Director, Payroll and Accounting

Sun Life U.S. is one of the largest providers of employee and government benefits, helping approximately 50 million Americans access the care and coverage they need. Through employers, industry partners and government programs, Sun Life U.S. offers a portfolio of benefits and services, including dental, vision, disability, absence management, life, supplemental health, medical stop-loss insurance, and healthcare navigation. We have more than 6,400 employees and associates in our partner dental practices and operate nationwide.

Visit our website to discover how Sun Life is making life brighter for our customers, partners and communities.

Join Sun Life as a Manager of Payroll & Employee Benefits Accounting, where you'll play a pivotal role in ensuring financial accuracy and compliance for our entire US workforce. This high-impact position offers the opportunity to lead critical financial operations, mentor a talented team, and drive operational excellence across multiple benefit programs and pension plans. Reporting directly to the AVP of Product Accounting, you'll oversee essential financial processes that directly support our employees' compensation, benefits, and retirement security.

• Lead and mentor a small team of accounting professionals, fostering their growth and technical expertise

• Drive continuous process improvements and eliminate exceptions across all payroll and benefit accounting operations

• Partner with cross-functional teams including Payroll Processing, Treasury, Corporate Tax, Employee Benefits, Human Resources, and Total Rewards

• Oversee bi-weekly ADP payroll accounting for all Sun Life US employees

• Manage complete accounting lifecycle for Sun Life Pension Plan, 401(k), and RIA Savings Plans

• Ensure accurate GL accounting for all company-sponsored employee benefit plans

• Approve payroll and employee benefit wires through the Web Series banking system

• Serve as Business Unit Control for critical SOX compliance processes

• Lead annual audits of Pension and 401(k)/RIA Savings Plans

• Prepare comprehensive NAIC employee benefit footnotes and disclosures

• Coordinate with external actuarial consultants on quarterly and annual plan valuations

• Prepare Form 5500 tax filings and audited financial statements for retirement plans

• Support US Corporate Tax return preparation with accurate financial data

• Direct daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual close processes

• Perform GL account reconciliations and resolve material variances

• Prepare and/or approve corporate audit work papers for Canadian parent company reporting

• Provide insightful financial analysis and reporting to senior management

• BS/BA in Accounting or Finance (CPA strongly preferred)

• 7-10 years private accounting OR 5-7 years combined public/private experience

• 2-3 years supervising and developing accounting professionals

• Strong command of GAAP; working knowledge of NAIC and IFRS

• Proficiency with SAP, Workday, Hyperion, and Tableau

• Advanced Excel skills (including VBA)

• Experience with multi-entity reporting structures and monthly close processes

• Exposure to ADP Global View and ADP Payroll processes

• Knowledge of federal and state tax preparation and reporting

• Understanding of NAIC accounting rules for employee benefits

• Experience with pension plan and 401(k) accounting and audits

• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving abilities

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills

• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and meet strict deadlines

• Strong delegation and workload management capabilities

• Continuous improvement mindset with strategic thinking ability

At our company, we are committed to pay transparency and equity. The salary range for this role is competitive nationwide, and we strive to ensure that compensation is fair and equitable. Your actual base salary will be determined based on your unique skills, qualifications, experience, education, and geographic location. In addition to your base salary, this position is eligible for a discretionary annual incentive award based on your individual performance as well as the overall performance of the business.

We are dedicated to creating a work environment where everyone is rewarded for their contributions.

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We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all employees feel they belong, are supported and empowered to thrive. We are dedicated to building teams with varied experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and ideas…