Sun Life

AVP, Distribution Channel Marketing

Toronto, Ontario Full time

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:

This role leads the integrated marketing strategy for Retail Advice and Solutions advisor channels. You will shape how we acquire, engage, and retain clients—using data, digital journeys, and AI-enabled marketing—to help advisors grow their insurance and wealth businesses and strengthen client trust.

You are accountable for delivering comprehensive, measurable marketing programs that support advisor acquisition, engagement, and retention of clients—positioning Sun Life as the partner of choice for advisors. You will orchestrate multi-channel campaigns, digital advisor journeys, and thought leadership that enable advisors and wholesalers to drive insurance sales, accelerate wealth growth, and build lasting client trust. The role is highly cross-functional—connecting corporate marketing, product, sales leadership, and the advisor channel to deliver cohesive, personalized experiences at scale.

Strategic Context

This role operates in a hyper-competitive market. Priorities and outcomes are guided by three strategic pillars:

Grow insurance & accelerate wealth growth through segmented strategies, sales enablement, and AI-enabled digital experiences. Grow engaged advisors using programmatic, segment-specific approaches to attract, onboard, and develop high-potential advisors via our wholesale channel. Build advisor–client trust in the AI era with education, financial literacy, and positioning that reinforces the value of advice.

What will you do?

Channel strategy, positioning & stakeholder alignment

  • Own a multi-channel marketing roadmap aligned to Distribution Channel priorities, growth targets, and advisor segment needs.

  • Translate SLFD/IID strategies into measurable initiatives across the advisor lifecycle (acquire, onboard, deepen, retain).

  • Champion the value of advice and ensure marketing reinforces advisor differentiation.

Digital transformation & AI-enabled marketing

  • Integrate modern marketing technology into advisor programs (automation, personalization, scalable content).

  • Build a digital-first foundation that enables rapid testing, segmentation, and journey optimization.

  • Oversee key platforms and capabilities (advisor web experiences, social media outreach, email/SMS, analytics, programmatic relationship management).

  • Continuously evaluate vendors and tools to maintain a competitive edge.

  • Design end-to-end advisor journeys by segment and lifecycle stage (prospect → onboard → deepen → retain).

  • Use data, behavioral signals, and analytics to personalize content and experiences across platforms

  • Build programmatic enablement that helps wholesalers connect with target advisor segments (campaigns, insights, activation-ready content).

  • Establish coaching and training that strengthens marketing adoption and growth outcomes.

Content & thought leadership

  • Set a content strategy that strengthens Sun Life’s leadership in advisor value, financial literacy, and advice in an AI-enabled world.

  • Own content calendars across priority themes (insurance/wealth education, advisor value proposition, client literacy).

  • Scale content creation with the right balance of centralized content and advisor/team customization.

  • Ensure all content meets brand and compliance requirements.

  • Deliver integrated campaigns across owned and paid channels (email, web, social, digital events, enablement).

  • Define KPIs and reporting tied to acquisition, engagement, adoption, retention, and revenue impact.

  • Run test-and-learn (A/B testing, experimentation) and use insights to continuously improve ROI.

Cross-functional leadership

  • Lead through influence, partnering across Sales, Product, Events, Digital, Marketing Ops/MarTech, Compliance, and Corporate Marketing.

  • Ensure alignment of platforms, data flows, and measurement across advisor-facing experiences.

  • Manage key agency/vendor relationships to deliver quality, performance, and value.

  • Represent the advisor channel perspective in broader marketing forums and planning.

People & operating leadership

  • Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing, multidisciplinary team (digital marketing, content, analytics, Martech, advisor/channel expertise).

  • Build team capabilities and an agile, test-and-learn culture that drives continuous improvement.

  • Manage budgets and investment choices across segments, channels, and technology to maximize ROI.

Governance, risk & partner management

  • Maintain governance, standards, and processes for advisor marketing to ensure brand integrity and regulatory compliance.

  • Partner with Compliance and other stakeholders to ensure communications meet Sun Life, CIRO, and provincial requirements.

What do you need to succeed?

The ideal candidate brings a blend of strategic channel marketing leadership, digital/MarTech expertise, strong analytics, and an ability to influence across a complex matrixed organization.

  • Channel & business acumen: Deep understanding of advisor-led distribution and how marketing drives insurance/wealth outcomes.

  • Digital & MarTech leadership: Hands-on capability with marketing automation, CRM, analytics, and AI-enabled marketing; able to translate strategy into technical requirements.

  • Data-driven execution: Strong measurement mindset, funnel thinking, experimentation, and optimization.

  • Influence & communication: Executive-ready storytelling; can align diverse stakeholders and simplify complexity for action.

  • Team leadership: Coaches talent, builds capability, and leads change in fast-moving environments.

  • As this position is posted in several locations, we specify that bilingualism (French, English, both oral and written) is required for Quebec only as the position includes managing both French and English-speaking staff (Quebec and outside Quebec) and providing daily support to the team.

Governance mindset: Experience operating in regulated environments with sound risk, privacy, and compliance practices.

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:

140,000/140 000 - 225,000/225 000

Job Category:

Marketing

Posting End Date:

11/05/2026