Head of Customer & Marketing Strategy and Business Planning

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

Job Description

The opportunity

Manulife's ambition is to become Hong Kong and Macau's number one customer choice and digital customer leader in the competitive market. The Head of Customer & Marketing Strategy and Business Planning is responsible for driving the delivery of the Marketing Ambition and supporting teams in developing programs and roadmaps for bringing the strategic initiatives to bear across Hong Kong and Macau businesses.

Reporting directly to CMO, HK & Macau, the Head of Customer & Marketing Strategy and Business Planning serves as the internal trusted advisor in setting the strategic direction of HK & Macau Marketing, providing strategic thought leadership, and advocating new ways of working through change transformation. The role sits alongside the HK & Macau Marketing Leadership team heads of Analytics, Brand, Content & Design, Customer Experience & Transformation, Propositions & Health and Communications, to deliver on the strategic agenda and achieve financial and operational plans, with a focus on core customer and distributor journeys.

The individual will also be the Chief of Staff, overseeing the smooth running of the office of the CMO including (but not limited) to performance management, communications, employee engagement and governance for the broader team. Significantly, this role will cascade and operationalize global marketing mandates that are not specific to one function. They will also work on developing a cultural shift in global-regional-local marketing operating model to bring together a one team culture and philosophy.

This is a high impact role within the marketing team and requires an individual with exceptional leadership skills including high levels of emotional intelligence, excellent communication (written and verbal), analytical skills, stakeholder management, team leadership, collaboration and influencing skills.

Responsibilities

Develop high impact strategies in partnership with business/functional leads and execute on strategic projects to drive profitable growth

• Partner with the Marketing Leadership Team to develop executional roadmaps to deliver on the Annual plan and priorities

• Clearly define the team mission and positioning within the organization and ensure that this is well understood by and communicated to all key business stakeholders

• Support the CMO in driving connectivity across all the marketing functions to ensure that the Marketing team is connected on strategy and executional plans

• Provide guidance to CMO's on new strategies and marketing changes

• Spearhead development of HK Marketing's growth strategy to maximize commercial value

• Size new growth opportunities and identify priorities and initiatives to execute as go-forward strategy, with defined success metrics across financial and non-financial performances

• Lead teams and/squads on high level, net new strategic priorities and projects stemming from HK marketing and growth strategies

• In partnership with the CMO and Marketing team leaders, integrate and roll out local and regional marketing programs & mandates

• Build strong relationships with Marketing partners across distributions, product, operations, technology, finance, and HR

• Drive the clear and engaging communication of the strategy throughout the organization to ensure effectiv e strategic dialogue and timely updates on quarterly results and progress of strategic initiatives

Oversee strategic finance planning, budgeting and expense management for financial optimization and commercial return on investment

• Drive and manage annual strategic budget and planning process with Finance and facilitate dialogue around prioritization of key strategic and transformational initiatives

• Actively monitor key strategic and financial results on actual spends and forecasts, and share key insights to make informed for strategic decisions and pivots to maintain on track across the HK Marketing cost portfolio

• In partnership with HK & Macau Leadership team, track outcomes and benefits tracking against investment costs to ensure deliberative spend aligned with strategy

• Execution on Strategic Cost Management to improve expense and operational efficiency

Ensure clear governance and seamless execution, closely monitor progress, and communicate results to generate transformation momentum

• Act as a strong support to the CMO to ensure smooth and efficient day to day running of the CMO Office functions

• Oversee strategic initiatives to meet financial and non-financial targets and ensure specific action plans in place for progress to remains on track

• Provide high level project oversight to ensure BoW and business cases are developed and executed in alignment to strategic outcomes

• Clearly define KPIs to enhance engagement and ownership to drive execution and transformation

• Develop governance model and cadence to ensure actions are implemented and monitor results delivery according to plan

• Deliver regular communications regarding the marketing team progress, results achievement, areas of attention and improvements required

• Craft communications frameworks and templates to share progress and monitor performance of marketing programs

• Orchestrate and own agenda for team meetings across the businesses

Develop a high performing team focused on marketing excellence

• Advocate and guide Marketing team through change as a change agent to build a shared vision for transformation through marketing and new ways of working

• Support CMO in identifying, developing, and retaining top talent to ensure required organizational capabilities and talent are in place to enable execution on strategic goals

How will you create impact The leader will look to drive a connected approach to delivering growth and transformation in the marketing organization with a focus on collaborating and working closely with global, regional and local executives to ensure delivery of strategic initiatives with commercial value and maximize synergies across the region. What motivates you

• You obsess about customers, listen, engage and act for their benefit.

• You think big, with curiosity to discover ways to use your agile approach and enable business outcomes.

• You thrive in teams and enjoy getting things done together.

• You take ownership and build solutions, focusing on what matters.

• You do what is right, work with integrity and speak up.

• You share your humanity, helping us build a diverse and inclusive work environment for everyone.

What we are looking for

• Graduate degree in business, finance or equivalent, with minimum 10+ years of experience

• Previous strategy experience with a top-tier strategy consulting firm and/or past relevant experience in multi-national top tier life insurance company

• Strong business acumen and highly developed communication and relationship skills

• Strong business acumen with proven experience in stakeholder management, in particular executive levels in local country and regional levels and external parties

• Excellent leadership to motivate and lead team through tight deadlines and challenges

• Strong strategy background and analytical capability, including data-driven problem solving and decision-making skills

• Positively engages with various functions, local executives and stakeholders supports, advocates, communicates and implements changes required for executing ambitious growth agenda

• Collaborative mindset with good influencing skills to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders

• Excellent presentation and communication skills to deliver and cascade key messages and purposes in precise and concise manners

• Solid knowledge of project management discipline, experience in executing projects by developing execution and deliverables timeline and e ffectively managing various stakeholders

• Self-motivated, independent and with excellent interpersonal skills

• Role-modelling our Manulife values

What can we offer you

• A competitive salary and benefits packages.

• A growth trajectory that extends upward and outward, encouraging you to follow your passions and learn new skills.

• A focus on growing your career path with us.

• Flexible work policies and strong work-life balance.

• Professional development and leadership opportunities.

Our commitment to you

• Values-first culture
  We lead with our Values every day and bring them to life together.

• Boundless opportunity
  We create opportunities to learn and grow at every stage of your career.

• Continuous innovation
  We invite you to help redefine the future of financial services.

• Delivering the promise of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  We foster an inclusive workplace where everyone thrives.

• Championing Corporate Citizenship
  We build a business that benefits all stakeholders and has a positive social and environmental impact.

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