Customer Experience Design Manager

Woolworths Financial Services; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 600 000 - 800 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services provider in Cape Town seeks a Customer Experience Design Manager to lead research, manage projects, and enhance customer experience strategies. The ideal candidate will have 6-8 years in the financial services or retail sector and 2-4 years in management. Responsibilities include overseeing experience design and customer research projects while collaborating with various teams. This role calls for strong leadership skills and a commitment to transforming customer interactions.

Qualifications

• 6 – 8 years of experience working in a Financial Services/Consumer/Retail organisation.
• 2 – 4 years’ experience in a Management capacity.
• Demonstrated experience in Experience Design, Customer Journey management and Customer Research.

Responsibilities

• Lead research and insights for enhancing Customer Experience.
• Oversee delivery of Experience Design and Customer Research projects.
• Collaborate with business units to share insights and best practices.
• Drive a cohesive customer and employee experience.

Skills

Experience Design

Customer Journey Management

Customer Research

Stakeholder Engagement

Team Leadership

Education

Undergraduate Qualification in Design / Information Studies / Consumer Behavior / Customer Research

Job description

Woolworths Financial Services | Full time

Customer Experience Design Manager

Cape Town, South Africa | Posted on 01/12/2026

WoolworthsFinancial Services, or WFS as it is better known, is a JointVenture with Absa Bank, that supports the Woolworths retailbusiness by providing in-storecredit inthe formof the Woolworths StoreCard andoffering value-addedservices including credit cards, personal loans and short-terminsurance as well as life insurance linked to otherproducts.

Job Description

MAIN PURPOSE

The Customer Experience Manager is responsible for leading WFS’s research and insights function. This includes managing the WFS Insights Community and producing research- and trend-driven insights that help identify and shape opportunities to enhance the Customer Experience (CX). The role supports both strategic initiatives and BAU priorities by guiding how these are prioritised for maximum customer, employee, and business impact. Additionally, the role oversees the development and maintenance of a centralised experience and insights library.

KEY RESPONSIBILITES

Operational Direction

• Oversee and take responsibility for the successful delivery of a range of Experience Design and Customer Research projects for WFS across the customer journey.
• Account for all design and research projects and assure implementation of all projects is aligned to the overall customer strategy.
• Collaborate with other business units and product lines to share insights, learnings and best practices. Act as a trusted adviser for customer experience across the WFS product landscape.
• Collaborate with all business units that utilize ED and research services to drive a cohesive customer and employee experience.

Customer Experience Solutions

• Own and manage the broader customer research capability, to facilitate and manage alternative research requirements, based on business need and priority.
• Own and manage the broader customer experience design capability, to support both strategic and BAU priorites.

Customer Experience Methodologies

• Develop and implement technologies to be employed by the Experience, Brand and Marketing teams to meet work outcomes and identify how technologies can be applied differently to enhance the delivery of tasks.
• Maintain knowledge of local and global industry research methodologies with the aim of improving research delivery within WFS.
• Adhere to Research data policies in line with WFS data standards so that quality data is consistently and appropriately stored, used, and managed.

Partner and Stakeholder Relationships

• Engage proactively with stakeholders and customers to drive the successful involvement of the customer experience function throughout the customer journey.
• Participate in the management and integration of customer experience products across the WFS landscape to initiate new engagement opportunities and strengthen existing synergies.
• Own and manage key supplier relationships and contracts.

People Management (Future)

• Build, Lead and develop the team in line with WFS leadership principles, overseeing the full employee lifecycle to build and maintain a high-performance culture.
• Build and maintain a strong talent pipeline to ensure the team has the capability to deliver on experience design priorities.
• Contribute to the operational budget and manage financial performance to identify cost‑saving opportunities.
• Apply sound financial management principles to support responsible, informed decision-making.
• Monitor business area performance and recommend financial adjustments to ensure alignment with goals.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION

• Undergraduate Qualification in Design / Information Studies / Consumer Behavior / Customer Research or equivalent fields.

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• 6 – 8 years of experience working in a Financial Services/Consumer/Retail organisation.
• 2 – 4 years’ experience in a Management capacity, with demonstrated experience in Experience Design, Customer Journey management and Customer Research.

Woolworths Financial Services is a proud South African brand, who is committed to transformation. Meeting our employment equity goals will be taken into account in our recruitment decisions.