Director, AI Initiatives, Canadian Operations

Director, AI Initiatives, Canadian OperationsYou 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 DescriptionAbout the RoleSun Life Canada is on an exciting journey of innovation and transformation to deepen our commitment to our One Sun purpose “To help clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives.” Sun Life Canada Operations includes a team of over 5,000 dedicated team members across Canada and SL Global Solutions in Asia. We support client onboarding, processing, and service delivery across Sun Life’s Canadian business. Our team handles over 130 million interactions with Clients, plan sponsors and advisors annually, putting clients at the centre of everything we do.Reporting to the AVP, Transformation, Key Initiatives & Change, the Director, AI Initiatives, Canadian Operations will lead the development and implementation of AI strategies to drive innovation, efficiency and transformation across Canadian Operations. This role will partner closely with the Canadian Operations Leadership Team (COLT), the Data COE and other senior leaders to proactively identify and prioritize high‑impact opportunities where AI can be a strategic differentiation, unlocking competitive advantage and driving measurable business outcomes and operational efficiencies. The Director will act as a bridge between business leaders, technology teams, outside vendors and compliance functions, ensuring AI initiatives align with corporate strategy, regulatory requirements and ethical AI principles.What You Will Be DoingAI Strategy & VisionDevelop and execute a comprehensive Canadian Operations’ AI strategy aligned with Sun Life’s business objectivesIdentify emerging AI trends and assess their potential impact on Canadian operationsDevelop and maintain a roadmap for AI initiatives, ensuring a balanced portfolio of short‑term wins and long‑term strategic projectsProgram Management and Capability BuildingPartner with Data Science COE, COLT and cross‑functional teams to ensure seamless integration of AI solutions; identify, prioritize and oversee high‑impact Gen AI use casesEngage with external partners, vendors and academic institutions for cutting‑edge AI research and developmentSupport change management as AI initiatives move from proof‑of‑concept (POC) to implementation/business as usual (BAU)Collaborate with other areas of SL to share learnings, identify synergies and leverage best practices in AI implementationAct as a liaison between technical teams and business stakeholders, translating complex AI concepts into business value propositionsAI GovernanceEnsure all AI initiatives comply with data privacy regulations and ethical standards – including OSFI E‑23 and ISO 42001Establish governance frameworks for AI systems and machine learning modelsAI Technical KnowledgeProficient with ML concepts including bagging and boosting techniques, common algorithms like XGBoost and Decision Tree, and Deep Learning concepts including RNN and CNNExperience with multi‑cloud AI services AWS SageMaker, Lambda, Bedrock, and Azure Co‑pilot Studio and Agent FoundryComfortable with common AI data structures including star and snowflake schemasDemonstrated experience in data transformation, data manipulation and working with structured vs. unstructured dataStrong understanding of APIs, MCPs, microservices architecture and cloud‑native developmentHands‑on expertise with GenAI frameworks and LLM APIs with experience developing AI bots/agents with reasoning and tool‑use capabilitiesStrong understanding of RAG techniques, prompt engineering and fine‑tuning methodologies and familiarity with vector databases and embedding modelsExposure to agentic frameworks including LangChain, LangGraph and CrewAIWhat You Need To SucceedBachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, AI or equivalent5+ years of experience in AI and Data product developmentProven track record deploying AI solutions, preferably in financial services or similar sectorsStrong understanding of AI/ML, Gen AI and agentic algorithms, frameworks and toolsStrategic thinking and problem‑solving capabilitiesExcellent communication skills for conveying complex technical concepts to non‑technical stakeholdersProven leadership and influencing skillsExperience working in fast‑paced, agile environmentsWhat’s in it for you?Being a member of the Sun Life family, a group of people united by our Purpose: to help Clients and Employees achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives.As a hybrid organization, you and your leader use business and Client needs to choose where you work, at home or in the office.We’re committed to creating an inclusive and respectful environment. Our goal is to make sure all our employees have the chance to live up to their full potential.We are thrilled to be recognized by Excellence Canada with their top‑level certification, the Canada Order of Excellence for Mental Health at Work®, for prioritizing employee well‑being, fostering a positive work culture and achieving excellence in mental health.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.Salary Range: 110,000/110 000 – 180,000/180 000Diversity 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 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.Job Category: Project Management – ProcessPosting End Date: 22/01/2026 #J-18808-Ljbffr