Manager, Strategy – Canada Strategy & Transformation

Manulife • Waterloo, ON

2d • $103,270 - $153,270 • Hybrid

About The Position

At Manulife, our Strategy & Transformation team is at the forefront of driving key strategic initiatives and acts as strategic thought partners to senior executives, focusing on high‑impact, prioritized strategic decisions to develop and align BU initiatives with Manulife Canada Segment and Enterprise strategy. The team plays a pivotal role in planning and driving critical leadership conversations and strategic agendas across the organization. The work that the Canada Strategy & Transformation team drives is essential in setting and bringing to life the strategic direction for Manulife Canada, driving the mission to make decisions easier and customers’ lives better. Operating in a high‑performance, fast‑paced, and winning team culture, the team offers opportunities for advanced career development and the chance to tackle the most critical challenges and initiatives in the financial services industry. The Manager is responsible for researching, analyzing, recommending, and supporting the delivery of strategic projects and priorities across Manulife Canada. They evaluate key business priorities and provide insights to generate actions that create value for the company, aligning with strategic objectives. The role requires partnering closely with Directors and senior leaders to ensure strategic objectives are clearly defined, analytically grounded, and translated into actionable plans that drive intended outcomes. The Manager plays a critical role in shaping perspectives through rigorous analysis, synthesis of complex information, and clear, decision‑oriented recommendations. This role supports the team’s AVP or Director for assigned initiatives by developing strategy content, managing discrete workstreams, and helping drive disciplined execution.

Requirements

• 5–8 years of progressive experience in strategy, management consulting, corporate development, or a related field.
• Undergraduate degree required; MBA or advanced degree is an asset.
• Experience in financial services, insurance, or a regulated industry preferred.
• Understanding of at least one of Manulife’s core businesses (i.e., Life insurance, group benefits, individual insurance, retail banking)
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and storytelling skills, with the ability to translate complexity into clear recommendations.
• Bilingualism (English and French) is a strong asset. If the successful candidate is in Québec, proficiency in both languages will be required to support clients from various provinces outside of Quebec.

Nice To Haves

• MBA or advanced degree is an asset.
• Bilingualism (English and French) is a strong asset.

Responsibilities

• Drive the development and implementation of strategic plans, providing hands‑on support for the Canadian Leadership Team (CDLT) and management forums, including preparation of materials, analysis, and executive narratives.
• Structure complex, ambiguous problems; analyze qualitative and quantitative data; and present key findings in a clear, concise, and decision‑driven manner tailored to senior audiences.
• Support alignment across enterprise‑ and segment‑level priorities by surfacing trade‑offs, interdependencies, and implications.
• Support the delivery of strategic projects end‑to‑end, driving the execution of initiatives with material strategic impact across business benefits realization, including: oDeveloping integrated roadmaps for strategic initiatives, ensuring key milestones, metrics, and success criteria are aligned with leadership expectations. o Breaking down complex problems by synthesizing insights from multiple, diverse information sources (e.g., market trends, financials, stakeholder input), leveraging data analytics (data wrangling, quantitative analysis, and visualization/dashboarding) to generate decision-ready insights.
• Track progress, risks, and issues across assigned initiatives, escalating insights and challenges as appropriate to Directors or AVPs.
• Support portfolio‑level visibility by helping connect initiatives, identify dependencies, and highlight execution risks.
• Partner with cross‑functional stakeholders (e.g., business units, finance, technology, and other corporate functions) to support alignment and effective execution of strategic priorities.
• Act as a day‑to‑day thought partner for initiative owners, bringing analytical rigor and structured problem solving to discussions.
• Coach and review work from junior team members, contributing to skill development and maintaining high quality standards across deliverables.
• Contribute to a collaborative, high‑performance team culture aligned with Manulife leadership behaviours.

Benefits

• 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.
• various retirement savings plans (including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources.
• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level