Director, Market Activations, Events and Sponsorships

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:

This role is an exciting opportunity to lead, develop and execute the Market Activations, Events and Sponsorships Strategy in Group Retirement Services Marketing team. Reporting to the AVP, Marketing and Communications, you will be accountable for providing leadership and direction in the development and execution of go-to-market strategies for Group Retirement Services products, innovation, advocacy initiatives and service offering. This role will focus on leading all external GRS events and sponsorships that support business objectives and drive results.

Collaborating with various business units across Canada and external stakeholders, this role will be responsible for helping the GRS Business Development teams build strong partnerships and relationships with strategic clients and industry partners across Canada. Through market research and insights, the Director will work with key partners in building a strong and compelling narrative and represent GRS Marketing on various committees and strategic projects to promote the Sun Life brand externally.

What will you do?

• Lead and develop a high-performance team to deliver on business objectives.
• Be responsible for creating the go-to-market strategy and executing on multimedia-based marketing and communication initiatives in support of new products and solutions, promotion of digital innovation and advocacy initiatives.
• Oversee the national and regional events and sponsorship plan in coordination with various business partners to maximize Sun Life and GRS’ presence and market visibility.
• Spearhead research initiatives with internal and external partners, to provide best-in-class plan management insights for industry stakeholders.
• Drive a social media strategy that will increase visibility and engagement for the leadership team.
• Support senior leaders in the creation of content and key messaging for industry presentations and public speaking opportunities.
• Accountable for gathering data and metrics on campaign performance, communicate progress and make recommendations on actions through dashboards and key performance indicators.
• Stay abreast of marketing and industry trends and insights to analyse any impacts or opportunities to evolve the GRS narrative and support business development teams in prospecting and building on existing relationships.
• Own and manage the marketing budget in partnership with the Business Unit lead.

What will you need to succeed?

• 8+ years Group Retirement/Financial Industry experience and a strong understanding of marketing and communications
• Post-secondary education in Marketing, Communications, or relevant experience
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills with the ability to align varied interests and feedback. Must possess strategic influencing and communication skills.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to seek key insights through analysis and translate them into elements to create a strong and compelling GRS narrative.
• An innovative and creative mindset with proven experience in translating strategies and concepts into tactical execution.
• Strong ability to seek new media and sponsorship opportunities and leading strategic client partnership forums.
• Strong organizational skills - can manage multiple projects and priorities at the same time.
• Ability to write, edit and produce a wide variety of communications and multimedia marketing collateral.
• Ability to excel in a consultative environment, comfortable working in partnership with multiple internal and external stakeholders across all business units, at all levels.
• Superb communication skills, both verbal and written
• Strong negotiation skills
• Comfortable in a fast-paced environment
• Results-oriented and resourceful, with strong analytical skills
• Fluency in French an asset

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 [email protected].

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:

110,000/110 000 - 180,000/180 000

Job Category:

Marketing

Posting End Date:

06/09/2026