Director, Design Operations - Global Wealth Management

Scotiabank; Toronto; On-site; CAD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Scotiabank is seeking a Director of Design Operations for Global Wealth Management. The role leads the Design Operations team, translating the Head of Design strategy into scalable operating models and roadmaps to strengthen design effectiveness and business impact.

You will coordinate with Product, Technology, Design Systems, and Procurement to remove barriers, ensure regulatory compliance, and drive measurable design outcomes across digital experiences for wealth management clients.

Qualifications

• Post-secondary education in design, design management, business, organizational development, technology, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years in design/Design Operations or related field, including 5+ years leading large teams or enterprise-scale initiatives.
• Experience defining operating models, governance, intake, prioritization, capacity planning, and workforce planning.
• Proven ability to develop high-performing teams through coaching and succession planning.
• Experience establishing operational metrics and executive reporting for design impact.

Responsibilities

• Define Design Operations vision and scalable operating models.
• Lead and develop the Design Operations team and cross-functional partnerships.
• Oversee portfolio planning, demand management, and resource governance.
• Improve design workflows and governance with clear decision rights and processes.
• Provide leadership with insights into demand, capacity, dependencies, risks, and progress toward priorities.
• Demonstrate design impact via metrics, maturity measures, and executive reporting.
• Scale communities of practice, mentorship, and learning pathways across design disciplines.
• Oversee tools, platforms, license governance, and vendor management while ensuring privacy, accessibility, and risk compliance.
• Promote responsible AI-enabled design practices and governance, enabling high-quality workflows.

Skills

Design operations

Leadership

Portfolio planning

Resource governance

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive communication

Education

Design degree

Business/Org Dev

Job description

Title: Director, Design Operations - Global Wealth Management

Requisition ID: 276890
Join a purpose driven winning team, committed to results, in an inclusive and high-performing culture.

The Director, Design Operations contributes to the overall success of Global Wealth Management’s Digital Experience Design Team ensuring specific individual goals, plans, initiatives are executed & delivered in support of the team's business strategies andobjectives, ensuring all activities are in compliance with governing regulations, internal policies and procedures.

Is this role right for you? In this role you will:

• Define the Design Operations vision and strategic direction by translating the Head of Design's strategy into scalable operating models, priorities, roadmaps, governance, and measurable outcomes that strengthen design effectiveness and business impact.
• Lead and develop the Design Operations team by setting performance expectations, coaching team members, supporting career development, and building an inclusive, accountable, and high-performing team culture.
• Lead portfolio planning, demand management, and resource governance byestablishingtransparent intake, prioritization, capacity planning, workforce planning, and allocation practices aligned with strategic priorities and delivery needs.
• Establish and continuously improve design ways of working by defining standards, decision rights, workflows, quality checkpoints, and cross-functional engagement models that create sufficient runway for discovery, design, validation, and delivery.
• Strengthen design governance and organizational visibility by providing leaders with clear insights into demand, capacity, dependencies, delivery risks, team health, capability gaps, and progress against design priorities.
• Demonstrate and communicate the measurable impact of design byestablishingperformance frameworks, operational metrics, maturity measures, and executive reporting that connect design investment to customer, employee, delivery, and business outcomes.
• Build organizational design capability by scaling communities of practice, mentorship, onboarding, learning pathways, documentation, critiques, and knowledge-sharing programs across design disciplines.
• Advance tools, platforms, and vendor management by defining the design technology strategy, overseeing procurement andlicensegovernance, driving adoption, and ensuring tools meet business, accessibility, privacy, security, and risk requirements.
• Advance responsible AI-enabled design practices byestablishingguidance, enablement, shared resources, and measurement approaches that improve workflow efficiency and quality whilemaintainingappropriate humanoversight and controls.
• Partner with Product, Technology, Design Systems, Delivery, Procurement, and other disciplines to remove operational barriers, improve collaboration, and scale consistent design practices across Global Wealth Management.
• Strengthen accessibility and inclusive design operations by embedding accessibility into processes, standards, tools, learning, governance, and measurement.
• Enable effective facilitation and decision-making practices byestablishingreusable methods and supporting high-stakes workshops, planning sessions, critiques, and leadership forums that drive alignment and action.
• RepresentDesign Operations in leadership and governance forums by providing strategic recommendations, influencinginvestment,andoperatingdecisions, escalating material risks, and acting as a delegate for the Head of Design whenrequired.

Do you have the skills that will enable you to succeed in this role? – We’d love to work with you if you have:

• Post-secondary education in Design, Design Management, Business, Organizational Development, Technology, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience
• 10+ years of progressive experience in design, design operations, product operations, program management, or a related field, including at least 5 years leading teams or enterprise-scale operational initiatives within complex digital product environments
• Demonstrated experience defining and implementing design operating models, governance, intake, prioritization, capacity planning, resource allocation, and workforce planning practices
• Proven ability to build and develop high-performing teams through coaching, performance management, career development, and succession planning
• Experienceestablishingoperational metrics, maturity measures, and executive reporting thatdemonstratedesign effectiveness, delivery performance, and business impact
• Demonstrated experience in design tools procurement,licensegovernance, managing vendors, and technology adoption within enterprise privacy, security, accessibility, and risk requirements
• Strong understanding of human-centereddesign, research, accessibility, design systems, digital product delivery, and the operational conditions required for multidisciplinary design teams to succeed
• Strong business acumen and executive-level communication, facilitation, negotiation, analytical, and decision-making skills
• Knowledge of responsible AI practices and their application to design workflows, operational enablement, governance, and measurement
• Experience in financial services, wealth management, banking, or another complex regulated industry is considered an asset

Location(s): Canada : Ontario : Toronto

Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets.
At Scotiabank, we value the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the Bank, and are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. If you require accommodation (including, but not limited to, an accessible interview site, alternate format documents, ASL Interpreter, or Assistive Technology) during the recruitment and selection process, please let our Recruitment team know.