AVP & Senior Counsel, Global Contracts & Technology

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Anchored in our ambition to be the number one choice for customers, we operate as Manulife across Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, providing financial advice, insurance and health solutions for individuals, groups and businesses. Through Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, we offer global investment solutions, financial advice, and retirement plan services to individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2025, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 106,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 37 million customers with operations across 25 markets globally. We trade as ‘MFC’ on the Toronto, New York, and Philippine stock exchanges, and under ‘945’ on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.
JOB DESCRIPTION
People Leader Role: No

About the Position

Manulife is seeking an attorney with extensive experience in general commercial law and information technology expertise to join its Global Contracts & Technology (GCT) Legal team as AVP & Senior Counsel, based in Hong Kong, SAR. GCT Legal provides support for complex commercial matters, particularly in the areas of supplier and IT contracting, and provides guidance to key business areas on legal and regulatory matters. The role offers meaningful exposure to strategic decision-making, senior leaders and the opportunity to shape legal outcomes, and the position will form a part of an extensive and skilled Asia Regional Legal Team, with a primary focus on providing legal support for Manulife’s Asia segment. The selected candidate will report directly to the Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Global Contracts & Technology based in the U.S.

Manulife embraces a hybrid work model that balances in-office collaboration with the flexibility of virtual work. Our team members and leaders are expected to foster connection and teamwork by being present in the office at least 3 days per week.

Responsibilities

• Reviewing and negotiating a wide variety of complex strategic supplier and IT agreements, including related ordering documents for AI-enabled services, software-as-a-service, software licensing & support, professional services, application development, support and testing, managed services, and business process outsourcing;
• Providing advice with respect to confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, data protection agreements, information security requirements and other third-party risk management activities;
• Supporting and enabling the adoption and optimization of new legal technologies, including AI-enabled legal tools, to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the legal function;
• Providing strategic legal counsel and advice to senior business leaders on matters relating to Manulife’s strategic supplier relationships;
• Identifying, analyzing and mitigating legal risks to help the company achieve its business objectives within a complex regulatory environment;
• Collaborating with colleagues across functions and segments, as needed;
• Providing counsel and advice with respect to sourcing activities conducted by Manulife’s Procurement function, including competitive bidding activities;
• Developing and maintaining agreement templates, contract playbooks and other guidance materials, companion documents, and other commonly used precedents to enhance GCT Legal’s efficiency;

Required Skills and Experience

• Qualified as a solicitor in Hong Kong (admitted by the Law Society of Hong Kong) is preferred Alternatively, admitted as a lawyer in another common-law jurisdiction (e.g., Singapore, Australia and Canada) and eligible to work in Hong Kong;
• A minimum of 10 years of sophisticated corporate and transactional legal experience, gained through a combination of in-house and law firm roles, experience working with or for regulated financial institutions is strongly preferred
• Significant experience in drafting and negotiating complex commercial contracts, with deep experience in supplier and IT agreements strongly preferred
• Exceptional business acumen and judgment, with the ability to provide practical, solution-oriented legal advice that aligns with business goals
• Excellent negotiation, communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and build consensus with senior leaders and external stakeholders
• Excellent written and spoken English is required; Cantonese and Mandarin are optional
• Self-starter with the ability to manage multiple projects and prioritize effectively
• Collaborative team player who can work independently without significant supervision
• Proactive learner who can adapt to a rapidly changing legal and business environment

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.
This job description is not a comprehensive listing of all job duties required for this role. We reserve the right to change these duties or assign additional duties at any time with or without notice

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 [email protected].