposure and experience in such areas as agile, digital, emerging technologies, Bank Fintech, and Legacy (e.g., mainframe systems). Solid experience partnering with fintech and the nuances of these partnerships.

• Exceptional communicator with a talent for engaging both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Strong vendor management experience and skills with demonstrated success establishing long-term cost-effective partnerships. Experience in incident management is advantageous.

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, management of information systems or related field; bilingualism is beneficial.