Counsel, Group Benefits

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:

This is a unique and exciting opportunity for a lawyer to join Sun Life’s Group and Client Experience Office (CXO) legal team. The successful candidate will primarily support Sun Life’s group benefits business as part of a dynamic and collaborative legal team that also supports our CXO and group retirement services businesses. These businesses serve the needs of Canadians by providing life and health insurance benefits and administrative services, as well as retirement and savings plan asset administrative services.

Experience in benefits, life and health insurance, pensions and applicable industry and regulatory trends will be considered an asset.

This role is based in our Waterloo, Toronto or Montreal office and you’ll report to the AVP & Managing Counsel. This is a hybrid role.

The successful candidate will have a strong business acumen and client focus. They will be resilient, adaptable, and highly motivated. This is a great and unique opportunity to work with a collaborative team with a large variety of work.

What will you do?

• Provide proactive, timely and effective legal support to management, client-facing, and administrative teams that serve our group plan sponsor clients and their plan members across Canada on a broad range of matters
• Provide timely and strategic legal advice on group benefits services, benefit administration, claims adjudication, plan design, new product development, and marketing materials
• Provide support and advice on digital and data influenced initiatives
• Negotiate and draft a variety of contractual arrangements
• Advise on new legislation and regulatory requirements in the financial services industry

The successful candidate will be:

• A member in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario or another common law jurisdiction, with ideally at least 2-4 years of private practice and/or in-house experience
• Enthusiastic about leveraging data and technology to provide legal solutions to our business partners and inform business strategy
• Interested in learning complex and nuanced areas of insurance and pensions laws across Canada and providing advice in a simple and practical manner
• Proactive and a self-starter with an ability to take a risk-based approach to prioritize work
• Able to collaborate, gain trust of business partners, and explain complex topics using simple language and clear language
• As this position is posted in several locations, we specify that bilingualism (French, English, both oral and written) is required for Quebec only for the frequent interactions with English and French-speaking colleagues or internal partners across Canada or worldwide

What's in it for you?

• 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
• Stock Ownership Program gives you the chance to invest in Sun Life and get a company match
• Wellness programs that support the three pillars of your health - mental, physical, and financial
• In 2025, Sun Life ranked among the top 100 most sustainable global corporations by Corporate Knights for the 16th consecutive year, leading Canadian insurers
• We are proud to be on the 2024 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
• We are thrilled to be recognized by Excellence Canada with their top-level certification, the Canada Order of Excellence for Mental Health at Work®, for prioritizing employee well-being, fostering a positive work culture, and achieving excellence in mental health

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.

At Sun Life we strive to create a flexible work environment where our employees are empowered to do their best work. Several flexible work options are available and can be discussed throughout the selection process depending on the role requirements and individual needs.

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

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