AVP Insurance Distribution

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.

At Sun Life, we're driven by our Purpose: helping our Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. Our values shape how we work: caring, authentic, bold, inspiring, and impactful.

When you join Sun Life, you'll work with passionate colleagues and empowering leaders who support your growth and celebrate your contributions, so you can make a meaningful difference in our Clients' lives.

Discover how you can make a difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities around the world.

Job Description:

Reporting to the Vice President, Distribution (SLFD), this role leads the Insurance Sales Director (ISD) team and translates Insurance Distribution strategy into consistent market execution. Operating with broad autonomy within the direction established by the Vice President, Distribution, the leader sets priorities, makes timely decisions, strengthens advisor and firm relationships, builds sales capability and enables sustainable life and health insurance growth anchored in Client needs.

Success at the AVP level requires creating clarity from complexity, connecting decisions to Purpose and Client outcomes, empowering experienced leaders within clear decision rights, influencing across organizational boundaries and balancing care with accountability.

What will you do?

Shape strategy and market execution

• Shape and evolve the sales strategy for the ISD channel within the direction established by the Vice President, Distribution, Distribution.
• Translate enterprise priorities into clear outcomes, boundaries, decision rights and measures that enable the ISD team to act with ownership.
• Look beyond current practices and use market, competitive, advisor and Client insights to identify opportunities that create future value.
• Connect product, channel, digital and enablement roadmaps to frontline execution through strong enterprise partnership.

Lead sales performance and advisor growth

• Lead regional business planning that grows advisor relationships, expands advisor penetration and delivers life and health insurance sales outcomes.
• Establish an outcome-based operating rhythm and pipeline visibility; use data and human judgement to focus resources, remove barriers and make timely decisions.
• Strengthen advanced and large case support, including business owner and high-net-worth markets.
• Champion a consistent advisor experience and a differentiated Sun Life value proposition across regions.

Build a high-performing, future-ready team

• Set a clear, motivating direction and create accountability for individual and collective outcomes
• Build current and future capability through candid feedback, coaching, succession planning, talent mobility and targeted development
• Create trust, inclusion and psychological safety so diverse perspectives and constructive challenge improve decisions
• Prepare the team for digitally enabled ways of working and responsible use of data, AI and technology
• Balance care with accountability and address behaviours or systems that undermine impact

Deliver through enterprise partnership and governance

• Build trusted relationships across Distribution and with product, underwriting, marketing, operations, analytics, technology, finance, risk and compliance
• Integrate diverse perspectives, resolve competing priorities and work across boundaries to deliver shared Client and business outcomes
• Ensure sales activity complies with Sun Life policies, procedures, guidelines and external regulatory requirements
• Identify and manage material sales, conduct, operational and reputational risks; escalate appropriately and reinforce a strong risk culture
• Manage resources responsibly and measure success through outcomes and Client impact, not activity

What do you need to succeed?

• Senior leadership experience in insurance or financial services distribution.
• Experience leading senior sales professionals or geographically dispersed teams.
• Deep knowledge of life and health insurance distribution, advisor practices, complex cases and Canadian regulation.
• Proven ability to translate strategy into practical plans and measurable results.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, supported by data-driven decision-making.
• Enterprise mindset with the ability to influence senior leaders and align cross-functional partners.
• Strong people leadership across coaching, performance, talent, succession and change.
• Excellent executive communication, negotiation and relationship-building skills.
• Sound judgement, integrity and commitment to Client outcomes, inclusion, risk and compliance.
• University degree or equivalent education and experience

Assets

• Professional financial planning or insurance designation such as CFP, CLU or equivalent
• Life and health insurance licence or prior licensing experience
• Experience in advanced markets, including business owner, high-net-worth, tax and estate planning solutions

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 View email address on jobs.swagapp.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.

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.

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