External Affairs Specialist

Job summary

The specialist will leverage AI tools to develop government relations content, briefing materials, and geopolitical risk reports for senior management and the Board. They will also lead the administration of the Rapid Action Task Force and maintain jurisdictional risk rating methodologies.

Job details

Leading GR Content Creation Leveraging AI resources and agents, develops content in service of Manulife’s engagement with government and regulators, including internal-facing briefing notes to support senior management in engaging policymakers, and external-facing materials to convey Manulife’s position/messaging on key issues (e.g., decks, one-pagers), as well as our footprint in officials’ jurisdictions, on the national and provincial/state level. ELT & Board Reporting: Leveraging AI tools, coordinates, compiles, edits, and updates GR’s quarterly submissions to the ELT, the Board, and the Audit Committee. Includes helping compile and draft geopolitical risk reporting tools, liaising across GR sub-teams to verify and update regulatory and advocacy briefs, and iteratively improving submissions in response to audience feedback[JM2] . Also supports the development of the monthly Geopolitical Risk Triggers Group (GRTG) monitoring tools and reports. U.S. GR: With the use of AI, develops and maintains briefings for the U.S. GR team (e.g., bios, state one-pagers), to support their engagement with U.S. government/regulatory officials. GR Data: Coordinates with business lines across segments to utilize AI resources to compile, update, and expand GR’s data holdings on Manulife’s footprint at the federal and provincial/state level for the markets in which Manulife operates, to ensure these facts and figures are on hand for engagements with government officials[JM3] . Supports the development, enhancement, and ongoing maintenance of the GR and Regulatory teams’ stakeholder maps and inventory. External Reporting: Coordinates development of Manulife’s annual Political Activities & Contributions Report using AI tools. Supports GR's contributions to Manulife’s annual Sustainability Report. AI-Enabled Solutions Contributes to the development of select AI-enabled tools that support GR’s work, in line with internal governance requirements. Solution Development: Helps develop, test, and maintain AI-enabled solutions (e.g., GR Briefing Agent, Geopolitical Monitoring Tool) using approved enterprise tools such as Agent Builder and Copilot Studio, taking them from development through testing to production. Collaboration: Gathers feedback from GR colleagues across the U.S., Asia, and Canada to refine these solutions, and works with Group Functions Technology on AI and automation opportunities. [JM4] Upholding GR’s First Line Responsibility on Geopolitical Risk Supports GR’s first-line responsibility in assessing, monitoring, and reporting geopolitical risks. Serves as a conduit for information pertaining to geopolitical developments across the enterprise, in both (a) disseminating relevant facts to all pertinent stakeholders to drive cohesive fact-based understanding and (b) receiving information from various internal and external groups on their perspectives to inform enterprise-wide viewpoints. Rapid Action Task Force (RATF): Reimagines the RATF and leads administration of the RATF, including agenda development, stakeholder engagement, identification and coordination of SMEs, meeting facilitation, action tracking, debrief materials, and governance documentation. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) & Regulatory Affairs Collaboration: Partners with ERM, Regulatory Affairs, and other risk stakeholders on jurisdictional risk initiatives, RATF-related workstreams, emerging risk assessments, and ad hoc projects, to maintain alignment between GR and Risk. Jurisdictional Risk Rating (JRR): Leads the development, enhancement, and ongoing maintenance of JRR methodology, including model design, scoring frameworks, analytical methodologies, stakeholder consultation, data refreshes, documentation, implementation, and jurisdictional risk assessments. Supports the application of JRR outputs to ERM, Regulatory Affairs, and broader enterprise risk discussions. Geopolitical Intelligence: Monitors and analyses market- and enterprise-level geopolitical developments, including conducting horizon scanning to identify risks, opportunities, and potential implications for Manulife's business and operating environment. Contributes geopolitical insight in developing internal-facing decision-support materials[JM5] . Coordinates the monthly GRTG cycle, including maintaining GRTG materials. Additional Responsibilities Event Planning: Oversees GR accountabilities in cross-functional event planning in partnership with internal and external stakeholders, e.g., Remembering the Fallen. Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Political Science, Communications, Public Affairs, or a related discipline 2-3 years of experience in external affairs, government relations, regulatory affairs, or a related discipline Understanding of external affairs and relevant functions, including communications and government relations Comfort with AI-enabled tools and workflow automation; experience with Copilot Studio, Agent Builder, Power Automate, or similar platforms is an asset Effective analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills Strong communication, collaboration, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels Ability to facilitate discussions, follow up on action items, and effectively collaborate with business partners Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and handle multiple priorities effectively. 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 Toronto, Ontario Working Arrangement Hybrid Salary range is expected to be between $62,850.00 CAD - $104,750.00 CAD Employees 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 hr@manulife.com 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 hr@manulife.com 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.

What you’ll do

The specialist will leverage AI tools to develop government relations content, briefing materials, and geopolitical risk reports for senior management and the Board. They will also lead the administration of the Rapid Action Task Force and maintain jurisdictional risk rating methodologies.

Requirements

Candidates must hold a bachelor's degree in a relevant field and possess 2-3 years of experience in government or regulatory affairs. Proficiency in AI-enabled tools and strong analytical and communication skills are required.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Mental health support
• Vision insurance
• Short-term disability
• Long-term disability
• Life insurance
• AD&D insurance
• Adoption/surrogacy benefits
• Wellness benefits
• Employee/family assistance plans
• Retirement savings plans
• Pension
• Global share ownership plan
• Financial education and counseling
• Paid time off
• Holidays
• Vacation
• Personal days
• Sick days

Listed skills

• Problem solving · Preferred
• Collaboration · Preferred
• Data analysis · Preferred
• Communication · Preferred
• Critical Thinking · Preferred
• Project management · Preferred
• Stakeholder Management · Preferred
• Workflow Automation · Preferred

Other relevant skills

Identified from the job description. Confirm important requirements above.

• Government relations
• Regulatory affairs
• Content creation
• AI tools
• Geopolitical risk assessment
• Data analysis
• Stakeholder management
• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Critical thinking
• Collaboration
• Event planning
• Workflow automation
• Briefing note development
• Project management
• Meeting Facilitation
• Regulatory Affairs
• Horizon Scanning (HS)
• Discussion Facilitation
• Emerging Risk
• Workplace Inclusivity
• External Reporting
• Microsoft Copilot Studio
• Microsoft Power Automate
• Time Off Management
• Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
• Workflow Automation
• Advocacy
• External Affairs
• Information Gathering
• Activism
• Analytics
• Auditing
• Automation
• Mental Health
• BIOS
• Management
• Content Creation
• Event Planning
• Critical Thinking
• Decision Support Systems
• Financial Education
• Geography
• Geopolitics
• International Finance
• Governance
• Lobbying
• Problem Solving
• Risk Management
• Political Sciences

Job areas

• Government & Public Sector
• Finance & Accounting
• Data & Analytics
• Management & Leadership
• Consulting
• External Affairs Specialist
• Regulatory Affairs Specialist
• Legal Professionals Not Elsewhere Classified
• Regulatory Affairs Specialists
• Compliance Officers

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