AVP, Experience Design

Job Description

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Role Summary

Reporting to the VP, Digital Channels, Health Member Journey, and Experience in the Client Experience Office (CXO), the AVP, Experience Design is responsible for working with stakeholders across the organization to identify, define and shape key client experience across our products, services and channels that deliver business outcomes. In this role you will develop an entrepreneurial and efficient practice grounded in technical excellence in support of Sun Life Canada priorities. You will be responsible to lead the Client (CX) and User Experience (UX) chapters for our digital platforms across Sun Life Canada and you will work directly with colleagues in CXO, the business units, technology and marketing functions to create industry leading client experiences that drive CX and business outcomes.

What will you do?

Experience Design

• Provide Experience design expertise across the entire portfolio of journeys, equipping the team to act as champions for clients throughout the product and service development lifecycle by connecting client and employee-facing touchpoints with operational, digital, technology and back-end capabilities to support the design, development, delivery and measurable business outcomes across all channels

• Translate strategic vision into short-term and long-term journey, CX and design roadmaps, aligning priorities across business units and partners while driving measurable client, employee and business outcomes

• Define the design approach and collaborate with senior leaders and key partners to accelerate the experience design maturity (XD) of Sun Life Canada, establishing the value proposition, measurement framework, governance, and operating model for experience design

• Define and socialize the North Star vision for client journeys across the organization, influencing annual planning, strategy, and investment decisions through deep knowledge of client needs, business strategy, market trends, and end-to-end service design principles.

• Model and champion a consistent approach to the design, development, and measurement of journeys, services, features, and capabilities, ensuring solutions balance client needs, business objectives, and operational realities. Translate and connect user journeys into tangible short-term and long-term roadmaps and plans, creating alignment with and demonstrating delivery to business outcomes and priorities

• Drive the systematic identification and prioritization of client experience enhancements by leveraging qualitative research, quantitative insights, and performance metrics to improve client outcomes and business results. Ensure that journey design and implementation involved all necessary stakeholders, orchestrating seamless omni-channel experiences that enable desired client behaviours and deliver consistent outcomes. Set the future vision, structure, and operating model for the journey and experience design practice, extending design operations capabilities, processes, governance, and measurement frameworks to enable a growing organization to scale effectively and deliver outcomes with excellence.

• Partner closely with Operations, Digital, Technology, CX, Insights, and Data & Analytics teams to define and execute the One Sun Client Experience vision and roadmap, ensuring strategic alignment, prioritization, execution, and continuous learning.

• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and entrepreneurial design culture that supports the development of design professionals, encourages experimentation and innovation, and invites feedback and contributions from across the organization.

• Oversee CX and UX resources, budgets, and organizational capacity planning, ensuring the team is strategically positioned to deliver against the digital roadmap, client experience priorities, and broader business objectives.

What will you need to succeed?

• 10+ years’ experience in a strategic digital design function with hands-on experience with various aspects of the design practice including product/service design, design operations, design system development and management, with strong foundations in best practice design frameworks and patterns.

• Direct experience in a digital design role, responsible for executing mobile/web UI/UX design strategies with proven track record of elevating client experiences; Proven ability to accelerate design delivery through iterative design sprints

• Proven track record of leading a large, high performing teams responsible for journey and front-end design and delivery of omni-channel Client experiences; Ability to establish and lead a common design vision, framework and method across teams in support of business, digital and enterprise strategy.

• Post-secondary or Masters education in business or design-related field.

• 5+ years leading, managing and inspiring large design teams, with proven ability to attract, develop, and retain top talent while fostering a culture of creativity, continuous learning, experimentation, and growth

• Exceptional communication, facilitation and storytelling skills with the ability to influence senior leaders and diverse stakeholder groups, navigate complex decisions, build advocacy for human-centred design, and leverage data and insights to drive design learning and patterns.

• Familiarity with leading design practices, tools, and strategies; Experience with research, client experience, service design, product management, and business strategy.

• Familiarity with continuous discovery, agile software development principles and working in a transformation to a scaled Agile environment.

• Experience establishing and operationalizing around Client journeys.

• Deep curiosity, empathy, and cultural sensitivity, with the ability to effectively partner with teams across the organization to better understand our Clients throughout the design process.

• Experience synthesizing data, stakeholder perspectives and divergent points of view into a unified experience vision that balances client, business and enterprise priorities

• Demonstrated ability to facilitate the creative process and strategic decision-making processes with an inclusive approach that aligns stakeholders, builds consensus, and rallies teams toward a shared vision and outcomes

• Proven ability to build and elevate the design practice within a complex organization, championing a user-centred approach, fostering cross-functional partnerships, and managing budgets, resources, and capacity to deliver against strategic roadmaps and business priorities.

What’s in it for you?

• A competitive salary and bonus program, based on market scale

• A flexible group insurance program starting on your first day of work to meet your needs and those of your family.

• Time off that allows you to focus on the moments that matter most. 20 vacation days per year.

• Our Share Ownership Program gives you the opportunity to invest in Sun Life while benefiting from employer matching contributions.

• We are proud to be included in Great Place to Work's 2026 list of Canada's Best Workplaces.

• A warm, supportive, and inclusive culture.