Director, AI Solutioning

Reporting to the AVP, AI Solutioning, you will lead the AI Solutioning capability within Canada AI and help business units translate strategic priorities into a pipeline of high-value, execution-ready AI initiatives. You will serve as the front door to AI, bringing structure, consistency, and governance to how opportunities are identified, evaluated, prioritized, and framed for investment.

You will bring together business leaders and enabling technical teams, including Technology, Operations, the Data Office, Architecture, Risk, Security, and AI Delivery, to identify the most appropriate solutions for business problems. You will ensure recommendations are aligned to business objectives and balance value, technical feasibility, data readiness, operational impact, scalability, risk, and implementation complexity.

This role combines strategic thinking, stakeholder leadership, business case development, and AI domain expertise. You will operate as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, guiding decisions around where AI can create value, how solutions should be approached, and when initiatives are ready to move from concept into delivery.

Beyond individual initiatives, you will establish and continuously enhance the AI Solutioning operating model, helping build an enterprise-wide discipline that improves investment decisions, reduces duplication, and strengthens portfolio management across Canada.

You will also play a key role in communicating AI strategy execution to General Managers and Leadership Teams. By partnering with AI delivery teams and initiative owners, you will synthesize roadmap progress, realized outcomes, key learnings, and emerging opportunities into strategic updates that clearly articulate how AI investments support business unit priorities, strategic objectives, and long-term ambitions.

Position Responsibilities:

• Lead the AI Solutioning practice for Canada AI, establishing frameworks, governance, and operating rhythms that support consistent AI opportunity evaluation.

• Partner with Business Unit leaders to identify, prioritize, and shape AI opportunities aligned to strategic objectives and business outcomes.

• Facilitate AI planning and roadmap development activities as part of annual and quarterly planning cycles.

• Lead structured assessments of AI initiatives, evaluating business value, feasibility, data readiness, implementation complexity, adoption considerations, and associated risks.

• Translate business challenges into clearly defined AI problem statements, measurable success metrics, and execution-ready scopes.

• Develop compelling business cases and executive recommendations, including expected benefits, investment requirements, implementation considerations, risks, and alternatives.

• Provide strategic guidance on build, buy, partner, or integrate decisions by leveraging market intelligence, vendor assessments, and industry trends.

• Continuously monitor emerging AI capabilities, competitive developments, and technology market trends to identify opportunities and risks relevant to Manulife.

• Establish and maintain a standardized AI opportunity intake, scoring, and prioritization framework.

• Support leadership teams with portfolio-level insights, helping balance strategic fit, value potential, delivery capacity, and investment priorities.

• Lead cross-functional solutioning sessions that align business and enabling technical teams on the problem, solution options, recommended approach, accountabilities, and path to delivery.

• Build strong partnerships across business functions, Canada AI, Technology, Operations, the Data Office, Architecture, Risk, Security, and Compliance to enable timely and well-informed solution decisions.

• Lead, coach, and develop solutioning professionals while fostering a culture of strategic thinking, business ownership, and outcome orientation.

• Promote Responsible AI practices by ensuring solution recommendations consider governance, privacy, security, regulatory, and ethical requirements.

• Contribute to the evolution of Canada AI's operating model by identifying opportunities to strengthen planning, portfolio management, and value realization processes.

• Drive alignment across enabling teams to ensure recommended solutions are technically feasible, operationally scalable, governed appropriately, and ready to transition into delivery.

• Bring together Technology, Operations, the Data Office, Architecture, Risk, Security, AI Delivery, and other enabling teams to assess solution options and recommend the best path to value, including process redesign, analytics, automation, generative AI, agentic AI, vendor solutions, or hybrid approaches.

• Report to the AVP, AI Solutioning, and support the implementation of the Canada AI Solutioning strategy, governance model, and engagement framework.

• Partner with business leaders and delivery teams to establish consistent value realization and progress reporting practices across the AI portfolio.

• Translate technical delivery progress into business-focused narratives that demonstrate how AI initiatives contribute to business unit objectives, strategic priorities, customer outcomes, operational performance, and growth ambitions.

• Consolidate information from AI delivery teams, initiative owners, and enabling partners to provide a comprehensive view of AI initiatives and their business impact.

• Develop and deliver strategic portfolio updates for General Managers, Leadership Teams, and senior executives, communicating AI roadmap progress, key accomplishments, emerging opportunities, risks, and priorities.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, or a related discipline. Advanced degree preferred.

• Minimum 8 years of experience in strategy, management consulting, AI, analytics, technology, digital transformation, or related advisory functions.

• Minimum 3 years of experience leading cross-functional teams, strategic initiatives, or enterprise programs.

• Strong understanding of AI, machine learning, generative AI, and emerging agentic AI capabilities, including their strengths, limitations, risks, and business applications.

• Demonstrated experience developing business cases, investment proposals, operating models, or strategic roadmaps.

• Experience evaluating technology opportunities from business, operational, financial, and risk perspectives.

• Proven ability to influence senior leaders and facilitate decision-making across diverse stakeholder groups.

• Strong executive communication, storytelling, and presentation skills.

• Ability to translate complex technology concepts into practical business recommendations.

• Experience defining success measures, value frameworks, and outcome-based performance metrics.

• Exceptional facilitation, stakeholder management, and consultative problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience leading AI strategy, innovation, transformation, or solutioning functions within financial services, insurance, banking, or other regulated industries.

• Background in management consulting, strategic advisory services, corporate strategy, enterprise architecture, product strategy, or innovation management.

• Familiarity with AI governance, Responsible AI, privacy, security, model risk management, and regulatory considerations.

• Experience evaluating vendor solutions, conducting RFPs, or leading technology selection processes.

• Knowledge of cloud platforms, data ecosystems, AI development approaches, and enterprise technology architectures.

• Experience establishing portfolio management, prioritization, or investment governance frameworks.

• Demonstrated experience building new capabilities, operating models, or centres of excellence.

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. 

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 hr@manulife.com.

Referenced Salary Location

Toronto, Ontario

Working Arrangement

Hybrid

Salary range is expected to be between

$113,260.00 CAD - $210,340.00 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 hr@manulife.com 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 hr@manulife.com 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.