Associate Director, Events & Experience

Sun Life•Wellesley, MA

3d•$101,200 - $151,800•Hybrid

About The Position

Sun Life embraces a hybrid work model that balances in-office collaboration with the flexibility of virtual work. Our team members and leaders are expected to foster connection and teamwork by being present in the office at least 2 days per week. Location: Wellesley Hills, MA, with regular travel required to other sites. The opportunity: The Associate Director, Events & Experience is accountable for shaping and advancing Sun Life’s enterprise workplace events and experience strategy across the United States. This role defines how in‑office, offsite, and hybrid experiences come together as a cohesive, branded, and intentional system, supporting culture, leadership connection, collaboration, and business outcomes. As the senior-most US leader for Events & Experience, this role provides strategic oversight and people leadership to the US Events & Experience Manager and site team, ensuring consistent application of enterprise standards while enabling high-quality local execution. Operating with enterprise perspective and executive presence, this Associate Director partners closely with senior leaders, Events & Experiences team, Technology, Corporate Real Estate, Security, Health & Safety, and key business stakeholders to design scalable experience frameworks, define governance and service models, and ensure consistent, high‑quality execution across all US locations. This role orchestrates the ecosystem, balancing strategic intent with operational excellence, evolving ways of working, and the needs of a highly distributed workforce.

Requirements

8–10+ years of progressive experience in workplace experience, corporate events, hospitality, or related fields, with demonstrated enterprise‑scale leadership.
Proven ability to lead through influence in complex, matrixed environments.
Strong strategic thinking paired with the credibility to engage confidently with senior and executive leaders.
Experience designing operating models, standards, or frameworks that scale across multiple locations.
Financial and commercial acumen, including budget ownership and vendor management.
Comfort navigating ambiguity and evolving priorities while maintaining clarity and direction.
Willingness to travel across US sites as required (up to ~30%).

Responsibilities

Own and continuously evolve the US Events & Experience strategy, ensuring alignment to enterprise priorities, leadership expectations, and Sun Life’s workplace and culture agenda.
Define a cohesive experience model across all US locations (Wellesley, Portland, Hartford, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Kansas City, and offsite venues, Waterford), ensuring consistency while allowing for local nuance.
Act as a strategic advisor to senior leaders and business partners on how events, moments of connection, and workplace experiences enable engagement, performance, and organizational effectiveness.
Establish governance, enterprise standards, and success measures for US event delivery, hospitality services, food & beverage, and employee experience programs.
Translate enterprise strategy into clear operating models, decision frameworks, and expectations for site teams and vendor partners.
Apply deep organizational and corporate intelligence to anticipate leadership needs, understand enterprise dynamics, and design events and experiences that reinforce business priorities.
Exercises significant judgment and decision‑making authority within established enterprise governance, escalating only material strategic, financial, or reputational risks requiring executive adjudication.
Anticipates future capability and resourcing needs across the US Events & Experiences portfolio informing workforce planning and operating mode evolution
Provide leadership through influence rather than proximity, setting direction for site‑based teams, partners, and vendors across the US.
Coach, develop, and inspire team members to deliver hospitality‑led, employee‑centric experiences aligned to enterprise standards.
Serve as a visible leader with executive presence, effectively navigating senior stakeholder conversations, trade‑offs, and priorities.
Foster strong cross‑functional partnerships with E&Ex, AV & Technology, Security, Health & Safety, CRE, and external partners.
Oversee delivery of high‑impact events including executive meetings, leadership town halls, enterprise conferences, and strategic gatherings, ensuring quality, consistency, and scalability.
Set expectations and frameworks for onsite and hybrid execution while avoiding over‑reliance on hands‑on site management.
Ensure financial stewardship across US operations, including budgeting, forecasting, expense governance, vendor contracts, and chargeback models.
Use data (space utilization, attendance, feedback, cost‑to‑value metrics) to continuously refine the experience model and inform investment decisions.
Identify opportunities to streamline processes, introduce innovation, and improve sustainability across event and experience operations.
View all US locations as a single connected ecosystem, not individual sites.
Anticipate trends in workplace experience, events, and hybrid engagement, translating external insights into practical enterprise innovation.
Balance standardization with flexibility, ensuring Sun Life experiences feel intentional, modern, and human—regardless of location.