The Global GEO Manager will be part of the Global Digital Marketing team and will help embed Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) across content, design, publishing, technology, and delivery lifecycles.
This role will identify search opportunities and risks, assess the implications of cross-functional initiatives, develop actionable recommendations, and drive implementation in partnership with segment marketing, content, UX, product, publishing, and technology teams.
The Manager will operate within the strategy, standards, and governance established with the Global SEO team. They will independently identify opportunities, conduct assessments, and recommend solutions, while partnering with the Global SEO team on enterprise-wide direction, material risks, prioritization, and changes to standards or best practices.
Position Responsibilities
SEO/GEO Opportunity Identification and Optimization
- Identify SEO and GEO sitewide opportunities across content, templates, information architecture, digital experiences, and platform capabilities.
- Assess search implications of new initiatives and develop recommendations aligned with Global SEO/GEO strategy and standards.
- Partner with content, UX, product, publishing, and technology teams to translate recommendations into practical implementation requirements.
- Contribute to the evolution of GEO practices by monitoring emerging AI-search behaviours, testing optimization approaches, and sharing actionable learnings with the Global SEO team.
Publishing Quality Assurance and Implementation
- Review content and publishing activities to verify that approved SEO/GEO requirements and recommendations have been implemented as intended.
- Validate agreed publishing elements before release, including copy recommendations, metadata, headings, internal linking, schema requirements, indexation controls, and other applicable SEO/GEO elements.
- Identify implementation gaps, determine likely root causes, and coordinate remediation with the appropriate cross-functional stakeholders.
- Escalate material defects, risks, exceptions, or unresolved questions to the Global SEO team for direction and resolution.
- Track implementation through completion and validate that agreed remediation has been applied correctly.
Cross-functional Initiative Integration and Coordination
- Serve as the primary SEO/GEO partner for cross-functional workstreams and connect them with the Global SEO team when enterprise guidance or strategic decisions are required.
- Maintain visibility into upcoming initiatives, including new designs, templates, shared experiences, content strategies, information architecture changes, and AEM or Content Cloud capabilities.
- Engage early in planning and delivery so that SEO/GEO impacts, dependencies, requirements, and opportunities are addressed before implementation.
- Assess SEO/GEO implications and recommend a path forward; align with the Global SEO team on strategic, high-risk, or enterprise-wide decisions.
- Track and communicate actions, dependencies, decisions, owners, risks, and implementation status across stakeholders.
Content and Experience Governance Support
- Identify potential content duplication or search conflicts arising from reuse across regions, personas, segments, or digital experiences.
- Evaluate potential SEO/GEO risks and opportunities and bring material items to the Global SEO team for alignment and prioritization.
- Support consistent implementation of approved standards across cross-functional workstreams and digital properties.
- Help ensure content, design, and technical decisions are visible early enough to reduce avoidable search performance risk and future remediation.
Measurement, Reporting, and Insights
- Monitor SEO and GEO performance using approved enterprise measurement approaches and tools.
- Identify performance trends, implementation gaps, risks, and optimization opportunities, and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
- Track the adoption and impact of implemented SEO/GEO initiatives and communicate outcomes to relevant stakeholders.
- Partner with analytics and Global SEO teams to improve reporting requirements, measurement consistency, and visibility into business impact.
Knowledge Sharing and Stakeholder Enablement
- Communicate Global SEO/GEO standards, requirements, and best practices to cross-functional stakeholders in clear, practical language.
- Develop and maintain working documentation, implementation guidance, decision logs, status reporting, and escalation outcomes.
- Facilitate recurring knowledge-sharing to strengthen consistency and build SEO/GEO capability across teams.
- Build effective relationships across content, design, technology, product, publishing, analytics, marketing, and market teams.
Decision Rights and Ways of Working
- The SEO Managers will lead market- or site-specific SEO/GEO work, including localized recommendations, market priorities and campaigns, and optimization of specific content and experiences. The Global GEO Manager will align these teams around common standards, identify shared dependencies and scalable opportunities, monitor adoption and implementation quality, and provide an overall view of SEO/GEO performance and progress.
- The Global SEO team owns enterprise strategy, standards, governance, measurement direction, and final decisions for material or enterprise-wide matters. The Global GEO Manager operationalizes this direction across markets and brings forward recommendations for overall improvement, while market- or site-specific SEO/GEO Managers apply the direction within their respective areas.
Required Qualifications
- Approximately 8-10 years of progressive SEO experience, ideally supporting enterprise websites, digital platforms, or complex content ecosystems.
- Demonstrated hands-on experience across technical SEO, on-page SEO, content optimization, information architecture, and publishing quality assurance.
- Ability to assess search opportunities and risks, develop evidence-based recommendations, and influence implementation across cross-functional teams.
- Experience working with content management systems; Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) experience is an asset.
- Working knowledge of schema, crawling and indexing, internal linking, metadata, canonicalization, redirects, structured content, and content duplication risks.
- Proven experience partnering with content, UX, technology, product, analytics, publishing, and marketing teams.
- Strong communication, stakeholder management, organization, documentation, and issue-resolution skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with, or strong demonstrated interest in, Generative Engine Optimization, AI search, answer engines, or other evolving search experiences.
- Experience evaluating brand visibility, citations, content discoverability, or performance across AI-driven search environments.
- Experience in large-scale, multi-market, multilingual, or highly governed content ecosystems.
- Experience using SEO and analytics platforms to translate performance data into prioritized actions.
- Experience working in agile delivery environments and influencing roadmaps without direct authority.
When you join our team:
- As part of our global team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see.
- 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.
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
$92,900.00 CAD - $142,900.00 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.
