Assistant Vice President, Agile Excellence Domain

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:

Sun Life is executing a large-scale organizational transformation towards digital leadership which focuses on putting clients at the centre of everything we do, being digital at heart, and working faster together. As part of this transformation, this critical role will scale agile delivery and mature Sun Life Canada teams to operate like a digital company.

Reporting to the Vice President, Client Journeys and Agile Excellence Domain, the AVP, Agile Excellence Domain will transform how we work and lead our Agile chapters (practices) of ~180 people (permanent employees and contractors) including Chapter Directors, Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, Agile Delivery Leads, Service Delivery Managers and Project Managers.

• Establish a clear vision for the Agile Excellence Domain towards agile maturity in alignment with SAFe practices.
• Continuously improve Agile processes and practices to enhance responsiveness and adaptability.
• Work hand in hand with other domain leaders to align agile practices and ensure consistency in how chapters are structured to successfully support SL Canada’s digital strategy.
• Provide hands-on direction to our Agile Coach and Delivery Lead practices so that each business unit sees value in their digital maturity.
• Develop Scrum Master and project delivery leaders that drive business outcomes with speed and quality.
• Oversee resource management, planning, budgeting and talent acquisition across all roles in the Agile Excellence Domain.
• Work closely with journey / platform execution groups to understand their needs and enable successful delivery for Sun Life Canada.
• Develop and execute a talent strategy that enables career progression, mobility and professional development for all employees in the Agile Excellence Domain. Anticipate future needs for critical skills / competencies and develop workforce plans to meet them.
• Partner with Sun Life’s Value Realization Office to support Sun Life Canada’s digital transformation roadmap. Participate in planning and mobilization activities as business units go through their respective transformation activities.
• Enable teams to be successful by providing necessary tools, coaching, change management and other support services.

Accountabilities:

Innovation and Transformation:

• Drive a culture of digital leadership, serving as a change agent and leading innovation and continuous improvement within the Agile Excellence Domain
• Identify and champion new technologies, methodologies, and approaches that can enhance the organization's digital capabilities
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ideate, prototype, and pilot innovative digital solutions

Digital Leadership

• Actively participate in Sun Life Canada’s digital transformation journey and evolution of Digital Leadership across Canada.
• Drive strategic alignment and shared goals through leadership and influencing across Canada Technology and the Client Experience, Business Enablement, Engineering, Quality Assurance and Data domains. Ensure consistency in how domains and chapters are led and developed.
• Understand and monitor the external client, competitor and technology landscape, identifying trends, best practices, and opportunities for innovation
• Analyze competitor offerings, user experiences, and market positioning to inform Sun Life’s digital strategy
• Partner with the Value Realization Office to mature our digital practices and agile ways of working, creating integrated multi-year transformation roadmaps.
• Work closely with Sun Life Canada business unit leaders to understand their resource needs and address skill gaps through strategic workforce plans.
• Transform legacy operating models and processes so teams can deliver business outcomes faster.
• Lead and facilitate technology budgets, forecasts and strategic planning activities across the Agile Excellence Domain. Always apply an owner’s mindset to drive productivity and efficiencies.

Digital Maturity

• Establish a clear vision for the Agile Excellence Domain that drives agile maturity across each role. Create roadmaps to achieve that vision.
• Promote and embed agile methodologies and practices through leading chapters (practices) for Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, Agile Delivery Leads, Service Delivery Managers and Project Managers
• Identify key gaps in our digital skills in partnership with the Value Realization Office. Develop roadmaps that our agile coaches and squads can execute to mature their practices and skills.
• Ensure the technology teams are equipped with the necessary Agile skills, best practices and tools to mature our organization and to deliver value quickly and iteratively through training and other tools.
• Establish strategic relationships with third party vendors who can augment our teams and accelerate capabilities. Closely govern their services and ensure SLAs are met.

High performing and inclusive team leadership

• Provide day to day coaching, direction and leadership to journey/platforms and hubs/squads to create high-performing, engaged and inclusive teams. Support problem solving and ensure strong squad health.
• Oversee resource management, planning, budgeting and talent acquisition across the Agile Excellence Domain roles, including scrum masters, service delivery managers, project managers, agile delivery leads, and agile coaches.
• Attract strong, diverse and global talent with appropriate digital, data and technology skills. Champion a global workforce by leveraging talent and expertise from Sun Life Global Solutions (SLGS).
• Enable career progression and mobility, and professional development for Agile Excellence Domain roles. Anticipate future needs for critical skills / competencies and develop workforce plans to meet them.
• Set objectives and key results, effectively communicate them to teams, and drive accountability to successfully achieve them.
• Remove barriers and impediments to team success
• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, agility and continuous learning to drive the successful delivery of digital solutions for clients.
• Facilitate collaboration and communication between the team members and cross-functional teams
• Empower and enable the team to make informed decisions and drive the successful delivery of digital products
• Identify future skill needs and develops talent pipelines
• Provide timely and meaningful performance and development feedback to the team

Data & Measures

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive data and analytics strategy to support informed decision-making and drive continuous improvement
• Leverage data and analytics to provide insights that inform technology strategy and decision-making
• Create scorecards and supports reporting demands as appropriate, to showcase key accomplishments and learnings. Seek opportunities to streamline reporting requests across the portfolio.
• Utilize data-driven approaches to measure the impact and effectiveness of technology automation and continuous improvement initiatives

Competencies:

Experience leading teams through transformation and in a digital environment.

• Strong business knowledge; demonstrating an understanding of Sun Life, industry trends and customer needs. Leverages business acumen to align digital initiatives with Sun Life Canada’s overall strategic objectives
• Experience leading organizational transformations and supporting employees in the required change management processes.
• Proven experience delivering Agile at scale (eg SAFe)
• Understanding of Agile software development methodologies, processes, ceremonies, and tools. Proven experience working with SAFe, Kanban and/or Scrum methodologies.
• Demonstrated track record of driving innovation and leading digital transformation initiatives

Reputation for strong leadership and partnerships.

• Ability to interact with and influence all levels of the organization, including senior executives.
• Demonstrated experience organizing and overseeing multiple initiatives simultaneously, in a fast-paced environment.
• A leader that communicates with an authentic style that breaks down silos and encourages open communication, trust and integrity.
• Superior talent management skills; attracts and retains strong professionals by developing engaged, cohesive teams.
• Operate with a sense of urgency and enhance team development and engagement
• Experience leading large teams and/or stakeholders spanning multiple global locations, and creating strong employee engagement across those teams.

Ability to think strategically and organize disparate teams towards common objectives.

• Proven track record of creating strategic plans and roadmaps that achieve organizational priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate strategy workshops and translate concepts and opportunities into roadmaps and action plans.
• Strong business acumen, financial acumen and analytical skill sets.

Superior communication skills (verbal and written) to drive engagement and influence change.

• Professional, confident and concise communicator.
• Strong interpersonal, communication and relationship building skills with the ability to convey strategies and key messages.
• Proven track record using communications to drive employee engagement and organizational change.
• Expertise in leading change management and engagement initiatives and overcoming resistance to change.

Experience:

• 10+ years of senior business/IT leadership experience, preferably in financial services.
• Proven experience leading digital transformations and improving an organization’s digital maturity.
• Possesses deep understanding of SAFe, Agile, Scrum, Portfolio Management and Project Management best practices to foster the creation and growth of standards for Sun Life Canada.
• Proven experience leading large organizations and teams (100+ people) with reputation for attracting, developing and retaining talent.
• Proven ability to navigate Sun Life and the complexities of a matrix organization. Experience collaborating with many technology and/or business teams simultaneously.
• Ability to engage, influence and build strong relationships with external partners.
• PMP designation and/or SAFe certification would be considered an asset.

What’s in it for you?

• Great Place to Work® Certified for Most Trusted Executive Team in Canada – 2024 and 2023
• Great Place to Work® Certified for Best Workplaces in Canada – 2024 and 2022
• Great Place to Work® Certified for Best Workplaces for Women in Canada - 2024
• Great Place to Work® Certified for Best Workplaces in Ontario - 2023
• Great Place to Work® Certified in Canada in Financial Services and Insurance – 2023
• Great Place to Work® list for Best Workplaces for #HybridWork – 2022
• Great Place to Work® list for Best Workplaces for Professional Development in Canada – 2022
• Named “Best Places to Work” by Glassdoor – 2021 and 2023
• Flexible hybrid work model. #LI-Hybrid.
• 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 thebrightside@sunlife.com.

At Sun Life we strive to create a flexible work environment where our employees are empowered to do their best work. Several flexible work options are available and can be discussed throughout the selection process depending on the role requirements and individual needs.

We thank all applicants for showing an interest in this position. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

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