AVP, Advanced Security Analytics and Automation

Bring us your passion for digital or data analytics, and we’ll put you to work on exciting initiatives that answer the challenge: "How can we do that better?” Working with a dedicated team of energetic, forward-thinking innovators, you’ll stretch your imagination and sharpen your skills on the leading-edge projects that are keeping Sun Life Financial ahead of the curve. You want more than a job; you want a career - a career with a company that encourages learning and personal growth. You want to be “one of the best”.

Job Description:

Position Summary

Sun Life is seeking a highly experienced and strategic leader to establish and direct a centralized function that addresses emerging and intersecting threats related to Cyber Security and Fraud. This newly created role will lead Information Security's data and forensic capabilities, transforming disparate security and transactional data into actionable intelligence that protects the organization's digital assets, financial integrity, and customer trust.

This position will establish a unified defense shield that enables proactive detection of fraud, internal/external threats, and risk mitigation through data, analytics, and Machine Learning (ML) / Artificial Intelligence (AI), directly impacting the bottom line by minimizing financial losses and reducing mean-time-to-detect and mean-time-to-respond metrics.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategy Execution & Vision

• Translate the overall Advanced Analytics, SIEM, and Account Take Over (ATO) / Fraud strategy into executable roadmaps and operational plans aligned with enterprise business goals
• Establish and operate an Operating Model supporting identification of security and fraud incidents with continuous feedback loops for faster detections
• Champion a multilayered functional and system architecture providing investigative and forensic insights in real-time environments
• Drive innovative thinking to add value through comprehensive understanding of fraud, internal/external threats, risk mitigation, and security incident management
• Create long-term plans to carry out functional and cross-functional objectives, developing budgets for multiple departments and forecasting organizational needs

Analytics & Technology Leadership

• Define the strategic roadmap for advanced security analytics, focusing on ML model deployment for anomalous and malicious activity detection, User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA), and predictive risk scoring
• Ensure stability, performance, and log source coverage of the SIEM platform, including data ingestion pipeline management and cost-optimization initiatives
• Manage reliability, completeness, and cost-effectiveness of log ingestion, prioritizing data quality and normalization
• Integrate planning of advanced analytics with various security and business fraud teams to deliver proactive and near real-time intelligence
• Strategize scalable platforms and integrate advanced analytics (AI/ML) into detection pipelines

Operational Excellence

• Establish and operate a best-in-class Global Fusion Center delivering peak efficiency with low Mean-Time-to-Detect (MTTD) and Mean-Time-to-Respond (MTTR)
• Integrate intelligence across cyber security, fraud, financial crime, third-party risk, insider threat, and geopolitical risk
• Own proactive identification processes and conduct regular tabletop exercises and post-mortem analysis for continuous refinement
• Ensure streamlined processes across security and business fraud teams for proactive detection and loss reduction
• Maintain operational and capital budgets for all associated programs, ensuring optimal resource allocation for maximum ROI

Fraud Prevention & Risk Mitigation

• Integrate security and advanced analytics capabilities into enterprise-wide fraud prevention processes
• Shift focus toward near real-time detection of account takeover (ATO) and fraud
• Oversee performance and tuning of fraud detection models ( ML / AI ) for internal and external actors
• Provide oversight to identify new data sources and features that improve fraud catch rates without impacting legitimate customer transactions
• Directly mitigate risks including external cyber threats, financial frauds, insider threats, revenue loss, and fragmented reporting

Team Management & Development

• Directly lead, manage, and mentor leads of the Advanced Analytics, SIEM Engineering, and Global Fusion Center teams
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and cross-functional collaboration
• Develop enterprise leadership talent with expertise in Advanced Analytics, SIEM management, and Global Fusion Center operations
• Manage day-to-day work using digital enterprise agile methodology with agile teams

Stakeholder & Vendor Management

• Serve as central liaison for key internal stakeholders across Markets, Business Units (Canada GB, GRS, Advisors), Corporate Fraud Risk Management, HR, Security Risk and Crisis Management, Digital, DBTS, Risk, Legal, and Compliance
• Manage communications with senior leadership and executive management, creating win-win scenarios and gaining consensus while maintaining relationships
• Deliver formal presentations to various committees, stakeholders, and executives
• Prepare executive-level reports and documents
• Establish and maintain strategic relationships with key vendors to identify opportunities, innovate, and reach cost-effective solutions

Required Qualifications:

Education & Experience

• University degree and professional designation with over 10 years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Expert knowledge in recognized fields requiring command of theory, principles, and diverse practices

Technical Expertise

• Clear understanding of business processes, technological advancements, and solutioning skills across multiple disciplines (business, security, technology stack)
• Expert-level understanding of frameworks for data & analytics, data architecture, platforms, security risks, and related offenses
• Deep knowledge of fraud trends and correlation with various events and incidents
• Experience with ML/AI model deployment, UEBA, SIEM platforms, and security analytics
• Understanding of data pipeline management, log ingestion, and data quality/normalization

Leadership & Competencies

• Strong leadership and decision-making capabilities with proven ability to lead large and highly-specialized teams
• Excellent communication skills for seamless collaboration across global organizations
• Ability to manage stakeholders, understand requirements, identify issues and risks
• Proven capability to build trusted relationships with teams, business partners, and business units
• Strategic thinking within broadly defined problems requiring analytical, interpretative, evaluative, and constructive approaches
• Self-starter and self-motivated, requiring minimum guidance
• Ability to align with leadership on high-level matters and make independent day-to-day decisions

What’s in it for you?

• Great Place to Work® Certified for Most Trusted Executive Team in Canada – 2025, 2024 and 2023
• Great Place to Work® Certified for Best Workplaces in Canada - 2025
• Canada Order of Excellence for Mental Health at Work® certification from Excellence Canada. Sun Life is one of only four companies in Canada to ever receive this certification – 2024
• Top Work Places® for Remote Work – Monster Canada - 2024
• Great Place to Work® Certified for Best Workplaces in Canada – 2024 and 2022
• Great Place to Work® Certified for Best Workplaces for Women in Canada - 2024
• Flexible hybrid work model. #LI-Hybrid
• Pension, stock and savings programs to help build and enhance your future financial security
• Work and professional development that is united by our Purpose: to help Clients and Employees achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives
• A friendly, collaborative and inclusive culture
• Be part of our continuous improvement journey in developing the next greatest digital enterprise experience.
• Competitive salary and bonus structure influenced by market range data
• The opportunity to move along a variety of career paths with amazing networking potential

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.

We are proud to be a hybrid organization that offers our employees the choice and flexibility to work from both the office and virtually based on the needs of the business, our Clients and you! Several work options are available and can be discussed throughout the selection process depending on the role requirements and individual needs.

We may use artificial intelligence to support candidate sourcing, screening, interview scheduling.

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

Salary Range:

145,000/145 000 - 235,000/235 000

Job Category:

IT - Technology Services

Posting End Date:

15/03/2026