Assistant Vice President, Control & Governance

Job description

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. At Sun Life, we're driven by our Purpose: helping our Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. Our values shape how we work: caring, authentic, bold, inspiring, and impactful. When you join Sun Life, you'll work with passionate colleagues and empowering leaders who support your growth and celebrate your contributions, so you can make a meaningful difference in our Clients' lives. Discover how you can make a difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities around the world. Job Description: Responsibilities 1. Drive and lead Operations Control & Governance operating model Establish, oversee and continuously enhance the first-line and 1.5-line control framework across the entire Life & Health business, Ensure operational controls remain effective, sustainable, risk-based and aligned with regulatory expectations. Design, implement and monitor the governance of controls across all operational functions, including underwriting, new business, claims, customer service, policy administration, premium processing, distribution support, outsourcing and operational technology. Translate enterprise risk, operational risk and regulatory expectations into practical first-line execution standards across multiple business-critical functions. 2. Safeguard the Company's License to Operate Ensure operational execution complies with regulatory obligations, internal policies and governance requirements. Translate regulatory expectations into practical and sustainable operational controls and ensure regulatory requirements are embedded into day-to-day business operations. Provide leadership over control frameworks supporting: - AML/CFT - Customer Due Diligence - Third-Party Payments - Data Privacy - Fraud Risk Management - Complaints Handling - Conduct Risk - Operational Resilience 3. Executive Ownership of Operational Risk Mitigation Provide leadership over the identification, assessment and mitigation of material operational risks across the business. Ensure emerging risks, control weaknesses and process vulnerabilities are proactively identified and addressed before they crystallize into operational losses or regulatory events. Act as the key business partner to Enterprise Risk and Operational Risk functions in maintaining an effective risk and control environment. 4. Executive Leadership of Issue and Remediation Management Provie executive oversight of significant incidents, control breakdowns, regulatory findings, audit issues and emerging risk events. Ensure root causes are identified, sustainable remediation actions are implemented and lessons learned / read across are embedded across the organization. Act as the accountable executive for the closure and sustainability of remediation actions arising from: - Internal Audit - Regulatory Reviews - Compliance Reviews - Operational Incidents - Risk Events 5. Strategic Advisory to Senior Management Act as the principal advisor to senior management on operational control health, regulatory exposure, emerging risks and control effectiveness. Provide forward-looking insights on control maturity, control transformation, technology enablement and operational risk trends. The role holder influences strategic business decisions through an enterprise-wide risk and control perspective. Requirements Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Insurance, Risk Management, Law, Accounting, Operations Management or a related discipline. Professional qualifications in insurance, risk, compliance, audit or governance disciplines are preferred. Minimum 12-15 years of relevant experience in Life & Health insurance operations, operational risk, governance, compliance, audit or control management. At least 5 years of leadership experience with responsibility for people management and senior stakeholder engagement. Proven experience designing, implementing and managing control, governance and operational risk frameworks. Strong knowledge of Life & Health insurance operations, including underwriting, new business, claims, policy administration, customer service and HNW operations. Deep understanding of first-line and 1.5-line control frameworks, control testing, quality assurance and governance practices. Sound knowledge of Hong Kong insurance regulations, market conduct requirements and regulatory expectations. Expertise in operational risk management, incident management, root cause analysis and remediation governance. Strong understanding of AML/CFT, customer due diligence, data privacy, fraud risk management, outsourcing governance and operational resilience. Demonstrated ability to manage regulatory reviews, audit engagements, issue remediation and cross-functional risk matters. Excellent leadership, communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to advise senior management and drive enterprise-wide control improvements. We offer 5-day work, attractive salary, MPF, group life and group medical insurance; and excellent career development opportunities to the right candidate. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. Application forms and resume will be kept for a period of 24 months after completion of the recruitment process. (All information will be held in strict confidence and only be used for recruitment purpose). Job Category: Customer Service / Operations Posting End Date: 17/09/2026