Director, Digital Program Management

The Director, Digital Program Management is responsible for leading the successful delivery of strategic digital transformation programs that advance Manulife's One Manulife vision. This role will lead complex, multi-year programs that span business units, segments, and technology organizations, including initiatives such as Unified Canada, Digital Storefront (DSF), Shared Capabilities, and other enterprise customer experience transformation efforts. The successful candidate will combine strategic leadership with hands‑on execution.

They will operate comfortably with senior executives and business leaders while also diving into delivery details, resolving issues, managing dependencies, coordinating teams, and driving outcomes across large, cross‑functional programs.

Program Leadership & Transformation Delivery Lead large-scale digital transformation programs from initiation through execution, implementation, and business adoption. Establish program vision, objectives, success measures, and strategic roadmaps aligned to enterprise priorities. Develop and maintain integrated program plans across business, product, technology, operations, and vendor work streams. Ensure alignment on scope, timelines, milestones, dependencies, deliverables, and expected outcomes. Drive accountability across multiple teams and stakeholder groups to achieve program objectives.

Partner with product, technology, and business leaders to ensure delivery remains aligned to strategic goals and customer outcomes.

Establish and oversee program governance structures, delivery frameworks, execution plans, and operating rhythms. Manage complex interdependencies across multiple work streams, products, and business units. Coordinate planning activities, milestone reviews, readiness assessments, and delivery checkpoints. Ensure clear ownership, decision‑making processes, and escalation paths are in place. Proactively identify, mitigate, and escalate risks, issues, and dependencies. Oversee change governance and ensure organizational readiness activities are embedded within program plans.

Ensure adherence to enterprise delivery, governance, financial, reporting, ODF, and audit requirements.

Unlike a traditional Program Director role, this position is expected to actively engage in execution when required.

Responsibilities include:

Building and maintaining integrated program plans. Managing RAID logs and dependency tracking. Facilitating working sessions, workshops, planning events, and executive reviews. Driving issue resolution and removing delivery blockers. Creating executive‑ready status reports, presentations, and briefing materials. Supporting roadmap, release, and milestone planning activities. Partnering with Product Owners, Delivery Leads, and Scrum Masters to ensure execution remains on track. Directly project managing high‑priority work streams during critical delivery periods.

Lead executive governance forums, steering committees, and transformation reviews. Build strong relationships across business, technology, operations, and digital experience teams. Manage stakeholder alignment across multiple segments, functions, and leadership teams. Provide clear, concise executive communications on program progress, risks, dependencies, decisions, and outcomes. Escalate issues requiring leadership intervention with context, options, and recommended paths forward. Influence without authority to drive alignment and execution across matrixed organizations.

Act as a key connector between Digital Experience, Product, Technology, Operations, and business stakeholders. Build strong partnerships across GWAM, Canada Segment, Shared Capabilities, and Global teams. Proactively identify and address gaps in delivery ownership, handoffs, decision‑making, and execution. Foster collaboration across functions to accelerate delivery and improve program outcomes. Champion a One Manulife mindset by driving alignment, transparency, and shared accountability across teams.