VP, Market Development GRS

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Job Description:

Group Retirement Services  

Group Retirement Services is Canada's leading provider of defined contribution retirement savings plans, helping 1.2 million Canadians preparing for, and in retirement.

Being an industry leader and helping millions of Canadians with their savings and retirement goals is a profound responsibility. We acknowledge that responsibility with respect, confidence and passion – and we are looking for a high performing and talented individual to help us remain competitive.

The Role of Vice President, Market Development GRS

Reporting to the Senior Vice President, GRS, the Vice-President Market Development is accountable for developing and executing product and marketing strategies and solutions that will differentiate Sun Life Financial in the marketplace and support our position as the leading Group Retirement provider in Canada.   The incumbent will ensure we remain on the leading edge of opportunities as the Group market and environment continue to evolve and will play a role in the development of our brand positioning. The incumbent will also ensure that strong partnerships are in place across businesses to leverage the full potential for the organization as a whole.

This role will be accountable for leading the teams that deliver go-to-market strategies and the design and delivery of GRS products.  This role is accountable for representing GRS product needs, equipping business development teams with product knowledge and insights and direct support of targeted Sponsor business development.   The incumbent will lead the transformation of GRS as we build our capability and our focus in the areas of analytics and digital.

This role will be responsible for leading the various teams that deliver our broad product and marketing functions including product and service management, development and implementation, marketing strategies and external communication including brand positioning, and customer research & insight.  This role will contribute to the evolution of the overall SLF Canada and GRS strategy and will represent GRS on many cross BU initiatives.

Key Priorities

• Development of the overall strategic direction and execution of key GRS product strategies and initiatives

• Development of go-to-market strategies for Sponsor

• Maintain a high profile for GRS in the marketplace through active and visible participation in the industry: speaking engagements, membership in industry organizations, and attendance at industry conferences

• Champion and foster a culture and mindset of innovation and continuous improvement within GRS

• Provide strategic people leadership to attract and develop a high performing team of professionals, ensuring talent development and succession planning

Digital

• Accountable for the vision of our digital strategy for Plan Sponsors and the Advisor/Consultant experience, capitalizing on opportunities to transform our current business model through the use of digital solutions and new business models

• Lead the Digital Enterprise agenda, including

  • Development and leadership of the Digital Enterprise vision and roadmap for GRS

  • Prioritization of the backlog for all squads supporting GRS

  • Direction, support and oversight of the Sponsor Journey squads (direct reporting), as well as GRS Platform squads (dotted line reporting to squads in Ops) and Member Journey squads (dotted line reporting to squads in CXO)

• Interface with different DE chapters across SLF Canada with a OneSun mindset, including Cdn Ops, CXO, DBTS

Marketing & Communications

• Providing leadership in the strategic development and implementation of the GRS’ marketing and communication strategies, plans and deliverables for external and internal audiences,

• Develop, lead and execute on the GRS market research, strategy and communications mandate to differentiate Sun Life as an innovator and thought leader in the Group Retirement market in Canada.

• Identify and execute the marketing strategy to support the GRS strategic plan in partnership with the Market Development leadership team

• Establish strong working relationships with peers in Group Benefits Market Development and key Business Development team members across Canada including Regional Vice-Presidents, Business Development Directors and Account Executives

• Maintain a high profile for Sun Life Financial and GRS in the marketplace through active and visible participation in the industry: speaking engagements, membership in industry organizations, and attendance at industry conferences

Product and Research

• Providing business leadership and oversight to GRS' product project and program management from inception through implementation,

• Creation, development and launch of innovative product offerings for plan sponsors and members with an emphasis on sustainable growth,

• Accountable for assessment of overall impact using post implementation feedback to measure success of offering

• Through both the creation and collection of marketplace insights, research  and analytics, accountable for bridging the gap from analysis to business interpretation to identify competitive advantage in the marketplace, new growth opportunities and enhancements to the customer experience,

• Leads the team responsible for conducting market research and data analysis to understand industry trends (e.g. new entrants, consolidation, new products/features) and stakeholder needs, as well as gathering competitive intelligence information regarding administration of other organizations and translating this into business opportunities for GRS and SLF

Investments Solutions

• Accountable for leading a team of investment professionals across Canada who provide:  investment solutions and governance support to GRS clients, advisors and consultants; investment expertise within GRS to client facing and internal teams; and strategic direction for bringing innovative investment products to market.  

• Responsible for overseeing relationships with investment managers, including contract and fee negotiations; bringing investment products to the market, and representing Investment Solutions on various committees. 

• Overseeing the execution of   pension committee investment and education, investment fund selection, and on-going monitoring of investment managers and funds are also within the scope of this role

Candidate Profile

Required Competencies:

• Strong Strategic orientation - ability to identify and pursue opportunities that will either build on or extend our business model and create new sources of revenue.  Ability to contribute at the SLF Canada level and to find ways of leveraging GRS more broadly

• Strong client focus orientation - including ability to connect with clients at senior levels, understand their strategic direction and translate into lead edge solutions

• Thought leadership - ability to represent GRS and SL Canada in the market with thought leadership on key topics

• Ability to set the vision and provide leadership to Digital capability building

• Strategic, conceptual thinker with the ability to use data and insights to influence the development of strategy with senior leaders.

• Anticipates and identifies changes in the market, clients, industry and economic trends and translates these into actions that drive business objectives forward. 

• Proven ability to influence the opinion of others

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills

• Strong commitment to building constructive partnerships (both internal & external)

• Proven ability to manage large scale programs and projects with focus on delivery of outcomes

• Solid knowledge of the group retirement services industry

• Solid knowledge of GRS functional areas 

• Excellent presentation skills and personal presence.

• Fluency in French would be an asset

Education and Experience:

• University education or equivalent and Insurance Industry work experience of 10-15 years

• 5-10 years of progressive experience in GRS is preferrable

• Strong background in market development, client relationships and implementation of strategic initiatives

• 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.

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:

195,000/195 000 - 270,000/270 000

Job Category:

General Management

Posting End Date:

18/12/2025