Director, Disability Strategy, Specialty Services & Excellence

Reporting to the Senior Director, Disability Claims, this role is responsible for evolving and strengthening iA's disability operating model to meet the changing needs of plan members, clients, and the business in an increasingly digital environment. 

The incumbent provides national leadership for disability specialty services and Centres of Excellence, working closely with operational, modernization, innovation, analytics, sales, and service teams to improve service delivery, build organizational capability, and support the division's strategic priorities. 

The role ensures specialty services work seamlessly with the teams they support, providing the expertise, tools, and solutions needed to deliver excellent high-quality service, timely decisions, recovery outcomes, and continuous improvement. 

Working in partnership with Disability Operations leaders and internal partners, the incumbent engages with clients, advisors, employees, suppliers, and industry stakeholders to identify opportunities and advance practical solutions. The role supports iA's long-term ambitions by strengthening our leadership in disability management through positive wellness, recovery, and sustainable return-to-work outcomes and an exceptional plan member and client experience. 

1. Service Excellence & Performance (Operational Backbone)  

• Oversee claim strategies, process improvements, quality assurance, appeals, litigation support, governance, regulation up-dates, performance outcomes, and KPI attainment.  

• Optimize the frameworks, standards, governance of these services to align with our evolving business needs, driving improvement while protecting client and organizational financial outcomes. 

• Ensure our specialized disability service team is accessible, aligned to business needs, delivers measurable operational value and remains aligned with key functional partners. 

2. Disability Strategy & Operating Model Evolution  

• In close partnership with leaders, drive the strategy and transformation objectives. 

• Translate strategic priorities into practical, scalable operating changes (processes, roles, how-to tools, governance).  

• Lead cross‑functional alignment with Product, Sales, Service, Finance, and Technology.  

• Monitor, measure and drive execution and adoption of transformation, automation and AI/digital initiatives. 

3. Innovation, AI & Continuous Improvement (Disability‑Specific)  

• Work closely with our modernization teams to lead disability innovation, process improvement, automation, AI enablement, and digital transformation initiatives, with clear decision frameworks, KPIs, explainability and risk controls. 

• Drive process standardization, efficiency, and sustainable operational improvements. 

4. Client & Market Leadership  

• Serve as a disability subject matter leader for clients, advisors, and industry stakeholders.  

• Leverage operational insights and market intelligence to strengthen client value and competitive differentiation. 

• Support key client interactions, industry engagement, and business growth objectives. 

5. Vendor, Data & Governance Leadership  

• Oversee vendor management strategies to improve outcomes and manage costs.   

• Ensure compliance with regulatory, audit, and internal control expectations.  

6. Talent, Capability & Leadership Development  

• Help build a future‑ready disability workforce with strong technical, leadership, and decision-making capabilities. 

• Develop canters of expertise and leadership pipelines and lead upskilling initiatives aligned with our evolving business needs. 

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience within disability claims management, claims, or other related insurance operations. 

• Strong expertise across claims operations, strategy, transformation, and governance  

• Demonstrated success leading and guiding teams successfully through innovation and large‑scale change into production, with measured improvement outcomes and gains 

• Exceptional leadership, coaching, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with a track record of building high-performing teams and developing leaders. 

• Deep understanding of disability trends, disabling conditions such as mental health, return‑to‑work practices, and regulatory environments 

• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders, clients, and industry partners   Advanced proficiency in both French and English, as the incumbent will be required to collaborate daily, both verbally and in writing, with unilingual English-speaking partners, teams, and stakeholders across Canada and internationally.