Search Engine Optimization Manager

If you’ve worked in SEO long enough, you know how rare it is to report into someone who actually understands the craft.

That’s why this SEO Manager role at Manulife stands out to me.

The role reports into Bharat Thakare — one of the strongest enterprise SEO leaders in the space — and the mandate appears to be much bigger than a typical Canada-only SEO role.

From what I understand, the scope likely spans North America and includes collaboration with international teams as well.

What makes this especially interesting is the breadth of ownership:

* SEO strategy and roadmap
* Cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management
* Execution and delivery
* Analytics, reporting, and performance measurement
* Content SEO / GEO
* Tool ownership and operational processes

So if you’re looking for a role that combines strategic influence with hands-on impact inside a large enterprise environment, this could be a strong opportunity.

If interested, DM me (Mihir Naik) your resume and I’ll gladly make an intro.

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Description

We are seeking a highly experienced Search Engine Optimization Manager to lead North American SEO & GEO programs while supporting global SEO initiatives across the organization. This role is designed for a strategic, data-driven SEO leader with deep expertise in technical and content SEO, enterprise-level operations, and cross-functional program management.

The ideal candidate brings strong industry experience in Retail, eCommerce, or Finance/Insurance, thrives in a fast-paced enterprise environment, and has a proven track record of delivering exceptional organic business results.

Position Responsibilities:

Strategy & Leadership

• Oversee all in-house SEO and GEO programs for North America.
• Support other global SEO initiatives in partnership with international teams.
• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize new SEO/GEO opportunities for business growth.
• Coach and develop the SEO team to meet industry benchmarks and elevate operational excellence.
• Establish prioritization frameworks and work with cross-functional partners (IT, Product, Publishing, Content, Social) to unblock implementation and accelerate delivery.

Execution & Delivery

• Manage day-to-day SEO/GEO operations, including program tracking at an item/deliverable level.
• Ensure all team outputs are outcome-driven, aligned to industry best practices, and ladder up to business goals.
• Maintain delivery and implementation trackers across technical and content pipelines.
• Flag and escalate blocked or delayed implementation items (technical or content).
• Maintain a technical backlog of SEO improvements, new CMS features, and bug fixes.

Analytics, Reporting & Performance

• Own end-to-end reporting for SEO/GEO performance and business impact.
• Analyze data (traffic, rankings, conversions, engagement, logs, crawlability) to identify opportunities.
• Build and deliver executive-level presentations for cross-functional and leadership teams.
• Monitor and report on the impact of all SEO recommendations in partnership with SEO Product.

Content SEO & GEO Operations

• Manage GEO/SEO content strategy and day-to-day operations.
• Work cross-functionally with Marketing, Publishing, and Content SEO teams to support BAU initiatives.
• Maintain content delivery and implementation trackers to ensure quality and timeliness.
• Establish and enforce Content QA processes.
• Support Social Media team with GEO-focused social posts and content strategy.
• Partner with SEO Product and Social teams to deliver comprehensive GEO impact initiatives.

Tools & Technology Ownership

• Maintain and govern SEMRush workspaces, projects, keyword sets, and prompt tracking.
• Hands-on daily use of:
  • Google Search Console
  • Adobe Analytics or Google Analytics
  • SEMRush
  • SiteImprove
  • Server log analysis tools
  • Screaming Frog
  • Other enterprise-grade SEO technologies

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum 8+ years of SEO experience in Retail, eCommerce, or Finance/Insurance at an enterprise level.
• 3-5 years of experience leading teams within a direct report or project management capacity.
• Proven team management experience in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated success in driving exceptional organic performance and business results.
• Strong technical SEO knowledge including crawlability, indexation, site architecture, schema, Core Web Vitals, and log analysis.
• Solid understanding of content SEO, editorial optimization, GEO localization strategies, and content governance.
• Hands-on experience with AEM or other enterprise CMS, as well as strong foundational knowledge of HTML and networking concepts.
• Comfortable with data analysis, forecasting, reporting, and creating C-suite-ready presentations.
• Experienced in Agile methodologies and working with JIRA for sprint planning and issue management.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and storytelling abilities for executive-level audiences.
• Ability to influence and collaborate effectively with cross-functional partners.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and comfort managing multiple parallel workstreams.
• Outcome-driven mindset focused on measurable impact and continuous improvement.
• Ability to thrive in a highly complex, matrixed global organization.

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 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

$92,900.00 CAD - $142,900.00 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.