Manager, Product Development

Sun Life•Waterloo, ON

3d•CA$80,000 - CA$128,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Sun Life Retail Advice & Solutions (RA&S) is a leading Canadian financial institution offering holistic advice and innovative solutions in insurance, health, and wealth through digital-first hybrid advice, proprietary career, and independent sales channels. Within RA&S, Insurance Solutions focuses on designing and distributing life and health insurance products to over 2 million retail clients in Canada. Reporting to the Director, Product Development, the Manager, Product Development will execute initiatives to drive new product enhancements and innovations for the retail insurance new business portfolio. This role supports the delivery of product development initiatives across life (term, participating whole life, UL, perm whole life) and health (critical illness, long-term care, personal health insurance) portfolios. The ideal candidate is an analytical, challenge-seeking, results-oriented team player with a 'get stuff done' mentality, strong communication skills, and a strategic mindset to optimize decisions involving trade-offs between Clients, advisors, and shareholders.

Requirements

Minimum 2 years related experience in the financial services industry, preferably in product management and/or strategy.
Experience with financial and product performance analysis.
A good understanding of the Canadian retail insurance landscape would be an asset.
‘Get stuff done’ in a fast-paced, challenging, and dynamic business environment.
Strong quantitative skills including data interpretation and information visualization.
Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with keen attention to detail.
Strong presentation and written communication skills with track record of working directly with senior leadership.
Self-motivated, able to work both autonomously and collaboratively with multi-functional teams, managing diverse and evolving priorities.
Experience with client research methodologies including design thinking, survey design and execution, and focus-group facilitation.
Strong relationship management skills – ability to partner with key stakeholders and functional areas across the organization.
Robust understanding of compliance and risk management – ability to identify potential risk exposure in product design to ensure adherence to Sun Life's compliance and risk management framework and tolerance.
Agent of change – ability to embrace, adapt, and drive change as required to ensure business objectives are met.
Bilingualism (French, English, both oral and written) is required for Quebec only.

Responsibilities

Execute on product development initiatives from concept to implementation, including Client / advisor research, concept development and validation, business casing, oversight of build and go-to-market, and value realization.
Conduct qualitative and quantitative research on industry and market trends, competitor actions, and bring forward the Voice of the Client and Voice of the Advisor.
Leverage and champion design-thinking best practices to build creative solutions through empathy-driven, human-centered design.
Analyze internal and external data to identify trends and opportunities, develop innovative enhancements that increase revenue, improve operational efficiencies, and enhance the Client / advisor experience.
Facilitate and lead cross-functional teams with conviction, discipline, and strong communication to drive towards clear decisions and recommendations.
Synthesize and present findings in a compelling manner, adapting communication and presentations to meet the unique needs of different audiences.

Benefits

A collaborative and inclusive culture
An environment of continuous learning and improvement
Our unique Sabbatical Program gives you the opportunity to take up to 6 weeks off, every five years
Anchored to our Purpose, our Sustainability Plan has three pillars which represent the areas where we have the greatest opportunity to drive positive impact in society: increasing financial security, fostering healthier lives, and advancing sustainable investing
In 2025, Sun Life ranked among the top 100 most sustainable global corporations by Corporate Knights for the 15th consecutive year, leading Canadian insurers
We are proud to be on the 2025 Best Workplaces in Canada list by Great Place to Work
We’re also listed as one of the Best Workplaces for Women and Best Workplaces with Most Trusted Executive Teams
In addition to Base Pay, eligible Sun Life employees participate in various incentive plans, payment under which is discretionary and subject to individual and company performance.
Certain sales focused roles have sales incentive plans based on individual or group sales results.
Diversity and inclusion have always been at the core of our values at Sun Life. A diverse workforce with wide perspectives and creative ideas benefits our Clients, the communities where we operate and all of us as colleagues. We welcome applications from qualified individuals from all backgrounds.
Persons with disabilities who need accommodation in the application process, or those needing job postings in an alternative format, may e-mail a request to [email protected].
We are proud to be a hybrid organization that offers our employees the choice and flexibility to work from both the office and virtually based on the needs of the business, our Clients and you!
Several work options are available and can be discussed throughout the selection process depending on the role requirements and individual needs.
We may use artificial intelligence to support candidate sourcing, screening, interview scheduling.