Job Description

Permanent Full Time

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The Strategy team is a critical function within Canada Life – it helps every line of business think 5-10 years ahead and ensures the business is future-proofed against rapidly evolving regulatory, technology, and customer trends.

This is a small, sharp, motivated team. This role will engage directly with senior leaders and executives across the organisation, holding company Great-West Lifeco, and affiliate companies.

The team drives both corporate and business unit strategy development. Unlike most strategy teams, it is heavily involved in solution design, launch, and early-stage execution of large-scale transformations. The work is high-visibility and high-impact, including to the Board of Directors. Recent topics range from long-term technology and vendor strategy projects to M&A and AI transformation.

As AI moves to the centre of our enterprise agenda, the Strategy team is hiring an expert – someone who can prototype LLM-based agents and AI workflows, teach the rest of the team how to build them, and turn strategic hypotheses into working pilots that prove or disprove value before we invest at scale.

You will work hands-on with a variety of business teams and vendors to construct AI use cases, build the pilots, and measure what works.

What you will do

Ideate and build

• Partner with senior leaders and executives to rethink end-to-end customer and advisor experiences from first principles - leveraging AI to change how we think about solving big problems
• Move from concept → prototype → real-world validation rapidly, using working pilots to test strategic ideas before scaling investment
• Prototype under real constraints (data, regulation, user behavior) to ensure solutions work outside of controlled demos
• Take a strategic hypothesis and build LLM-based agents and AI workflows that compress decision-making time safely with human in the loop considerations
• Set the bar for what AI can do - the work you produce will be the foundation for future projects.

Prioritize and democratize

• Leverage how a top corporate strategy team works day to day, with deep research agents as an AI-first function live competitive intelligence, and slide-building in minutes instead of hours
• Turn AI from an isolated capability into a core operating layer for strategy work, accelerating research, synthesis, and execution cycles
• Reduce cycle times for high-value work (e.g., market analysis, strategic recommendations) from weeks to hours or minutes through AI augmentation
• Support your team move from AI novices to AI experts
• Build the reference architectures and standards the rest of the enterprise can leverage in their strategy efforts – Democratize learnings

Drive and propel

• Translate early wins into enterprise momentum, helping shape where and how the organization doubles down on AI investments
• Provide support and insights to vendor and foundation models selections
• Test feasibility with stakeholders across a variety of teams and stakeholders
• Independently own entire workstreams within larger AI and strategy initiatives

What you will bring

• 2+ years shipping AI/ML systems in production, ideally including LLM-based agents, RAG pipelines, or workflow automation that are actively used
• Corporate strategy, software/computer science, or quantitative experience (formal degree or equivalent demonstrated track record), with working knowledge of at least one agent framework (Anthropic SDK, OpenAI SDK, or similar)
• A “builder’s mindset” — you instinctively ask “why does this exist this way?” and redesign from first principles
• LLM experience - you know which prompts will break, when to add tool use, and how to evaluate an agent properly
• Experience building agents and executing from ideation to prototype
• Ability to translate executive asks and problems into concrete, tangible outcomes
• Comfort operating in financial services, insurance, or other regulated environments
• A drive to build and strong business instincts that deliver quick and effective decisions
• Strong communication skills to build strong long-term relationships with a wide variety of critical stakeholders

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The base salary for this position is between $80,400 - $130,400 annually. This represents base salary only and does not represent other variable compensation components of our total compensation ( i.e. annual bonus, commission etc). If you are selected to move forward in our recruitment process, your recruiter will be able to discuss additional details of our total rewards program with you.

Career opportunities will be open a minimum of 5 business days from the date of posting, closing dates will vary depending on the search activity. All applications received will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Grow with Canada Life

We’re united by a shared purpose: to improve the financial, physical and mental well-being of Canadians. Our company is trusted by 1 in 3 Canadians and contributes to the strength of communities across the country.

We’re looking for people who live our values everyday: we step up, we do the right thing, and we deliver – for our customers, communities and each other. Are you someone who always strives to do the right thing, who steps up for themselves and others, and who delivers with impact? Then we want to hear from you!

What we offer

We’re committed to supporting our employees through every stage of their career. Here’s what you can expect as a full-time or part-time permanent team member:

• Career Development Opportunities for career advancement, access to industry-leading learning programs and up to $2,000 annually towards education reimbursement.

• Health & Wellness: Flexible health and dental benefits, plus a $5,000 mental health benefit to support your well-being.

• Time Off: In addition to regular vacation and personal days, we support community involvement with a volunteer day. 

• Financial Security: Company-matching pension plan, share ownership program and additional investment options.

• Rewards and Recognition: Employee recognition programs, service milestone celebrations, employee discounts and more!
• Emphasis on Community We provide a workplace where employees feel connected and supported through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), mentorship programs, social clubs and events.

Learn more about Canada Life

We’re committed to removing barriers and ensuring equal access to employment. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation during the application process may contact talentacquisitioncanada@canadalife.com All information provided will be handled in accordance with applicable laws and Canada Life policies.

Canada Life would like to thank all applicants, however only those who qualify for an interview will be contacted

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