AVP, Global People Services (GPS) - Service Readiness & Innovation

The AVP, Global People Services (GPS) - Service Readiness & Innovation ensures the GPS strategy and operating model translate into coordinated, launch‑ready, scalable services. This leader integrates service readiness, product enablement, knowledge, training, regional execution, and innovation so delivery teams can provide consistent, compliant, and experience‑led service. The role monitors operating‑model effectiveness, closes service alignment and enablement gaps, and coordinates new or changed services. It confirms impacts, requirements, team readiness, and risks before launch.

Key Accountabilities

- Enable the GPS strategy and operating model
- Translate GPS strategy into practical readiness, product, knowledge, training, and innovation priorities.
- Assess operating‑model effectiveness and address gaps, duplication, handoffs, and capability needs.
- Align service scope, ownership, channels, and enabling capabilities; recommend improvements that strengthen scale and colleague experience.
- Lead end‑to‑end service readiness and launch coordination.
- Lead intake, impact assessment, planning, validation, cutover, hypercare, and post‑launch review for changes entering GPS.
- Confirm ownership, process, controls, capacity, technology, data, knowledge, training, communications, escalation paths, and success measures before services go‑live.
- Manage cross‑service dependencies, resource constraints, sequencing, and launch risks; elevate unresolved issues through GPS governance.
- Lead service design, product ownership, and innovation for GPS.




- Translate colleague and stakeholder needs into scalable service models, journeys, workflows, requirements, and product road‑maps.
- Lead GPS product ownership, balancing business value, experience, operational needs, controls, and technical feasibility.
- Build and scale an innovation pipeline spanning automation, AI, self‑service, workflow, and knowledge, with explicit adoption and benefit measures.
- Build GPS knowledge, training, and change readiness.
- Set standards for operational knowledge, procedures, playbooks, learning content, and readiness evidence.
- Ensure accurate, approved knowledge, role‑based training, communications, and adoption support are available before launch.
- Use quality, search, case, and experience insights to improve effectiveness and reduce avoidable contacts and errors.
- Lead regional service readiness orchestration.
- Lead regional Service Delivery Managers for International, North America, and Asia, balancing global consistency with local requirements.
- Coordinate readiness across COEs, People Partners, Technology, Operations, and delivery teams using common routines, tools, and reporting.
- Build regional accountability for stakeholder engagement, launch preparation, risk management, adoption, and stabilization.
- Create executive visibility and performance accountability.




- Provide dashboards and readiness reviews covering demand, status, dependencies, decisions, adoption, and benefits.
- Track launch quality, disruption, knowledge effectiveness, training, adoption, automation, and stakeholder confidence.
- Recommend what to start, stop, sequence, defer, or remediate, using post‑launch insights to prevent recurring failures.

Leadership Scope

- GPS Innovation Leader, GPS Product Owner, Knowledge Readiness and Training Analyst, and three regional GPS Service Delivery Managers.

Leadership Expectations

- Balance colleague experience, operational stability, risk, speed, and business value across a complex global matrix.
- Create clarity and accountability, influence senior stakeholders, and champion simplification, standardization, automation, AI, and digital‑first design.
- Use sound judgment and evidence to communicate readiness recommendations, including when launches should pause or be remediated.

Key Outcomes / Measures of Success

- Consistent readiness disciplines, clear service ownership, trained teams, accurate knowledge, and effective controls.
- More predictable launches, faster adoption and value realization, and fewer defects, escalations, and downstream impacts.
- A prioritized product and innovation roadmap that improves colleague experience, quality, efficiency, scale, and global consistency.

Key Partnerships

- Global Head of People Operations
- GPS Assistance
- Pathways
- Rewards
- Governance & Assurance leaders
- People & Comms COEs
- People Partner Teams
- People Technology
- Product and Digital teams
- Risk, Legal, Compliance, Priva

📌 AVP, Global People Services (Canada)
🏢 Manulife/John Hancock
📍 Canada