AVP, Enterprise Data Architecture

Job Description

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Role Title: AVP, Enterprise Data Architecture
Reporting To: Global Chief of Enterprise Architecture
Location: Toronto, Waterloo, Montreal

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About Us
Global Information Technology is dedicated to providing the services and technology our business partners need to continue to innovate for our clients and help them achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. Through innovation and collaboration, we're striving to continually find new and better ways to bring value to Sun Life. Global Information Technology has employees in Canada, Ireland, the U.S. and Asia.

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Role Overview

Enterprise Data is a key enabler of our Client for Life strategy and supports Sun Life's ability to move quickly, leverage synergies across business units, improve decision making, and expand data-driven business capabilities.

Reporting to the VP, Enterprise Architecture and Chief Architect, this strategic leadership role is responsible for leading the enterprise data architecture strategy, and enterprise information architecture initiatives that support business priorities and technology modernization objectives.

This role operates as the Head of Data Architecture with responsibility for the overall enterprise data architecture strategy, leadership of the Data Architecture team, and governance of enterprise data standards, patterns, and reference architectures supporting data management, analytics, reporting, business intelligence, and machine learning, This role is also responsible for ensuring Solutions Architects from the Data Architecture team are embedded in key initiatives to enable alignment between the enterprise strategy and technology implementation.

The role reports directly to the VP, Enterprise Architecture and Chief Architect and maintains strong dotted-line alignment with the VP, Enterprise Data Platforms and the SVP, Data Transformation Strategy to ensure alignment between enterprise architecture, platform strategy, business priorities, and enterprise data investments.

While this role does not own Generative AI strategy, platforms, or delivery, it plays a critical enabling role by aligning with the data foundations, information architecture, governance capabilities, metadata standards, and architecture patterns required to support AI initiatives across Sun Life. This role works closely in collaboration with the AVP, Enterprise Architect Gen AI Architecture Services to ensure that AI Strategy and Data Strategy are continuously kept in sync.

This role serves as a key partner to Regional Chief Data Officers (CDAOs), Data Delivery teams, Data Engineering teams, Analytics organizations, Enterprise Data Platform teams, and AI leadership teams across Sun Life's global operations.

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What Will You Do?

This role works closely with Enterprise Architecture, Solution Architecture, Enterprise Data, Data Engineering, Data Science, Analytics, Infrastructure, Security, and Business teams to understand strategic priorities and define enterprise architecture solutions that support business outcomes.

The role interacts closely with Data organizations across the enterprise and supports the delivery of client-centric business solutions through modern data management, analytics, and AI capabilities.

Strategic Leadership

• Own, lead, and manage the overall Enterprise Data Architecture Strategy and Roadmap supporting:Information ManagementData ManagementBusiness Intelligence and ReportingAdvanced Analytics
• Develop and maintain a multi-year Enterprise Data Architecture strategy aligned with business priorities, technology modernization objectives, cloud adoption initiatives, and enterprise data transformation goals.
• Align with Sun Life's AI-ready Data Framework, including to ensure that capabilities such as data quality, metadata, lineage, semantic models, governance, and data product standards mature effectively as required to support analytics and AI initiatives.
• Curate and prioritize enterprise data architecture investments to ensure alignment with business strategy and enterprise architecture objectives.
• Accountable for enterprise data architecture strategy, standards, and reference architectures; accountable through influence for adoption across regional data organizations, data delivery teams, and business units.
• Based on the tightly integrated nature of Data and AI, maintain joint accountability for developing and communicating integrated Data and AI roadmaps alongside AI Architecture and Engineering leaders.
  

Enterprise Data Architecture Leadership

• Support Data and Analytics organizations in translating strategic business requirements into scalable enterprise data architectures and enterprise information models.
• Define architecture standards and reference patterns supporting structured and unstructured data assets, including operational data, analytical data, documents, content repositories, and enterprise knowledge assets.
• Partner with Data Science, AI, and Enterprise Data Platform teams to establish architecture standards and data foundations supporting enterprise AI capabilities.
• Collaborate with Regional CDAOs and Data Delivery teams to drive consistent adoption of enterprise data architecture standards, governance practices, reference architectures, and strategic roadmaps.
• Collaborate with Regional Delivery teams to help translate enterprise strategy into delivery requirements, supporting the end-to-end implementation of technology initiatives while ensuring alignment to enterprise practices and maximizing re-use of enterprise patterns and technology.
• Partner with the VP, Enterprise Data Platforms organization to ensure alignment between enterprise architecture strategy and enterprise platform modernization initiatives.
• Partner with the SVP, Data Transformation Strategy organization to ensure architecture priorities support business transformation objectives and strategic investments.
• Lead the evolution of semantic architecture, metadata management, and knowledge discovery capabilities to improve enterprise information accessibility, reusability, and business value.
• Identify data workload drivers for cloud and on-premise deployment decisions based on latency, scalability, security, regulatory, and consumption requirements.

Enterprise Governance & Technology Leadership

• Ensure enterprise information architecture aligns with overall enterprise architecture strategy and technology roadmaps.
• Partner with both enterprise and regional delivery teams to enable new technologies, adoption, and patterns in alignment with the Enterprise Data Architecture Strategy.
• Monitor and provide recommendations regarding advances in information management, business intelligence, analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud technologies, and modern data platforms.
• Monitor regulatory, privacy, compliance, retention, audit, and governance requirements and assess their impact on enterprise information management practices.
• Develop and maintain enterprise metadata management and repository strategies to manage architecture artifacts, business definitions, lineage, and governance assets.
• Keep the CIO, Chief Architect, Senior Technology Leadership, and Enterprise Data Leadership informed of emerging trends, opportunities, risks, and best practices related to enterprise data architecture.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of Directors, Architects, and Senior Consultants across geographies.
• Foster collaboration across Enterprise Architecture, Data Engineering, Data Science, Analytics, Enterprise Data Platform, and Business teams.
• Drive adoption of enterprise architecture principles, standards, and best practices across global technology organizations.

Key Stakeholder Relationships

This role involves significant interaction with:

• VP, Enterprise Architecture and Chief Architect
• VP, Enterprise Data Platforms
• SVP, Data Transformation Strategy
• Regional Chief Data Officers (CDAOs)
• AVP, Enterprise Architect Gen AI Architecture Services
• Enterprise Data & Analytics Leadership
• Data Engineering Teams
• Data Science Teams
• AI and Generative AI Leadership Teams
• Enterprise Architecture Teams
• Infrastructure and Security Leadership
• Senior Business Leaders (VPs and SVPs) across all business units
• Global Technology Leadership Teams

What Will Be Needed To Be Successful?

• Minimum 10 years of experience in Enterprise Data Architecture, Information Architecture, Data Management, or related disciplines.
• Deep expertise in enterprise data architecture, information management, analytics platforms, and cloud-native data ecosystems.
• Demonstrated experience defining and implementing enterprise-scale data strategies that support business transformation initiatives.
• Deep understanding of client needs, market trends, and emerging technologies.
• Ability to manage through influence in a highly complex global environment.
• Ability to establish and maintain a high degree of trust and credibility with senior business and technology leaders.
• Strong consulting, communication, organizational, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to bridge business strategy, enterprise data architecture, analytics, and AI enablement through scalable enterprise data foundations.

Technical Experience

• Strong experience with modern data architecture, including:Data WarehousingData Lakes and Lakehouse ArchitecturesData ProductsMetadata ManagementMaster and Reference Data ManagementData LineageData GovernanceEvent Streaming Platforms (Kafka)Relational and NoSQL DatabasesGraph and Semantic TechnologiesReal-Time Data Platforms
• Experience supporting Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning initiatives through scalable data architecture, governance, metadata, and information management capabilities.
• Strong understanding of AI data requirements, model lifecycle considerations, AI governance principles, and responsible AI practices.
• Minimum 2 years of hands-on experience designing enterprise-scale cloud-native data solutions on AWS.
• Strong knowledge of AWS services including:S3RedshiftGlueAthenaSageMakerLake FormationCloudFormation
• Experience with Azure cloud services is considered an asset.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Information Technology, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of architecture leadership experience with significant focus on Enterprise Data Architecture strategy and implementation.
• Experience leading and managing a team of Solution Architects and working in a matrixed organization.

Nice to Have

• Experience supporting or leading Data Science teams and advanced analytics initiatives.
• Experience implementing semantic architecture, metadata management, enterprise information management, or knowledge discovery solutions.
• Experience within Financial Services or other highly regulated industries.
• Experience partnering with AI, Machine Learning, and Advanced Analytics teams to support enterprise AI initiatives.

What You're Great At

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Influencing senior business and technology leaders.
• Navigating complex matrix organizations.
• Balancing long-term strategic objectives with short-term delivery priorities.
• Understanding emerging technology trends and translating them into practical business value.
• Building and leading high-performing teams.
• Joint strategy development with cross-functional business and technology leaders.
• Driving innovative, scalable, and shared enterprise solutions.
• Leading enterprise-wide data transformation and modernization initiatives.

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?

• Great Place to Work® Certified for Most Trusted Executive Team in Canada – 2025, 2024 and 2023
• Great Place to Work® Certified for Best Workplaces in Canada - 2025
• Canada Order of Excellence for Mental Health at Work® certification from Excellence Canada. Sun Life is one of only four companies in Canada to ever receive this certification – 2024
• Top Work Places® for Remote Work – Monster Canada - 2024
• 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
• Flexible hybrid work model.