AVP, HR Business Partner, DBTS

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:

As a strategic HR leader, you’ll play a pivotal role in enabling our technology strategy and helping our Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives, powered by modern, scalable and secure digital solutions.

The Opportunity

Reporting to the VP, Human Resources, the AVP, HRBP is a key member of a global team HR leadership team supporting Digital Business and Technology Solutions (DBTS).

In this role, you’ll partner closely with senior leaders across Canada Digital and Client Technology Solutions (DCTS) and Global Enterprise Architecture (EA), working across Canada, the United States, India, and the Philippines. You will support a diverse and highly technical portfolio of approximately 1,100 employees, operating in a complex, matrixed and rapidly evolving environment.

This role includes direct leadership of a Director, HRBP, with accountability for setting direction, coaching and ensuring consistent, high-impact HR partnership across the portfolio.

This is a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of Sun Life's digital evolution, aligning human capital strategy with enterprise technology priorities, influencing decisions that shape how we scale, innovate, and deliver for our Clients. You will operate as a trusted advisor to senior technology leaders, with meaningful exposure to enterprise strategy, and lead ambitious talent and culture initiatives in a fast-paced change-driven environment.

What will you do:

Strategic Partnership & Advisory

• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor and thought partner to Executive leadership, contributing to business strategy and shaping integrated people strategies, actions and outcomes
• Partner directly with senior leaders to provide coaching, consulting, constructive challenge, and perspective on complex organizational and talent decisions
• Collaborate with the SVP, CIO DCTS and the Global Chief Architect to translate technology and architecture priorities into clear, actionable human capital strategies
• Lead and advise on organizational design, role clarity, and capability models to enable scale, speed, and innovation across technology teams
• Drive alignment between DBTS global priorities, and DCTS objectives and Sun Life Canada's strategy

Talent & Culture Leadership

• Lead executive-level talent searches in partnership with internal and external recruiting partners
• Shape and advance innovative talent strategies to attract, develop, and retain top technology talent in a highly competitive market
• Advance the end-to-end talent and culture agenda, including organizational effectiveness, transformation, change management, leadership development and strategic workforce planning
• Build deep understanding of HR, technology and external industry trends to future-proof talent capabilities and inform long-term talent decisions
• Champion inclusive leadership and foster a culture that supports innovation, engagement, and sustainable performance

People Leadership & HRBP Excellence

• Provide direct leadership, coaching, and development to a Director, HRBP, ensuring strong, consistent, and strategic HR partnership across the technology portfolio
• Set clear expectations for HRBP effectiveness, executive presence, and business impact
• Act as a mentor and role model for senior HR leaders, strengthening overall HRBP capability and succession
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the HRBP team

Global Delivery & Matrix Leadership

• Connect closely with Sun Life Global Solutions teams in India and Philippines to enable effective global deliver and a consistent employee experience
• Lead and deliver enterprise HR programs including Talent, Succession, Engagement, myPay and myPerformance.
• Collaborate across matrixed structures to integrate talent and HR initiatives with broader business objectives
• Engage, co-create, and problem solve with HR colleagues across Centres of Expertise, People Services and HRBP teams to address business challenges and optimize the employee and leader experience

Data, Insights & Risk Stewardship

• Leverage people data, insights and analytics to provide proactive, evidence-based advice that informs business and talent decisions
• Partner with Finance and business leaders on headcount planning, resource trade-offs, and disciplined workforce investment aligned to technology initiatives
• Apply strong judgment and discretion in complex, sensitive, and confidential situations, balancing risk, governance, and enterprise impact

What You'll Bring

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline and/or CHRP/CHRL designation
• 15+ years of progressive Human Resources, including experience leading senior HR professionals
• Proven track record of partnering with senior executives in technology focused, engineering-heavy environments
• Deep understanding of the intersection of technology, business strategy, and human capital management
• Demonstrated experience advising leaders in modern technology operating models, including product, platform, and enterprise architecture environments
• Strong risk and governance mindset with the ability to manage organizational risk effectively
• Exceptional strategic thinking and business acumen, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into practical, high-impact people strategies
• Executive presence and credibility, with the ability to influence, challenge and build trust with senior leaders
• Creative and systems-oriented thinker with a holistic view of the employee and leader life cycle
• Proven experience leading significant organizational change and transformation initiatives
• Self-starter with the ability to identify and opportunities, navigate ambiguity, and drive outcomes
• Comfort operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment, with the ability to adapt and pivot through change
• Analytical and curious mindset, with experience in digital transformation, agile ways of working, and change management
• Commitment to inclusive leadership and building diverse, high-performing teams
• Strong understanding of technology industry trends, software development lifecycles, and digital platforms, with the ability to influence senior technical leaders

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:

Human Resources

Posting End Date:

15/03/2026