Director, Financial Crime Operations – Enterprise Financial Crime Compliance

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:

The Director, Financial Crime (FC) Operations is a senior leadership role within the Enterprise Financial Crime Compliance (EFCC) function.

This role is accountable for the enterprise delivery, enhancement, and oversight of FC operational practices across insurance, wealth, asset management, and corporate functions. The Director will lead the development, delivery and operations of a centralized FC Centre of Excellence (CoE) and for the governance and continuous improvement of key enterprise practices.

The role ensures global consistency, regulatory alignment (including FINTRAC and other applicable regulators), and operational excellence across jurisdictions, balancing risk discipline with scalable delivery in a complex, matrixed environment.

What will you do:

1. Enterprise FC Operations Strategy

• Design and lead the global FC operational model supporting insurance and asset management businesses.
• Establish consistent standards for alert adjudication, case management, documentation, and escalation across regions.
• Align FC operational execution with enterprise risk appetite, regulatory expectations, and the organization’s three lines of defence model.
• Drive harmonization across business segments while respecting local regulatory requirements.

2. FC Centre of Excellence

• Develop, deliver and lead the centralized CoE responsible for high-volume alert management of:
  • Name and sanctions screening (clients, beneficiaries, intermediaries, employees, vendors)
  • Transaction monitoring alerts (insurance premium flows, redemptions, asset management transactions)
  • Adverse media and PEP alerts
  • Third-party and employee risk screening

• Define clear triage protocols and risk-based escalation criteria to Level 2 investigations and reporting teams.
• Establish performance metrics (SLA adherence, quality assurance scores, false positive ratios, escalation accuracy).
• Oversee quality control and thematic reviews to ensure regulatory defensibility.
• Leverage analytics, automation, and workflow optimization to enhance productivity and reduce operational risk.

3. Enterprise Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) Framework

• Develop, deliver and lead global standards and practices for EDD across:
  • High-risk customers and policyholders
  • High-risk institutional investors and intermediaries
  • Third-party vendors and strategic partners
  • Senior employees and key control functions
• Ensure alignment between client risk rating methodologies, onboarding processes, periodic reviews, and EDD triggers.
• Drive consistency in documentation, investigative depth, and approval governance.
• Oversee quality assurance and continuous improvement initiatives across jurisdictions.

4. Regulatory & Governance Leadership

• Ensure FC/AML operational practices comply with FINTRAC requirements and applicable global regulations (e.g., OFAC, BN, HKIA, MAS, etc.).
• Serve as a senior operational SME during regulatory examinations and internal audits.
• Prepare executive-level reporting and metrics for the Financial Crime Compliance leadership, senior management and Board Risk Committees
• Monitor evolving regulatory expectations in Canada and globally and translate requirements into operational enhancements.

5. Transformation & Operational Excellence

• Lead strategic initiatives to modernize FC operations, including:
  • Automation of alert triage and EDD practices
  • AI-enabled analytics to reduce false positives
  • CoE development, maintenance and continuous improvement
  • Workflow and capacity optimization
  • Global operating model simplification
• Partner with Technology, Data, and other Enterprise Financial Crime team members to enhance screening, monitoring, and case management systems.
• Drive data-driven insights into alert volumes, risk typologies, and emerging threats in insurance and asset management contexts.

6. People & Global Stakeholder Leadership

• Lead and develop a global team of FC professionals across multiple jurisdictions.
• Foster a culture of accountability, quality, and risk awareness.
• Build strong partnerships with:
  • Business unit leaders (Insurance, Wealth, Asset Management)
  • Compliance - including close relationship with relevant MLROs
  • Enterprise Risk Management
  • Internal Audit
  • Technology and Data functions
• Provide thought leadership on financial crime risks specific to insurance products (e.g., early surrender risk, premium financing) and investment vehicles.

What you need to Succeed

Qualifications & Experience

• 10+ years of progressive experience in AML / FC compliance within a global financial institution.
• Significant experience in AML/FC operations, transaction monitoring, screening, and EDD programs.
• Experience in insurance, asset management, or wealth management strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of Canadian AML regulatory requirements (FINTRAC) and familiarity with global regulatory regimes.
• Proven track record leading centralized operational teams or shared services models across multiple jurisdictions.
• Experience driving transformation initiatives, including automation and analytics-enabled enhancements.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or professional certifications (CAMS, CFCS, ICA) preferred.

Core Competencies

• Strategic operational leadership
• Regulatory credibility and strong risk judgment
• Data-driven decision-making
• Executive communication and board-level reporting
• Change management in a global, matrixed organization
• Strong understanding of insurance and asset management risk typologies

Success Profile

The successful candidate is a globally minded FC leader who understands the unique financial crime risks inherent in insurance and asset management. They bring operational rigor, regulatory credibility, and the ability to scale a centralized delivery model across jurisdictions. They are equally comfortable managing high-volume adjudication environments and leading modernization initiatives that position the organization for sustainable, risk-aligned growth.

The Base Pay range is for the primary location for which the job is posted. It may vary depending on the work location of the successful candidate or other factors. 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 thebrightside@sunlife.com.

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.

We thank all applicants for showing an interest in this position. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Salary Range:

Job Category:

Posting End Date: