Director Talent Acquisition

Permanent Full-Time

We are seeking a strategic and experienced Director, Talent Acquisition – Corporate Functions to lead and evolve end‑to‑end recruitment for our corporate and enabling functions, with a strong focus on executive search and advanced sourcing strategies. This role is critical in ensuring we proactively identify, engage, and hire diverse, high‑quality talent aligned to business priorities.

You will serve as a trusted advisor to senior executives, translating workforce and succession plans into actionable recruitment and executive search strategies, while continuously strengthening TA capabilities, governance, and outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Talent & Executive Search Strategy

• In partnership with the AVP, Executive Talent & Succession, lead the enterprise talent acquisition strategy for Corporate Functions, including executive, critical, and emerging capability needs.
• Translate business strategy and workforce plans into forward‑looking recruitment and executive search roadmaps.
• Provide thought leadership on labour market trends, executive talent movement, sourcing innovation, and competitive intelligence to inform hiring decisions.

Executive & Critical Role Hiring

• Lead and oversee complex, confidential, and high‑impact executive searches, ensuring rigorous assessment and best‑in‑class candidate experience.
• Design and execute bespoke search strategies, including direct sourcing, talent mapping, and relationship‑based outreach for senior and niche roles.
• Partner closely with executive leaders on role definition, search strategy, assessment approach, and decision‑making.
• Ensure consistent application of enterprise assessment standards while tailoring approaches to the seniority and impact of roles.

Sourcing Excellence & Market Intelligence

• Establish and continuously evolve proactive sourcing strategies for executive and hard‑to‑fill roles, reducing reliance on reactive hiring.
• Build and maintain executive talent pipelines and market maps across priority corporate functions.
• Leverage data, insights, and external networks to inform sourcing strategies and hiring timelines.
• Evaluate and optimize use of external search firms, talent platforms, and sourcing tools.

TA Operations & Governance

• Own recruitment policies, executive search frameworks, and decision‑quality standards to ensure rigor, consistency, and equitable outcomes.
• Monitor recruitment performance, executive pipeline health, time‑to‑fill, and quality indicators; identify risks and implement corrective actions.
• Continuously improve TA processes, tools, and operating models to support scale, speed, and candidate experience.

Stakeholder Partnership

• Act as a strategic advisor to executives influencing hiring outcomes and managing complex expectations.
• Build trusted relationships across Corporate Functions to enable proactive, well‑planned hiring and succession readiness.

Team Leadership

• Set clear priorities, manage capacity across executive and volume hiring demands, and ensure delivery against business needs.
• Foster a high‑performance, inclusive culture with strong accountability and continuous development.

What You Bring

• 10+ years of progressive Talent Acquisition experience, including leading corporate or enterprise recruitment portfolios.
• Demonstrated success leading executive search and senior leadership hiring, including direct sourcing and talent mapping.
• Strong understanding of labour market dynamics for corporate functions.
• Proven ability to design and execute sophisticated sourcing strategies for hard‑to‑fill and senior roles.
• Strategic mindset combined with hands‑on execution and operational excellence.
• Experience building, leading, and developing high‑performing TA and executive search teams.
• Exceptional stakeholder management, influencing, and decision‑making skills at the executive level.

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 Great-West Lifeco

Great-West Lifeco Inc is a Canadian headquarter, international financial services holding company with interests in life insurance, health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management, and reinsurance businesses. We operate in Canada, the United States, and Europe under the brands: Canada Life, Empower and Irish Life. At the end of 2024, our companies had over 32,250 employees, 106,000 advisor relationships, and thousands of distribution partners – serving approximately 40 million customer relationships.

Great-West Lifeco trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker symbol GWO and is a member of the Power Corporation group of companies.

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 Great-West Lifeco.  

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 Great-West Lifeco policies.  

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