Lead Experience Design Strategist

Manulife; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 92,000 - 143,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services firm in Toronto seeks a Lead Experience Design Strategist to shape digital experiences for Wealth and Asset Management. You will lead design initiatives, ensuring customer needs guide product decisions while driving strategic frameworks. With a strong background in UX and service design, you are adept at synthesizing insights and collaborating across teams. This role offers a hybrid work model and a competitive salary range between $92,900 and $142,900 CAD.

Benefits

Flexible working environment

Career development opportunities

Diversity and inclusion initiatives

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in design strategy or UX strategy.
• Proven ability to define, execute, and evolve strategic frameworks.
• Portfolio demonstrating strategic process and service design depth.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end experience and service design strategy.
• Plan and lead research and validation activities.
• Synthesize quantitative and qualitative inputs into actionable insights.

Skills

Design strategy

UX strategy

Service design

Storytelling

Cross-functional stakeholder-management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Design or HCI

Tools

PowerPoint

Mural

Figma

Job description

Join our dynamic and high-impact Experience Design team shaping the digital experiences for our Wealth, North American Retail, and Global Institutional businesses in Manulife Wealth and Asset Management. As a Lead Experience Design Strategist, you will drive complex, multi‑channel initiatives, help define the vision for future‑state experiences, and influence product roadmaps that directly support our mission to elevate our digital ecosystem and make our customers' lives better.

You thrive in ambiguity, lead through influence, and move fluidly between strategy and execution -accelerating decisions through research-led insights, service design excellence, and compelling storytelling.

Position Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end experience and service design strategy for new and existing digital initiatives - from discovery to implementation - ensuring customer needs remain central to product and business decisions
• Bring structure to ambiguous problem spaces by translating complex insights into clear and actionable strategic direction for both near‑term delivery and long‑term vision
• Plan and lead research and validation activities, integrating service design discovery, blueprinting, generative research, market and competitive scans, and evaluative testing to reveal gaps, uncover user needs, and de‑risk decision‑making
• Synthesize quantitative and qualitative inputs into high‑quality, actionable insights, JTBD, opportunity maps, and experience frameworks that influence prioritization and strategic direction
• Partner closely with leaders in product, design, engineering, marketing, product, and sales to define a cohesive experience vision
• Influence roadmaps through confident facilitation, evidence‑based storytelling, clear concept narratives, and experience principles that align senior stakeholders
• Evolve shared frameworks and ways of working that create consistency and raise quality across teams
• Strengthen the strategic design practice by sharing best practices, coaching peers, and elevating overall craft
• Integrate emerging technologies - including AI‑enabled experiences- into visioning and solution definition

Required Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in design strategy, UX strategy, service design, or related disciplines within financial services or within similarly complex, regulated environments
• Bachelor's degree in Design, HCI, or equivalent professional experience
• Portfolio demonstrating strategic process, service design depth, and shipped outcomes - ideally for digital experiences within Financial Services or similarly complex domains
• Proven ability to independently define, execute, and evolve strategic frameworks from ambiguity to measurable impact
• Exceptional storytelling, facilitation, and cross‑functional stakeholder‑management skills
• High‑quality visual and conceptual communication skills (PowerPoint, Mural, Figma, etc)
• Expertise in generative research, validation, and insight synthesis
• Experience leveraging AI‑augmented design and research tools to accelerate insights and ideation
• Demonstrated ability to lead and prioritize multiple workstreams in a time‑sensitive environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Track record of strategic initiatives that led to measurable improvements in user experience and business outcomes
• Strong portfolio highlighting strategic range, craft quality, and impact
• Experience leading teams across complex, cross‑functional initiatives
• Experience designing or supporting AI‑enabled products or AI design standards
• Familiarity with constraints across desktop, mobile, and multi‑channel ecosystems
• Understanding of accessibility, ethics, and regulatory considerations in digital and AI‑enabled experiences

What Sets You Apart?

• You are committed to excellence and own your craft across all aspects of experience strategy
• You collaborate with low ego and contribute to a culture of transparency, trust, and continuous learning
• You think systematically - turning complexity into clarity and actionable plans that advocate for user needs while balancing business realities
• You are energized by solving core product problems and delivering thoughtful, high‑value experiences

When you join our team

• We’ll empower you to learn and grow the career you want.
• We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well‑being and inclusion are more than just words.
• As part of our global team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see.

Manulife es un empleador que ofrece igualdad de oportunidades

En Manulife/John Hancock, valoramos nuestra diversidad. Nos esforzamos por atraer, formar y retener una fuerza laboral tan diversa como los clientes a los que prestamos servicios, y para fomentar un entorno laboral inclusivo en el que se aprovechen las fortalezas de las culturas y las personas. Estamos comprometidos con la equidad en las contrataciones, la retención de talento, el ascenso y la remuneración, y administramos todas nuestras prácticas y programas sin discriminación por motivos de raza, ascendencia, lugar de origen, color, origen étnico, ciudadanía, religión o creencias religiosas, credo, sexo (incluyendo el embarazo y las afecciones relacionadas con este), orientación sexual, características genéticas, condición de veterano, identidad de género, expresión de género, edad, estado civil, estatus familiar, discapacidad, o cualquier otro aspecto protegido por la ley vigente.

Para solicitar una adaptación razonable en el proceso de solicitud, envíenos un mensaje a [e-mail] .

Referenced Salary Location

Toronto, Ontario

Modalidades de Trabajo

Híbrido

Salary range is expected to be between

$92,900.00 CAD - $142,900.00 CAD

Si se está postulando para este puesto fuera de la ubicación principal, póngase en contacto con [e-mail] para conocer el rango salarial de su ubicación. El salario real variará según las condiciones locales del mercado, la geografía y los factores relacionados con el trabajo pertinentes, como conocimiento, habilidades, calificaciones, experiencia y educación/capacitación. Los empleados también tienen la oportunidad de participar en programas de incentivos y obtener una compensación de incentivos vinculada al desempeño comercial e individual.