Director, Group Functions AI (Asia)

The Director, Group Functions AI (Asia) is a senior data science and AI delivery leader responsible for driving AI‑enabled transformation across Group Functions in Asia. This role carries a dual mandate:

• Engage regional Group Functions stakeholders—including HR, Communications, Finance, Actuarial, Legal, Treasury, Government Relations, Risk, Audit, and Compliance—to identify opportunities, provide input into AI roadmaps, and accelerate adoption of AI solutions among Asia based Group Function Teams.

• Lead delivery of Asia focused Group Functions AI projects, ensuring alignment with global best practices.

This position serves as a critical regional connector between North America based delivery work, Asia‑based opportunity development, and Asia execution. 

Position Responsibilities:

• Group Functions Stakeholder Engagement & Opportunity Development

  • Partner with Asia‑based leaders to surface high‑impact AI opportunities and articulate value cases

  • Translate functional needs into well‑structured initiatives aligned with global strategy and enterprise AI capabilities

  • Provide thought leadership on Agentic AI, GenAI, ML

  • Support adoption by coaching stakeholders on use cases, readiness, risk considerations, and operating model changes

• AI Delivery Leadership (Asia)

  • Lead end‑to‑end delivery of AI solutions for Asia‑based Group Function teams, from design through deployment and value realization

  • Ensure solutions meet enterprise standards in security, governance, model risk, and responsible AI

  • Coordinate execution with North America teams to ensure global consistency, collaborative codebases / libraries, aligned architecture, and reuse of enterprise components

  • Conduct full-stack AI Engineering work including hands-on development and prototyping

• Enterprise Connection & Operating Model Integration

  • Act as a bridge between Asia functional teams, North America delivery

  • Ensure Asia initiatives are represented in the global AI portfolio, and that regional delivery accelerates enterprise impact

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years in data science, AI/ML engineering, or applied machine learning roles

• FSA , FCIA, or FIA designation a plus

• Proven leadership of complex AI programs at scale, ideally including Agentic AI architectures, semantic layer integration, orchestration frameworks, and multi‑model pipelines.

• Hands‑on engineering expertise in Python, Java, cloud ML environments, MLOps, vector databases, LLM‑Ops, and modern evaluation frameworks

• Experience collaborating with at least one (if not more) corporate functions, preferably within financial services - HR, Finance, Actuarial, Legal, Treasury, Risk, Audit, Compliance, Communications, and Government Relations

• Strong ability to translate technical concepts into business outcomes and communicate with senior stakeholders.

• Interest in driving adoption, shaping functional roadmaps, and influencing senior leaders across geographies

• Comfortable operating in a highly matrixed, global environment

• Self-motivated, able to operate with remote leadership and have an impact across virtual environments

When you join our team:

• 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.

• As part of our global team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see.

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.

Working Arrangement