Director, Head of Marketing Automation

Manulife/John Hancock is on a journey to become a customer-obsessed digital leader. As part of this journey, we are looking for a skilled professional and natural leader to drive the optimization and growth of John Hancock's outbound marketing technology platforms to provide exceptional digital-first experiences to our customers.

The Director and Head of Marketing Automation will lead a team of specialists to foster and nurture partnerships with marketing teams across Insurance, Long Term Care, and Annuities to understand their unique business objectives, targeted outcomes, and key results. Key areas of focus will be to create digital marketing strategies that drive tailored customer journeys, raise brand awareness, generate leads, and foster brand loyalty and engagement. Collaborating with MarTech strategists and enablement professionals to translate business requirements into technical solutions and build audience strategy and personalization. Additionally, the team collaborates with global colleagues and vendor partners to facilitate continued education and upskilling in marketing technology.

This role requires strong partnerships and continual collaboration across a matrixed organization, specifically with the Global Performance Marketing Shared Services and Global Data & Technology teams, which will lead audience strategy, personalization, activation, automation, and support. The Director will work closely with cross-functional teams, including marketing, IT, sales, and external vendors, to drive innovation and maximize the return on investment (ROI) of MarTech initiatives.

1. Lead the Automation & Performance Marketing team, creating a center of practice to support John Hancock's outbound marketing technology platforms and digital engagement activities.
2. Enabling a full-funnel approach designed to drive tailored customer journeys powered by connected data, that when integrated raises brand awareness, drives quality traffic, generates leads, secures sales, and fosters brand loyalty.
3. Lead the team responsible for understanding the business requirements and use cases, identifying the required integrations, translating them into implementable technical solutions with the assistance of technology teams, and building audience strategy, personalization, and activation of the use cases.
4. Ensure the team empowers and supports business partners to create digital marketing strategies leveraging customer-centric omnichannel journeys (email, web, push, deep linking, SMS, and beyond) to achieve their business goals.
5. Provide specialized support and leadership as it relates to ensuring clear workflows, intake, prioritization, resource management and reporting in addition to content creation, sharing and activation to improve digital journeys, team building, change management, and quality assurance.
6. Scaling and growing the journey design practice across John Hancock Marketing by providing coaching and guidance in marketing technology best practices, digital governance, and frequency capping.
7. Partner with Advanced Analytics for the exploration of new models and opportunities for increased personalization and dynamic content; identify opportunities to leverage emerging technologies such as generative AI and machine learning to drive personalization at scale.
8. Collaborate with vendor partners to design and facilitate continued education and upskilling for marketing technology to ensure the team remains at the forefront of innovation and new capabilities.

1. Education: Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Computer Science, or a related field.
2. Experience: 7-10 years of experience in marketing technology, digital marketing, or related fields, with at least 3-5 years in a leadership role.
3. Technical Proficiency: Deep understanding of various MarTech tools and platforms (e.g., Adobe, CRM, marketing automation, analytics, content management systems).
4. Analytical Skills: Strong analytical skills to interpret data and generate actionable insights. Experience with analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Tableau).
5. Project Management: Excellent project management skills to handle multiple projects and implementations simultaneously. Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
6. Communication Skills: Effective communication skills to articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. Ability to present information clearly and concisely.
7. Leadership: Proven leadership skills to guide and motivate cross-functional teams. Ability to manage and resolve conflicts, fostering a collaborative team environment.
8. Problem-Solving: Strong problem-solving skills to address technical challenges and optimize MarTech tools. Creativity in finding innovative solutions.

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 our story.

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 recruitment@manulife.com.

Primary Location: Boston, Massachusetts

Working Arrangement: Hybrid

Salary range is expected to be between $114,975.00 USD - $206,955.00 USD. If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact recruitment@manulife.com for the salary range for your location. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance.

Manulife/John Hancock offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits, including 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. We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension/401(k) savings plans and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in the U.S. includes up to 11 paid holidays, 3 personal days, 150 hours of vacation, and 40 hours of sick time (or more where required by law) each year, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence.