AVP, Affinity Marketing

The OpportunityReporting to the Vice President, Group Benefits & Affinity Marketing, the Assistant Vice President, Affinity Marketing is responsible for leading the marketing strategy, planning, and activation for Manulife Canada's Affinity business. This role is accountable for driving growth, customer acquisition, engagement, and retention across Affinity products and partner programs, while helping strengthen Manulife's market position and customer relationships. The AVP will lead a high-performing marketing team operating within a fast-paced matrix environment, partnering closely with Distribution, Product, Customer Experience, Digital, Analytics, Brand, and Enterprise Marketing teams. Success in the role requires balancing strategic thinking with strong execution, leveraging data, insights, technology, and AI-enabled capabilities to deliver measurable business outcomes. This leader will play a key role in shaping business strategy, influencing investment priorities, and ensuring marketing is a significant driver of customer and business value. This is a highly visible leadership role with the opportunity to shape the future of Affinity marketing at Manulife through customer-centric growth strategies, modern marketing capabilities, and strong cross-functional leadership. Position Responsibilities Marketing Strategy, Growth and ActivationLead the development and execution of integrated marketing strategies that drive acquisition, engagement, retention, and profitability across the Affinity business. Develop annual and multi-year marketing plans aligned to business objectives, customer needs, and growth priorities. Partner with business leaders to identify growth opportunities and translate business priorities into actionable marketing strategies. Drive integrated campaigns across owned, earned, paid, and partner channels, balancing performance marketing and brand-building objectives. Lead creative, content, channel, and media strategies in partnership with internal teams and external agencies. Leverage customer, market, and competitive insights to shape marketing priorities and improve campaign effectiveness. Ensure marketing strategies reflect evolving customer expectations and advances in personalization, digital engagement, and omnichannel experiences. Customer and Partner GrowthPartner closely with Affinity business leaders and external partners to support growth ambitions and strengthen partner relationships. Develop marketing strategies that enhance customer value, deepen engagement, and improve customer lifetime value. Support customer retention and cross-sell initiatives by leveraging customer insights and lifecycle marketing approaches. Ensure customer and partner experiences are aligned with Manulife's broader customer-centricity strategy. Digital, Data and AI-Enabled MarketingChampion the use of data, analytics, AI, and marketing technology to improve marketing effectiveness and customer outcomes. Partner with Digital and CX teams to enhance customer journeys, optimize conversion opportunities, and improve digital experiences. Leverage customer data platforms, personalization capabilities, experimentation frameworks, and AI-enabled tools to improve marketing performance. Foster a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and responsible AI adoption across the team. Business Strategy and LeadershipContribute to the development and execution of the Affinity business strategy as a member of the Affinity Leadership Team. Provide strategic marketing counsel and thought leadership to senior business leaders. Influence prioritization and investment decisions through insight-driven recommendations and business cases. Ensure alignment between Affinity priorities and broader Canada Segment marketing objectives. Collaborate closely with Group Benefits, Individual Insurance, Brand, Customer Experience, Analytics, and Digital teams to maximize enterprise impact. Leadership and Team DevelopmentLead, coach, and develop a team of marketing professionals while fostering an inclusive, high-performance culture. Establish clear priorities, performance expectations, and development plans that align to business goals. Build organizational capabilities in modern marketing disciplines, including performance marketing, personalization, AI, customer analytics, and journey management. Create an environment where innovation, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement are expected and rewarded. Attract, retain, and develop top marketing talent. Measurement, Performance and Budget ManagementAccountable for Affinity marketing budgets and ensuring investments are aligned to growth objectives and business priorities. Establish clear performance metrics across acquisition, retention, engagement, customer satisfaction, and marketing effectiveness. Leverage real-time performance monitoring and test-and-learn methodologies to optimize outcomes. Drive strong marketing return on investment (MROI) and demonstrate measurable contribution to business growth. Partner with Research, Analytics, Finance, and Customer Experience teams to establish scorecards and performance reporting frameworks. QualificationsBachelor's degree in business, Marketing, Commerce, or related field; MBA considered an asset. 10+ years of progressive marketing leadership experience, ideally within Group Benefits, Group Insurance, Affinity, sponsor-led distribution, partnership marketing, or a related Canadian financial services environment. 5+ years of experience leading marketing teams and influencing cross-functional, senior, and partner stakeholders in a complex matrix organization. Proven track record of driving growth through integrated marketing strategies, including digital marketing, customer segmentation, lifecycle marketing, personalization, analytics, and performance optimization. Experience developing marketing strategies across B2B, B2B2C, advisor, sponsor, customer, and partnership channels. Strong understanding of advisor, consultant, sponsor, and partnership-based acquisition and retention models, with the ability to translate these dynamics into practical marketing strategies. Exceptional strategic thinking, storytelling, and executive communication skills, with the ability to simplify complexity and influence decisions. Experience leveraging data, analytics, technology, and AI-enabled marketing capabilities to improve effectiveness, efficiency, and customer outcomes. Financial services, insurance, healthcare, loyalty, partnership, or highly regulated industry experience considered an asset. 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.The role being advertised is an existing vacancy.About Manulife and John HancockManulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit .Manulife is an Equal Opportunity EmployerAt 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 View email address on click.appcast.io Salary LocationToronto, OntarioWorking ArrangementHybridSalary range is expected to be between$129,800.00 CAD - $241,200.00 CADEmployees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance. 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. If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io for the salary range for your location.Manulife 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 and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in Canada includes holidays, vacation, personal, and sick days, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence. If you are applying for this role in the U.S., please contact View email address on click.appcast.io for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.We use data and analytics technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and automated processing tools, to analyze and process the information you provide to us or third parties in the application process. For more information, please refer to our personal information collection statement.SummaryLocation: Toronto, OntarioType: Full time