Director, Design - Global Design System

Manulife; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 105,000 - 191,000; Full time

Job summary

Manulife is seeking a Director for their Global Design System team in Toronto. This pivotal role involves leading the development and implementation of a comprehensive design system that enhances user experience across all platforms. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in UX design and the ability to influence cross-functional teams effectively. Join us to drive innovation and standardize design excellence across our global operations.

Benefits

Customizable benefits

Flexible work policies

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in UX leadership or design systems.
• Experience in scaling enterprise design systems in global organizations.
• Exceptional communication skills and ability to influence at executive level.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement an enterprise-grade design system.
• Establish governance models and adoption strategies.
• Ensure design system integrates smoothly with product workflows.

Skills

UI/UX best practices

Accessibility (WCAG)

Design governance

Collaboration

Design system operations

Business priorities alignment

Tools

Figma

Storybook

React

Angular

JIRA

Confluence

Job description

As Director , Design - Global Design System at Manulife, you will play a key leadership role in a Global Design System team responsible for shaping, scaling, and driving adoption of an enterprise-wide design system that serves multiple business units across Canada, Asia, and the US. This system will enable consistency, efficiency, accessibility, and innovation across Manulife’s public, secure, and mobile digital experiences. You will partner closely with design, engineering, and product teams across regions to define the visual language, interaction patterns, and usability guidelines that ensure a seamless, high-quality experience for millions of users.

This is a pivotal leadership role within Manulife’s Global Design System team, requiring deep expertise in enterprise design systems, accessibility, and design operations. You will champion human centered design, visual and interaction standards, and design governance, driving system adoption and enabling teams to work more efficiently and creatively. The ideal candidate has successfully led enterprise-wide design systems and understands the organizational, technical and cultural complexities of embedding a design system into the fabric of a global enterprise.

Responsibilities :

Define and implement a scalable, enterprise-grade design system that supports Manulife’s digital transformation across all regions, advocating for design excellence, accessibility, and usability.

Define the visual language, interaction patterns, and usability guidelines that ensure a high-quality experience for millions of users.

Balance global standardization with regional flexibility, ensuring usability across diverse markets and regulatory landscapes.

Partner with executive leadership, product, and engineering teams to align the design system with business priorities.

Governance, Adoption & Enablement

Establish governance models, contribution frameworks, and adoption strategies to ensure system sustainability.

Lead cross-functional alignment, ensuring the design system is embedded into product design workflows across global teams.

Define design principles, usage guidelines, and best practices to ensure consistency and scalability.

Optimize for multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and multi-regulatory challenges, ensuring designs can be localized and adapted without breaking system integrity.

Facilitate design reviews, audits, and contribution models, ensuring high-quality system evolution and usage.

Establish and oversee training, onboarding, and community engagement initiatives to drive system adoption across Manulife’s digital teams.

Develop and track KPIs that measure adoption, efficiency gains, and business impact.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Stakeholder Influence

Serve as a primary design system advocate, navigating organizational complexity to influence decision-making at all levels.

Partner with regional design leads to ensure the system meets regional needs while maintaining overall consistency.

Cultivate collaboration between design, engineering, and product management teams, ensuring smooth integration into digital workflows.

Build and cultivate a global design system community, mentoring teams on best practices and fostering a culture of design system ownership.

Technical & Operational Execution

Own the evolution of design tooling, documentation, and workflows, ensuring sflawlessintegration enterprise platforms (Figma, Storybook, React, Angular, etc ).

Work closely with engineering leadership to ensure design-to-code consistency, accessibility compliance (WCAG), and performance optimization.

Maintain a structured backlog of design system updates, prioritizing enhancements based on business needs and user feedback.

Identify and handle external partnerships and vendors as needed to support system expansion.

What motivates you?

You obsess about customers, listen, engage and act for their benefit.

You think big, with curiosity to discover ways to use your agile approach and enable business outcomes.

You thrive in teams and enjoy getting things done together.

You take ownership and build solutions, focusing on what matters.

You do what is right, work with integrity and speak up.

You share your humanity, helping us build a diverse and inclusive work environment for everyone.

What we are looking for

• 10+ years of experience in UX leadership, design systems, or enterprise product design, preferably within a global enterprise or multi-jurisdictional organization.
• Consistent track record of building and scaling enterprise design systems within large, global organizations, balancing standardization with regional/local adaptation.
• Deep expertise in UI/UX best practices, accessibility (WCAG), design systems, and design-to-development collaboration.
• Experience with governance models, adoption strategies, and design system operations.
• Experience working in complex matrixed organizations with multiple business units and partners.
• Exceptional collaborator management, influence, and communication skills – able to influence senior collaborators, drive alignment, and advocate for design at an executive level.
• Hands-on experience with enterprise design tools and frameworks (Figma, Storybook, React, Angular, JIRA, Confluence, etc.).
• Familiarity with Agile, Lean UX, and enterprise digital delivery models.
• Experience navigating multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and regulatory complexities in global design and content.

What can we offer you?

A competitive salary and benefits packages.

A growth trajectory that extends upward and outward, encouraging you to follow your passions and learn new skills.

A focus on growing your career path with us.

Flexible work policies and strong work-life balance.

Professional development and leadership opportunities.

Our commitment to you

Values-first culture

We lead with our Values every day and bring them to life together.

Boundless opportunity

We create opportunities to learn and grow at every stage of your career.

Continuous innovation

We invite you to help redefine the future of financial services.

Delivering the promise of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We foster an inclusive workplace where everyone thrives.

We build a business that benefits all collaborators and has a positive social and environmental impact.

Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law.

It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact [e-mail] .

Referenced Salary Location

Toronto, Ontario

Working Arrangement

The O pportunity

As Director , Design - Global Design System at Manulife, you will play a key leadership role in a Global Design System team responsible for shaping, scaling, and driving adoption of an enterprise-wide design system that serves multiple business units across Canada, Asia, and the US. This system will enable consistency, efficiency, accessibility, and innovation across Manulife’s public, secure, and mobile digital experiences. You will partner closely with design, engineering, and product teams across regions to define the visual language, interaction patterns, and usability guidelines that ensure a seamless, high-quality experience for millions of users.

This is a pivotal leadership role within Manulife’s Global Design System team, requiring deep expertise in enterprise design systems, accessibility, and design operations. You will champion human centered design, visual and interaction standards, and design governance, driving system adoption and enabling teams to work more efficiently and creatively. The ideal candidate has successfully led enterprise-wide design systems and understands the organizational, technical and cultural complexities of embedding a design system into the fabric of a global enterprise.

Responsibilities :

Global Design System Strategy & Leadership

• Define and implement a scalable, enterprise-grade design system that supports Manulife’s digital transformation across all regions, advocating for design excellence, accessibility, and usability.

• Define the visual language, interaction patterns, and usability guidelines that ensure a high-quality experience for millions of users.

• Balance global standardization with regional flexibility, ensuring usability across diverse markets and regulatory landscapes.

• Partner with executive leadership, product, and engineering teams to align the design system with business priorities.

Governance, Adoption & Enablement

• Establish governance models, contribution frameworks, and adoption strategies to ensure system sustainability.

• Lead cross-functional alignment, ensuring the design system is embedded into product design workflows across global teams.

• Define design principles, usage guidelines, and best practices to ensure consistency and scalability.

• Optimize for multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and multi-regulatory challenges, ensuring designs can be localized and adapted without breaking system integrity.

• Facilitate design reviews, audits, and contribution models, ensuring high-quality system evolution and usage.

• Establish and oversee training, onboarding, and community engagement initiatives to drive system adoption across Manulife’s digital teams.

• Develop and track KPIs that measure adoption, efficiency gains, and business impact.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Stakeholder Influence

• Serve as a primary design system advocate, navigating organizational complexity to influence decision-making at all levels.

• Partner with regional design leads to ensure the system meets regional needs while maintaining overall consistency.

• Cultivate collaboration between design, engineering, and product management teams, ensuring smooth integration into digital workflows.

• Build and cultivate a global design system community, mentoring teams on best practices and fostering a culture of design system ownership.

Technical & Operational Execution

• Own the evolution of design tooling, documentation, and workflows, ensuring sflawlessintegration enterprise platforms (Figma, Storybook, React, Angular, etc ).

• Work closely with engineering leadership to ensure design-to-code consistency, accessibility compliance (WCAG), and performance optimization.

• Maintain a structured backlog of design system updates, prioritizing enhancements based on business needs and user feedback.

• Identify and handle external partnerships and vendors as needed to support system expansion.

What motivates you?

• You obsess about customers, listen, engage and act for their benefit.

• You think big, with curiosity to discover ways to use your agile approach and enable business outcomes.

• You thrive in teams and enjoy getting things done together.

• You take ownership and build solutions, focusing on what matters.

• You do what is right, work with integrity and speak up.

• You share your humanity, helping us build a diverse and inclusive work environment for everyone.

What we are looking for

• 10+ years of experience in UX leadership, design systems, or enterprise product design, preferably within a global enterprise or multi-jurisdictional organization.

• Consistent track record of building and scaling enterprise design systems within large, global organizations, balancing standardization with regional/local adaptation.

• Deep expertise in UI/UX best practices, accessibility (WCAG), design systems, and design-to-development collaboration.

• Experience with governance models, adoption strategies, and design system operations.

• Experience working in complex matrixed organizations with multiple business units and partners.

• Exceptional collaborator management, influence, and communication skills – able to influence senior collaborators, drive alignment, and advocate for design at an executive level.

• Hands-on experience with enterprise design tools and frameworks (Figma, Storybook, React, Angular, JIRA, Confluence, etc.).

• Familiarity with Agile, Lean UX, and enterprise digital delivery models.

• Experience navigating multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and regulatory complexities in global design and content.

What can we offer you?

• A competitive salary and benefits packages.

• A growth trajectory that extends upward and outward, encouraging you to follow your passions and learn new skills.

• A focus on growing your career path with us.

• Flexible work policies and strong work-life balance.

• Professional development and leadership opportunities.

Our commitment to you

• Values-first culture

• We lead with our Values every day and bring them to life together.

• Boundless opportunity

• We create opportunities to learn and grow at every stage of your career.

• Continuous innovation

• We invite you to help redefine the future of financial services.

• Delivering the promise of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

• We foster an inclusive workplace where everyone thrives.

• Championing Corporate Citizenship

• We build a business that benefits all collaborators and has a positive social and environmental impact.

# LI-Hybrid

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html .

Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law.

It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact [e-mail] .

Referenced Salary Location

Toronto, Ontario

Working Arrangement

Hybrid

Salary range is expected to be between

$105,750.00 CAD - $190,350.00 CAD

If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact [e-mail] for the salary range for your location. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance.

Manulife offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits, including health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage, adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits, and employee/family assistance plans. We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in Canada includes holidays, vacation, personal, and sick days, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence. If you are applying for this role in the U.S., please contact [e-mail] for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.

About the company

Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian multinational insurance company and financial services provider headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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