Engagement & Strategic Programs Leader

Manulife•Montreal, QC

5d•CA$71,475 - CA$119,125•Hybrid

About The Position

At Manulife, we are focused on helping people make decisions easier and lives better, and that starts with creating meaningful experiences for our employees and leaders. As the Engagement & Strategic Programs Leader, you will help shape leadership connection, employee engagement, and capability-building across Retirement Operations. Reporting to the Director, Learning & Change, you will lead high-impact programs, leadership events, learning initiatives, and strategic communications that bring business priorities to life. This is an opportunity to influence how we connect, communicate, and build future-ready capabilities across the organization.

Requirements

Proven experience building, leading and executing on communications strategies and complex employee programs involving multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, dependencies, risks, and executive-level deliverables.
Strong project and program management capabilities, including planning, governance, milestone tracking, risk and issue management, and delivery oversight.
Demonstrated ability to define program benefits, outcomes, and success measures, and to use results and insights to evaluate effectiveness and guide continuous improvement.
Strong stakeholder management skills with demonstrated success partnering with senior leaders.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level presentation and content development.
Familiarity with AI-enabled tools and emerging technologies that support communications, learning, or employee experience.
Experience designing and delivering leadership programs, conferences, and enterprise engagement initiatives for Director-level or executive audiences.
Exposure to organizational change, transformation, or capability-building programs.

Nice To Haves

Experience in one or more relevant areas, such as leadership development, learning and development, employee engagement, internal communications, organizational effectiveness, or transformation.
Strategic thinker with the ability to connect programs, communications, and employee experiences to broader business priorities and outcomes.
Strong relationship builder who can earn trust, influence effectively, and build credibility with senior leaders, stakeholders, and cross-functional partners.
Confident communicator and storyteller with the ability to translate complex priorities into clear, engaging, and actionable messaging.
Highly organized and execution-focused, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, move work forward, and deliver high-quality outcomes in a fast-paced environment.
Curious, innovative, and hands-on, with a continuous improvement mindset and a willingness to modernize ways of working through new tools, approaches, and technology.

Responsibilities

Lead the planning and delivery of high-impact employee engagement, leadership connection, and development initiatives, including Town Halls, Employee Briefs, People Leader AMAs, and key announcements.
Own the strategy, planning, and execution of Director-level engagement and development programs, including Director+ communications, quarterly calls, and virtual/in-person conferences.
Design innovative employee and leadership experiences that strengthen alignment, culture, and connection across the organization.
Oversee future-skilling and capability-building programs, including Power Up, AI adoption initiatives, and integration with broader Learning & Development programs.
Partner with senior leaders to shape strategic messaging, executive presentations, communications, and engagement content across priority forums and channels.
Lead end-to-end program management for complex leadership and employee programs, including governance, timelines, dependencies, risks, decision points, and delivery oversight.
Define outcomes, success measures, and practical measurement approaches to assess program effectiveness, participant experience, adoption, and business impact.
Lead, coach, and develop the team responsible for content development, coordination, and program execution while driving quality, consistency, continuous improvement, and AI-enabled efficiency.