Assistant Vice President, Agile Excellence Domain

at  Sun Life

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 think and act 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 ~ 100 people 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.
• 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:

Digital Leadership

• 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.
• 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.
• Continually seek opportunities to leverage metrics and use data to influence our decision making.
• 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.
• 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.
• Provide employee training to develop agile best practices and mature our organization.
• 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.
• Actively participate in and support SLF Canada’s digital transformation journey.

EXPERIENCE:

• 10+ years of business/IT leadership experience, preferably in financial services.
• 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.

Please refer the Job description for details