Distribution Project Specialist

The Distribution Project Specialist will manage business initiatives and workstreams across Sales and Distribution, with particular focus on initiatives involving technology, data, operational, and cross-functional dependencies. The role will partner closely with Distribution leaders, Sales Technology, Information Technology, Data, Operations, vendors, and other stakeholders to translate business objectives into structured project plans and drive work through implementation.

This individual will manage small-to-moderately complex projects and defined workstreams while supporting senior project leadership on larger or more complex initiatives. The role requires strong project management fundamentals, business acumen, technology fluency, structured problem-solving, and the ability to drive accountability across teams without direct authority.

Responsibilities:

- Manage small-to-moderately complex Distribution projects and defined workstreams from planning through implementation and transition to ongoing support.

- Develop and maintain project plans, milestones, schedules, dependencies, decision logs, risk and issue logs, and accurate status reporting.

- Coordinate work across Distribution Sales Technology, Information Technology, Data, Operations, and other participating teams.

- Partner with business owners to establish project objectives, scope, deliverables, roles, responsibilities, success measures, and governance expectations.

- Facilitate project meetings; document decisions, actions, and accountabilities; and follow up with owners to maintain progress.

- Identify risks, issues, resource constraints, and cross-project dependencies early; assess business impact; and prepare practical options for resolution or escalation.

- Monitor progress against agreed scope and timelines and work with project teams to address deviations from plan.

- Provide clear and regular communication to project teams, stakeholders, sponsors, and management.

- Coordinate requirements, testing, implementation readiness, business readiness, operational handoffs, and post-implementation activities.

- Build sufficient understanding of Distribution processes, systems, data flows, and technology dependencies to manage technology-enabled initiatives effectively.

- Ensure prescribed project management methodologies, governance practices, documentation standards, and applicable project development life-cycle phases are followed.

- Support senior project leaders on larger, higher-risk, or more complex initiatives, with increasing project ownership as experience and organizational knowledge grow.

Requirements:

- Education and Experience: College degree or equivalent relevant business experience; typically 3 to 5 years of experience supporting or managing business, technology-enabled, operations, or transformation projects.

- Project Management: Demonstrated experience independently managing small-to-moderately complex projects or major workstreams within larger initiatives.

- Planning and Governance: Working knowledge of project planning, schedule management, dependency tracking, risk and issue management, decision management, governance, status reporting, and implementation readiness.

- Cross-Functional Coordination: Experience coordinating work across business and technical teams and maintaining accountability without direct authority.

- Technology Fluency: Ability to understand technology concepts, system interactions, data flows, and implementation dependencies sufficiently to manage business delivery; this is not an IT engineering or technical design role.

- Communication: Strong written, verbal, facilitation, and presentation skills, including the ability to summarize complex information for different audiences.

- Problem-Solving: Ability to identify deviations from plan, assess impact, develop practical options, and escalate appropriately.

- Organization: Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage competing priorities, deadlines, and multiple stakeholders.

- Industry Knowledge: Financial services, insurance, or regulated-industry experience preferred.

- Preferred Qualifications: Experience with Salesforce, Agile or hybrid delivery, system implementations, integrations, testing, business readiness, and CAPM, PMP, Certified ScrumMaster, or comparable training is preferred.

Competencies:

- Collaboration: Builds productive relationships and aligns contributors across organizational boundaries.

- Strong Communication: Communicates scope, decisions, risks, actions, and status clearly and concisely.

- Executing: Creates structure, maintains momentum, and follows commitments through completion.

- Solution Focused: Applies sound judgment and practical problem-solving to project challenges.

- Business Acumen: Understands Distribution priorities, operating processes, stakeholders, and dependencies.

- Learning Agility: Builds sufficient knowledge of unfamiliar processes, data, and systems to manage delivery effectively.

Key Behaviors:

- Proactive: Anticipates risks, dependencies, and support needs before they affect delivery.

- Accountable: Maintains clear ownership and follows decisions, actions, and deliverables through completion.

- Adaptable: Adjusts plans and approach as priorities, information, and business conditions evolve.

- Influential: Builds alignment and drives action without relying on formal authority.

Key Performance Goals/Measurement:

- Deliver assigned projects and workstreams against agreed scope, milestones, quality expectations, and business outcomes.

- Maintain accurate and timely project plans, status reporting, risk and issue management, decisions, and governance documentation.

- Identify delivery risks and dependencies early and drive appropriate decisions, resolution, or escalation.

- Coordinate effective readiness, implementation, and transition activities with accountable functional owners.

- Improve consistency, transparency, and accountability across Distribution project execution.

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.

#LI-JH

The role being advertised is an existing vacancy.

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 .

Referenced Salary Location
Boston, Massachusetts
Working Arrangement

Hybrid
Base salary range is expected to be between
$61,875.00 USD - $103,125.00 USD
Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance. The actual base 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 hr@manulife.com for the salary range for your location.

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.

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 .

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Company: John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.)