We are a leading financial services provider committed to making decisions easier and lives better for our customers and colleagues around the world.

From our environmental initiatives to our community investments, we lead with values throughout our business.

To help us stand out, we help you step up, because when colleagues are healthy, respected and meaningfully challenged, we all thrive.

Discover how you can grow your career, make impact and drive real change with our Winning Team today.

Working Arrangement

Hybrid

Job Description

Accountability:

Director of Technology Product Engineering will focus on collaboration with the business stakeholders and business managers, driving the execution of our product roadmap, taking responsibility for design, delivery, quality assurance to performance, and for delivering a high quality of standards to our businesses using Agile delivery methods.

The role will focus on supporting and managing the Japan strategic initiatives with a core attribute on customer support utilizing strong insurance product experience.

This role is direct report line our AVP Japan and manages the size of 75+ team including internal & external resources.

• Manage and direct all business interactions with the Manulife product team (and other business teams) ensuring that risks, triggers, issues, dependencies, and gaps are identified, mitigated and managed through the Agile software development cycle. This will include ensuring that all production support, change management, release management & application testing activities with a heavy focus on customer interaction and support are managed and communicated effectively to all teams.
• Lead innovative processes using Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and Agile methods working with our businesses.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, understanding market needs, customer insights and business goals for aligned product development.
• Manage new business idea incubation, overseeing MVP development testing to validate market demand working closely with business product owners and managers.
• Drive end to end product lifecycle for timely, high-quality launches.
• Align to Manulife's Digital Transformation strategy which include the migration of our legacy platforms to future state technologies (Cloud, Microservices, etc.). Utilize Agile practices.
• Showcase the leadership skills to inspire the Japan technology resources for adapting more challenging future technology/ business models.
• Work with the Technology Management Team to deliver a plan for the Japan Strategic Initiatives, creating a systems strategy, responding to and challenging new project requirements and ensuring a comprehensive resource plan and process is in place to match capability and capacity to specific projects.
• Ensure coordination with the strategic projects and project portfolios with application development teams to ensure proper prioritization of resources as well as act as liaise with PMO.
• In addition to leading the Technology Product Team, there may be a need to lead project or process teams as required under a matrix managed, operating model, and ensuring excellent cross functional output in relation to the product development cycle.
• Lead the organization to a high-performing, customer-centric culture through exemplar behavior.
• Act as the strategic gatekeeper for the strategic initiatives, providing challenge to ensure that all product related projects align to delivery assurance practices and they fit with the overall benefits.

Responsibilities:

Planning & Strategy

• Manage the execution and support of the integrated strategic plan and Manulife product roadmap to achieve the Japan technology objectives in Japan and continuously oversee to achieve the outcomes and deliver results.
• Work with executive leaders on roadmap oversight and decision-making, business transformation, and opportunities for strategic exploration.
• Provide leadership for Japan Strategic programs including effectively coaching and mentoring, system design, delegating authority and measuring results
• Utilizing the change management techniques & tools, manage the overall change management capabilities for the strategic initiatives.
• Nurture a team-oriented environment that fosters Manulife Japan and Asia participation, accountability and balance between strategic goals and business benefits.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of Manulife Japan business strategies to provide support during various delivery decisions.
• Provide timely, transparent and accurate information and communications to the Executive, key Manulife personnel and partners/service providers on health of the key strategic programs.

Delivery Execution

• Manage Delivery, Execution & Application Quality Assurance of the business insurance products and ensure all projects are built, tested and supported to a high level of quality and continuous delivery of multiple projects on time.
• Lead in a collaborative and dynamic environment while supporting the overall strategic planning process with the various technology teams to determine proper prioritization for deriving and maintaining the strategic roadmap.
• Collaborate on the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and Agile processes across all Japan initiatives/applications.
• Interact and develop strong collaborative communication/relationships with key Japan technology leaders to share and leverage the best practices on key development & delivery service activities and practices.
• Defining Insurance Products Quality assurance strategy, approach for multiple project dependencies and organize the release based testing & delivery with proper retrofit planning.
• Develop and maintain relationships with external vendors while also providing strategic direction to promote and ensure effective collaboration between vendors and project teams.
• Scrutinize progress on overall development and delivery while identifying any risks or challenges that need to take action on.
• Drive effective management of resources to drive resolution of identified project issues and risks, and gains internal / external buy-in that risks and issues are effectively mitigated within desired tolerance levels.
• Maximize the reuse of Digital technology, solutions & skills across Manulife Japan to achieve cost efficiencies utilizing Agile, DevOps and collaborative IT process automation practices.

Financial Management

• Responsible for the effective management of Manulife Japan Delivery Assurance function within financial budgets assigned.
• Collaborate with appropriate Manulife Japan leadership peers and suppliers to attain necessary financial insights, to ensure value realization.

People Management& Leadership

• Provide leadership and management to Manulife and Service provider(s) organization of +75 resources across various geographies (Japan, China and India) to ensure the delivery.
• Foster an innovative, collaborative culture within the organization, encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset among team and stakeholders.
• Establish clear accountabilities and authority levels for direct reports and build a strong culture of accountability and performance in order to ensure delivery of business goals.
• Demonstrate a strong work ethic to guide the staff to inspire enthusiasm and stimulate their interests towards being productive and maintaining high company standards.
• Collaborate with the Manulife Japan IT and Operations team to build an 'exciting and innovative' culture within the teams that strives to be best in market and customer focused.
• Ensure the resource mix and talent is appropriate to the required delivery challenges across the function.
• Promote excellence through the attraction, continual development and retention of high quality team members with the knowledge, skills and behaviors to deliver excellent outcomes and service.
• Demonstrate an understanding of and sensitivity to local, regional and global sensitivities.
• Monitor and manage employee engagement.
• Establish organizational options and succession planning for the function.
• Alignment to internal performance measurement mechanisms and working with peer leaders to properly identify High Potential and Outstanding performing talent.
• Provide career direction for direct reports through an understanding of all disciplines and their desire for career progression.

Knowledge/Skills/Competencies/Education:

• 10+ years of Life and Wealth Insurance experience preferable or Finance Industry Experience
• University degree (Computer Science or relevant)
• 10+ years' work experience with proven leadership and demonstrated people management skills.
• 10+ years of experience with all stages of the Software Development Life Cycle, with the proven ability to drive the Software development life cycle in accordance with current trend.
• Experience in building & setup team with efficient offshore model.
• Ability to make difficult decisions by pragmatically weighing the complexities involved against the need to act.
• Extensive knowledge of application and digital: concepts, practices and tools
• Extensive knowledge of finance business, systems, processes and understanding of finance industry strategies, especially insurance products in the whole life and financial planning area.
• Experience of working and engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior staff and external organizations
• Experience in initiating and engaging the center of excellence.
• Knowledge on emerging and disruptive technology applications.
• Highly developed communication & relationship skills, Business level English and Japanese Language capability required.
• Understanding and appreciation of cultural differences with Japan and other regions.
• Japanese language fluency

Problems/Challenges:

• MLJ IS having monthly cross functional system releases due to aggressive timeline and business initiative priorities and product release will need to integrated with these.
• Managing cross functional system conflicts, schedule & team communications ensuring smooth implementation is a challenge.
• Always look for opportunity to reduce the manual tasks and implementation automation.
• Keep the cost for quality in par with the industry standards and executive expectations.
• Maintain application and insurance domain knowledge in-house to maintain the consistent quality as well as to manage service providers effectively.
• Execute both waterfall and agile method projects with consistent quality.

Position Dimensions (Organizational Impact):

• Director level people manager with oversight on internal, external resources
• Reporting to Executive Product Council with overall progress, risks and mitigations.
• Support and coordinate all business departments like Operations, Distribution, Actuarial, Product pricing, Accounting, and Marketing etc. for the user acceptance and "time to market" implementation.
• Liaison between regional and business departments for smooth testing and delivery of regional initiatives when required.
• Support all development teams with schedule, progress and roadmap prioritization.

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better.

With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across our offices in Asia, Canada, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States.

We provide financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions.

At the end of 2022, we had more than 40,000 employees, over 116,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 34 million customers.

At the end of 2022, we had $1.3 trillion (US$1.0 trillion) in assets under management and administration, including total invested assets of $0.4 trillion (US $0.3 trillion), and segregated funds net assets of $0.3 trillion (US$0.3 trillion).

We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges, and under '945' in Hong Kong.

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

---