Director, Group Retirement Services

You are as unique as your background, experience and point of view. Here, you'll be encouraged, empowered and challenged to be your best self. You'll work with dynamic colleagues - experts in their fields - who are eager to share their knowledge with you. Your leaders will inspire and help you reach your potential and soar to new heights. Every day, you'll have new and exciting opportunities to make life brighter for our Clients - who are at the heart of everything we do. Discover how you can make a difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities around the world.

Job Description:

Are you a client-centric leader passionate about providing an exceptional client service experience and developing a team for the same? Have you successfully worked as a leader in the Retirement industry? Do you thrive on seeing a team develop to their fullest potential, solving complex problems and finding innovative ways to transform processes in a fast-paced dynamic environment?

If this sounds like you, then consider joining the GRS Operations Leadership Team. The GRS Operations area is a critical service delivery area for our Plan Sponsors and Members within Group Retirement Services and plays a critical role in helping our Plan Sponsors provide valuable retirement and savings products and services for their members.

This role requires a broad skillset that includes results oriented leadership skills, superior relationship management, exceptional operational capabilities, demonstrated competence for mobilizing teams to solve problems along with delivering results and previous experience in the Retirement Services industry. You create deep business partnerships with areas that support the team and service delivery.

Responsibilities

Reporting to the AVP, Group Retirement Services Operations (GRS Ops), this role is responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership, delivering client service excellence, creating a positive work environment, and driving continuous improvement and innovation for the Client Teams (Defined Contribution and Defined Benefit) within GRS Operations. These teams help our Plan Sponsors (employers) run their retirement programs efficiently by providing support at both the Plan Sponsor Level and Plan Member level for core member services (i.e. enrolments, contributions, withdrawals, annuity plan purchases, death benefits), inquiries, tax support, reporting and regulatory compliance issues. The Director works closely with our Business Development Partners to deliver an exceptional, consistent, cost effective and positive experience for Plan Sponsors, Plan Members, Advisors and Consultants.

This role will focus on:

• Executing our service strategy to provide operational and client service excellence
• Continuously improving value for our clients and business partners
• Building an engaged, talented and high performing team,
• Initiating and leading change in a high volume, fast paced, front line client service environment

What will you do?

• Overall accountability for leadership of a team of approximately 60 people, across multiple managers and functions
• Lead, coach and develop a talented and knowledgeable team focused on delivering client and business results
• Partner and Collaborate across all GRS Operational Teams/Locations
• Liaise effectively with internal partners (examples: Business Development, IT, PMO, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Data Analytics, Training etc.) to ensure superior, cost effective service delivery
• Continually improve the delivery on key performance targets, meeting and improving on published service standards in a cost effective manner and within budget
• Develop and effectively use the management operating system framework (balanced scorecard, KPIs and dashboards) to manage the business
• Lead change initiatives to ensure adoption and execution of planned changes across teams
• Foster a culture of Continuous Improvement through Sun Life's Brighter Way/Lean management system to ensure continued value for our clients and improved productivity gains.
• Develop governance for all business processes and transactions to meet regulatory requirements and business objectives
• Act as a first line of defense in identifying and understanding key risks. Working with our partners to implement, document and monitor key controls to manage and mitigate risks; ensure any process changes do not negate or negatively impact the effectiveness of controls
• Contribute to the overall strategy and direction of GRS Operations through active and informed input in discussions

What do you need to succeed?

• University degree with approximately 5-10 years of relevant experience
• Understanding of Group Retirement Products and Individual Annuity products, Structured Settlement products, Defined Benefits/Contribution (DB/DC) products and Wealth/Stock Group Plans
• In-depth knowledge and experience within the industry as a successful leader
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to develop exceptional leaders/staff. Inspire the team to deliver excellent results in a rapidly changing environment
• Excellent client relationship skills (Client facing role when required - both in person and virtually)
• Ability to collaborate across multiple teams and stakeholders and the ability to hold partners accountable where necessary to achieve optimal outcomes for our clients
• Strong analytical skills (ability to read and interpret data)
• Strong problem solving skills (ability to cut through large amount of data/information and clearly identify the issue that needs to be solved; ability to bring innovative solutions to the table
• Excellent organizational and prioritization skills
• Strong communication skills - written, formal and informal presentations; ability to engage audiences; ability to convey complex issues in a simple, understandable way
• As this position is posted in several locations, we specify that bilingualism (French, English, both oral and written) is required for Quebec only for the frequent interactions with English and French-speaking colleagues or internal partners across Canada or worldwide

Unique requirements

• Occasional Travel
• Overtime during peak periods

What's in it for you?

• Anchored to our Purpose, our Sustainability Plan has three pillars which represent the areas where we have the greatest opportunity to drive positive impact in society: increasing financial security, fostering healthier lives, and advancing sustainable investing
• Stock Ownership Program gives you the chance to invest in Sun Life and get a company match
• Wellness programs that support the three pillars of your health - mental, physical, and financial
• In 2025, Sun Life ranked among the top 100 most sustainable global corporations by Corporate Knights for the 16th consecutive year, leading Canadian insurers
• We are proud to be on the 2024 Best Workplaces in Canada list by Great Place to Work
• We're also listed as one of the Best Workplaces for Women and Best Workplaces with Most Trusted Executive Teams
• We are thrilled to be recognized by Excellence Canada with their top-level certification, the Canada Order of Excellence for Mental Health at Work®, for prioritizing employee well-being, fostering a positive work culture, and achieving excellence in mental health

The Base Pay range is for the primary location for which the job is posted. It may vary depending on the work location of the successful candidate or other factors. In addition to Base Pay, eligible Sun Life employees participate in various incentive plans, payment under which is discretionary and subject to individual and company performance. Certain sales focused roles have sales incentive plans based on individual or group sales results.

Diversity and inclusion have always been at the core of our values at Sun Life. A diverse workforce with wide perspectives and creative ideas benefits our clients, the communities where we operate and all of us as colleagues. We welcome applications from qualified individuals from all backgrounds.

Persons with disabilities who need accommodation in the application process or those needing job postings in an alternative format may e-mail a request to thebrightside@sunlife.com.

At Sun Life we strive to create a flexible work environment where our employees are empowered to do their best work. Several flexible work options are available and can be discussed throughout the selection process depending on the role requirements and individual needs.

We thank all applicants for showing an interest in this position. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Salary Range:

Job Category:

Posting End Date: