Assistant Vice-President, Technology Lead, Health

Sun Life; Fairview; Hybrid; CAD 145,000 - 235,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension programs

Stock options

Hybrid work model

Professional development

Competitive base salary + bonus

Job summary

Sun Life Canada seeks an AVP, Technology Lead to own a major health benefits technology portfolio including claims adjudication, processing, virtual health and online pharmacy systems.

You will lead a 250+ person technology organization, shape strategy, drive modernization, and build a world-class engineering culture balancing breakthrough innovation with operational excellence.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in senior technology leadership roles for very large technology portfolios.
• Experience modernizing platforms and enabling mission-critical systems.
• Strong financial acumen - managing large budgets, vendor portfolios, and ROI.
• Knowledge with Mainframe environments is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Define and communicate a technology vision bridging near-term delivery with long-term platform modernization across health benefits platforms.
• Lead evolution of Sun Life's health technology ecosystem and make build vs. buy vs. partner decisions in a large portfolio.
• Champion modern engineering practices, standards and architectural excellence while managing technical debt.
• Partner with Business, Architecture and Enterprise Technology to design resilient, scalable platforms delivering strong member experiences.
• Accountable for end-to-end delivery across agile squads, driving velocity, quality and reliability.
• Manage relationships with system integrators and vendors and ensure knowledge transfer.
• Lead 250+ technology professionals and build high-performing teams.
• Oversee budgeting, cost optimization and vendor alignment with business value.

Skills

Technology leadership

Strategic planning

Delivery excellence

Stakeholder management

People leadership

Financial acumen

Mainframe knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Engineering or related field

Job description

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.

The Opportunity

Lead a transformational technology organization powering health and benefits experiences for millions. As the Assistant Vice-President (AVP), Technology Lead, you will own one of Sun Life Canada’s largest technology portfolios for health benefits claims adjudication/processing, virtual health, and online pharmacy systems.

You will lead a 250+ person technology professional organization including 5 Directors across multiple high-performing squads in a matrixed environment. This is your chance to shape strategy, drive modernization, and build a world-class engineering culture that balances breakthrough innovation with operational excellence.

You'll partner with executives across Architecture, Product, Operations, and Business to define the future of Sun Life's health technology platforms including mission-critical mainframe systems to cutting-edge digital experiences - while managing complex vendor ecosystems and driving sustainable delivery practices.

This role is highly visible, mission-critical to Sun Life Canada’s core business, strategically influential, and demands a leader who thrives in complexity.

Why This Role Matters

You'll lead a strategic inflection point for Sun Life's health benefits claims and online health technology organization. Leading one of Sun Life Canada’s largest technology portfolios and 250+ technology professionals, you have the scale, resources, and mandate to drive meaningful modernization while serving millions of members. This is a high-visibility opportunity to influence enterprise technology strategy, build a best-in-class engineering culture, and deliver business impact in a complex, mission-critical environment.

What You'll Own

Technology Strategy & Modernization Leadership

• Define and communicate a compelling technology vision that bridges near-term delivery with long-term platform modernization across health benefits claims, adjudication systems, online health platforms, and core systems of record.
• Lead evolution of Sun Life's health technology ecosystem - making bold build vs. buy vs. partner decisions in an extremely large technology portfolio
• Champion modern engineering practices, technology standards, and architectural excellence while actively managing technical debt in complex, non-greenfield environments
• Partner with Business, Architecture, and Enterprise Technology leaders to design resilient, scalable platforms that deliver exceptional member and sponsor experiences

Delivery Excellence at Scale

• Accountable for end-to-end delivery across multiple agile squads at varying maturity levels - driving velocity, quality, and reliability improvements
• Manage relationships with system integrators and vendors, holding partners accountable for outcomes and knowledge transfer
• Serve as the primary escalation point for critical platform and delivery issues in a mission-critical environment
• Transform delivery metrics into actionable insights and drive continuous improvement

People Leadership & Culture Building

• Lead, mentor, and develop 250+ technology professionals across 5 Director level reports and cross-functional teams
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, execution-focused culture rooted in psychological safety and continuous learning
• Design high-performing team structures aligned with business outcomes and technical excellence
• Build and retain technical talent through coaching, career development, and hands-on leadership

Financial & Strategic Vendor Management

• Own platform budgeting, cost optimization, and capitalization decisions
• Manage strategic vendor and SI relationships to maximize delivery quality and ROI
• Drive alignment between IT spend and business value delivery

Governance & Risk Management

• Establish governance that accelerates delivery while meeting regulatory and security requirements
• Ensure platform stability, security, and effective incident/change management for mission-critical systems
• Partner with Operations on disaster recovery and business continuity for enablement platforms

Who You Are

Experience & Expertise

• 10+ years in senior technology leadership roles for very large technology portfolios, with proven success delivering complex, mission-critical systems at enterprise scale
• Track record modernizing and enabling technology platforms.
• Experience working in a health benefits claims / health industry is good to have
• Strong financial acumen - comfortable managing large budgets, vendor portfolios, and ROI optimization
• Demonstrated ability to lead technology teams through transformation while maintaining operational excellence
• Knowledge with Mainframe environments and their integration with modern and digital business-critical systems is good to have

Technical Credibility & Mindset

• Strong technical foundation with the credibility to challenge architecture, delivery practices, CI/CD, and engineering approaches
• Builder mentality - equally focused on fixing legacy systems, scaling capabilities, and enabling teams
• Decisive leader comfortable making clear decisions amid ambiguity and complexity
• Pragmatic, outcomes-driven thinker who balances innovation with stability
• Collaborative leader who rebuilds trust, drives momentum, and fosters transparency

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (MBA or advanced degree is an asset)
• Experience in regulated health, insurance or financial services is valuable

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.

What's in it for you?

• Flexible hybrid work model.
• Pension, stock and savings programs to help build and enhance your future financial security
• Work and professional development that is united by our Purpose: to help Clients and Employees achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives
• A friendly, collaborative and inclusive culture
• Be part of our continuous improvement journey in developing the next greatest digital enterprise experience.
• Competitive salary and bonus structure influenced by market range data
• The opportunity to move along a variety of career paths with amazing networking potential

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 [e-mail].

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.

Salary Range

145,000/145 000 - 235,000/235 000

Job Category

Project Management - Systems

Posting End Date

20/09/2026