AVP, Distribution Channel Marketing

Sun Life • Montreal, QC

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

This role leads the integrated marketing strategy for Retail Advice and Solutions advisor channels. You will shape how we acquire, engage, and retain clients—using data, digital journeys, and AI-enabled marketing—to help advisors grow their insurance and wealth businesses and strengthen client trust. You are accountable for delivering comprehensive, measurable marketing programs that support advisor acquisition, engagement, and retention of clients—positioning Sun Life as the partner of choice for advisors. You will orchestrate multi-channel campaigns, digital advisor journeys, and thought leadership that enable advisors and wholesalers to drive insurance sales, accelerate wealth growth, and build lasting client trust. The role is highly cross-functional—connecting corporate marketing, product, sales leadership, and the advisor channel to deliver cohesive, personalized experiences at scale.

Strategic Context
This role operates in a hyper-competitive market. Priorities and outcomes are guided by three strategic pillars: Grow insurance & accelerate wealth growth through segmented strategies, sales enablement, and AI-enabled digital experiences. Grow engaged advisors using programmatic, segment-specific approaches to attract, onboard, and develop high-potential advisors via our wholesale channel. Build advisor–client trust in the AI era with education, financial literacy, and positioning that reinforces the value of advice.

Requirements

• Deep understanding of advisor-led distribution and how marketing drives insurance/wealth outcomes.
• Hands-on capability with marketing automation, CRM, analytics, and AI-enabled marketing; able to translate strategy into technical requirements.
• Strong measurement mindset, funnel thinking, experimentation, and optimization.
• Executive-ready storytelling; can align diverse stakeholders and simplify complexity for action.
• Coaches talent, builds capability, and leads change in fast-moving environments.
• Experience operating in regulated environments with sound risk, privacy, and compliance practices.
• 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.

Responsibilities

• Own a multi-channel marketing roadmap aligned to Distribution Channel priorities, growth targets, and advisor segment needs.
• Translate SLFD/IID strategies into measurable initiatives across the advisor lifecycle (acquire, onboard, deepen, retain).
• Champion the value of advice and ensure marketing reinforces advisor differentiation.
• Integrate modern marketing technology into advisor programs (automation, personalization, scalable content).
• Build a digital-first foundation that enables rapid testing, segmentation, and journey optimization.
• Oversee key platforms and capabilities (advisor web experiences, social media outreach, email/SMS, analytics, programmatic relationship management).
• Continuously evaluate vendors and tools to maintain a competitive edge.
• Design end-to-end advisor journeys by segment and lifecycle stage (prospect → onboard → deepen → retain).
• Use data, behavioral signals, and analytics to personalize content and experiences across platforms
• Build programmatic enablement that helps wholesalers connect with target advisor segments (campaigns, insights, activation-ready content).
• Establish coaching and training that strengthens marketing adoption and growth outcomes.
• Set a content strategy that strengthens Sun Life’s leadership in advisor value, financial literacy, and advice in an AI-enabled world.
• Own content calendars across priority themes (insurance/wealth education, advisor value proposition, client literacy).
• Scale content creation with the right balance of centralized content and advisor/team customization.
• Ensure all content meets brand and compliance requirements.
• Deliver integrated campaigns across owned and paid channels (email, web, social, digital events, enablement).
• Define KPIs and reporting tied to acquisition, engagement, adoption, retention, and revenue impact.
• Run test-and-learn (A/B testing, experimentation) and use insights to continuously improve ROI.
• Lead through influence, partnering across Sales, Product, Events, Digital, Marketing Ops/MarTech, Compliance, and Corporate Marketing.
• Ensure alignment of platforms, data flows, and measurement across advisor-facing experiences.
• Manage key agency/vendor relationships to deliver quality, performance, and value.
• Represent the advisor channel perspective in broader marketing forums and planning.
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing, multidisciplinary team (digital marketing, content, analytics, Martech, advisor/channel expertise).
• Build team capabilities and an agile, test-and-learn culture that drives continuous improvement.
• Manage budgets and investment choices across segments, channels, and technology to maximize ROI.
• Maintain governance, standards, and processes for advisor marketing to ensure brand integrity and regulatory compliance.
• Partner with Compliance and other stakeholders to ensure communications meet Sun Life, CIRO, and provincial requirements.

Benefits

• Incentive plans, payment under which is discretionary and subject to individual and company performance.
• Sales incentive plans based on individual or group sales results (for certain sales focused roles).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 1-10 employees