Oliver Wyman - Product Strategy Designer - Warsaw

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Strategy Designer

Company: Oliver Wyman Group

Location: Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Product Strategy & Design Operations

Date Posted: 2026-02-16

Experience Level: 8+ years (with a strong emphasis on upstream concepting and strategic design)

Remote Status: Hybrid (minimum 3 days in office per week)

🚀 Role Summary

• This role is crucial for shaping product strategy by integrating design thinking at the initiative and epic level, operating upstream of the delivery phase.

• The Product Strategy Designer will translate strategic intent into user-centered product concepts, ensuring alignment with business objectives and user needs before execution.

• Focuses on concept development, value articulation, and strategic design to inform and support critical investment decisions, prioritization, and roadmap definition.

• Acts as a bridge between Product Strategy, Product Design, and Research teams, ensuring design-led concepts are well-grounded and clearly communicated to all stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned at a senior individual contributor level, requiring significant experience in strategic design and a proven ability to influence decision-making without direct authority. The emphasis on "upstream of delivery" and "concept development" suggests a proactive, strategic function rather than a traditional execution-focused design role. The operations aspect lies in optimizing the product development lifecycle by ensuring strategic alignment and validated concepts early on, preventing costly rework and misaligned investments.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Develop future-state product concepts and high-fidelity designs that clearly articulate business value, user experience, and strategic intent, suitable for executive-level presentations.

• Translate high-level business strategy into tangible, initiative-level designs that effectively guide product prioritization and roadmap decisions, ensuring strategic coherence.

• Partner closely with Product Design teams to establish and maintain strategic framing and design guardrails across the Quotient Inside product portfolio.

• Collaborate deeply with Research and Insights teams, including direct involvement in user interviews, to embed profound user empathy and validated insights into product strategy.

• Conduct feasibility testing and pressure-test concepts with cross-functional partners (Product, Engineering, Delivery) to ensure practical viability and alignment with technical constraints.

• Contribute to the development and refinement of shared standards, best practices, and frameworks for product strategy and concept design within the Global Creative Studio.

• Act as the voice of the end-user at the strategic level, ensuring product decisions are consistently informed by user value, usability, and long-term product coherence.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic thinking, design execution, and cross-functional collaboration. The emphasis on "translating strategy into initiative-level designs" and "guiding prioritization and roadmap decisions" underscores the role's impact on operational efficiency by ensuring resources are allocated to well-defined, strategically aligned initiatives.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, HCI, Business Strategy, or a related field is typically expected for roles requiring 8+ years of experience.

Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience in product design, product strategy design, experience design, or a closely related field, with a demonstrable focus on upstream concepting, strategic design, and informing investment decisions. Experience in consulting, professional services, or complex enterprise environments is highly preferred.

Required Skills:

• Strategic Design & Concept Development: Proven ability to conceptualize and design future-state products, articulate value propositions, and translate strategic objectives into tangible design artifacts.

• Portfolio Demonstration: A strong, compelling portfolio showcasing end-to-end concept development, strategic thinking, user-centered design principles, and high-fidelity design execution.

• Upstream Product Development: Experience operating effectively in the early stages of the product lifecycle, influencing product direction and investment decisions before detailed delivery commitment.

• Figma Expertise: Mastery of Figma for design, prototyping, and collaboration; ability to create high-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes.

• AI Tool Proficiency: Experience leveraging AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude) to augment ideation, explore design concepts, and accelerate the design process.

• User Insight Integration: Demonstrated ability to synthesize research findings, user insights, and strategic inputs into compelling design narratives and actionable product concepts.

• Stakeholder Influence & Communication: Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders through effective design, compelling storytelling, and clear visual communication.

Preferred Skills:

• Consulting/Professional Services Background: Experience working within or closely with consulting firms or professional services organizations, understanding complex business environments and client needs.

• User Interview Facilitation: Experience conducting and structuring user interviews independently or in close partnership with dedicated research teams.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Strong track record of effective collaboration with Product Management, Product Design, User Research, Engineering, and other delivery teams.

• Executive-Level Storytelling: Exceptional ability to craft and deliver persuasive narratives that resonate with executive audiences.

• Ambiguity Navigation: Comfort and proven ability to operate effectively in ambiguous environments, shaping direction and driving clarity without formal authority.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience requirement of "8+ years" combined with the emphasis on "upstream concepting" and "influencing senior stakeholders" suggests this role is for a seasoned professional who can operate with a high degree of autonomy and strategic impact. The mention of "consulting, professional services, or complex enterprise environments" indicates a need for candidates who understand business strategy and can apply design thinking to solve complex problems.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Concept Development Showcase: Include case studies that clearly demonstrate your process for developing innovative product concepts from initial ideation through to high-fidelity design, highlighting strategic thinking.

• Strategic Impact Documentation: Showcase examples where your strategic design work directly informed product direction, prioritization, or investment decisions, ideally with quantifiable outcomes or stakeholder alignment achieved.

• User-Centered Design Evidence: Provide evidence of how user research and insights were integrated into your design process, leading to user-validated concepts and solutions.

• High-Fidelity Design Examples: Present examples of high-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes that effectively communicate the intended user experience and value proposition.

• Stakeholder Alignment Narratives: Include examples of how you used design, storytelling, and visual communication to gain buy-in and alignment from senior stakeholders.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design: Illustrate your approach to designing workflows and user journeys that align with strategic objectives and user needs, particularly in the early stages of product development.

• Concept Validation Methods: Detail how you validate concepts, test assumptions, and gather feedback to refine product strategy before significant development investment.

• Strategic Framing: Demonstrate your ability to establish strategic frameworks and design guardrails that ensure coherence across multiple product initiatives.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration Protocols: Outline how you engage with Product, Research, and Engineering teams to ensure seamless integration of strategy and design throughout the product development lifecycle.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role focused on "upstream" product strategy and design, a portfolio needs to emphasize strategic thinking and influence, not just visual execution. Candidates should be prepared to articulate their process for problem definition, concept ideation, validation, and stakeholder management, showcasing how their design contributions directly impacted strategic outcomes and investment decisions.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Given the senior experience level (8+ years), the specialized nature of the role (Product Strategy Designer), and the location (Warsaw, Poland), a competitive salary range would typically fall between PLN 200,000 - PLN 350,000 gross annually. This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for senior design and strategy roles in major European tech hubs, considering the reputation and size of Oliver Wyman.

Benefits:

• Full-time Employment Contract: Standard employment contract with Oliver Wyman.

• Attractive Compensation Package: Competitive base salary commensurate with experience and expertise.

• Flexible Benefits Package: Customizable benefits allowing employees to tailor their package to individual needs, including:

  • Private Healthcare
  • Insurance (life, disability, etc.)
  • Sport Card (e.g., MultiSport)
  • Lunch Card/Voucher
  • Gift Card
  • Saving Plan
  • Pension Plan

• Professional Growth: Opportunities for career advancement within a stable, global company.

• Learning & Development: Access to mentoring programs and comprehensive training initiatives.

• Inclusive Culture: Participation in Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

• Work-Life Balance: A friendly and flexible workplace environment that promotes work-life balance.

• Digital Collaboration Tools: Access to a range of digital collaboration and online communication tools.

• Virtual Learning: Various social initiatives and learning opportunities adapted for virtual settings.

• Modern Office Amenities: Access to fresh fruit, beverages, and snacks in a modern office located near the city center.

Working Hours: Typically 40 hours per week, aligning with standard full-time employment. The role operates on a hybrid model, requiring at least 3 days per week in the Warsaw office, with flexibility often built into the daily schedule.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on general market data for senior design and strategy roles in Poland, considering the consulting industry and the company's global standing. The benefits package is comprehensive, reflecting typical offerings for professional services firms. The hybrid work model (3 days in office) is a key aspect of the work environment.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Management Consulting, Professional Services, Financial Services (as part of Marsh McLennan). Oliver Wyman specializes in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation.

Company Size: Oliver Wyman is part of Marsh McLennan, a large global professional services firm with over 90,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues exceeding $24 billion. Oliver Wyman itself employs thousands of consultants and professionals globally. This scale provides stability and a wide range of opportunities.

Founded: Oliver Wyman traces its roots back to 1898, with significant evolution and growth over the decades. Its current form as a major global consultancy has been shaped over the last several decades.

Team Structure:

• Global Creative Studio: This role sits within the Global Creative Studio, a specialized unit focused on design and creative strategy. This implies a more agile, design-centric team structure.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: The Product Strategy Designer will work closely with Product Strategy leadership, Product Design teams, and Research & Insights teams, indicating a collaborative, matrixed reporting structure for projects.

• Reporting: While not explicitly stated, this senior role likely reports to a Director or Head within the Global Creative Studio or Product Strategy function.

Methodology:

• Design Thinking: The core methodology emphasizes user-centered design, empathy, ideation, prototyping, and testing, particularly at the strategic level.

• Strategic Frameworks: Application of established consulting and product strategy frameworks to define problems, explore solutions, and inform decision-making.

• Data-Driven Insights: Heavy reliance on research, user insights, and market data to ground strategy and design decisions.

• Agile Principles: While operating "upstream," the work likely interfaces with agile delivery teams, requiring an understanding of iterative development and rapid feedback loops.

Company Website: https://www.oliverwyman.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Oliver Wyman operates within the high-stakes world of management consulting, demanding rigor, analytical excellence, and strong client-facing skills. The establishment of a "Global Creative Studio" indicates a strategic investment in design's role within consulting, moving beyond traditional analysis to creative problem-solving and product conceptualization. The company's size and industry suggest a professional, results-oriented culture with opportunities for exposure to diverse, complex business challenges.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a senior individual contributor, likely at a Principal or Senior Designer level within a specialized design/strategy function. It requires significant experience and autonomy, focusing on shaping strategic direction rather than managing a team directly. The "Designer" title within a "Product Strategy" context highlights a specialized niche that bridges strategic consulting and product development.

Reporting Structure: The Product Strategy Designer will likely report to a lead within the Global Creative Studio or a senior Product Strategy executive. They will collaborate extensively with Product Design, Product Strategy, and Research teams, forming strong working relationships with peers and stakeholders across various product initiatives.

Operations Impact: The primary impact of this role is on optimizing the product development lifecycle by ensuring that strategic investments are well-founded, user-validated, and clearly conceptualized before significant resources are committed to delivery. This reduces the risk of building the wrong products, improves resource allocation efficiency, and accelerates time-to-market for validated concepts. By shaping product direction upstream, this role directly influences the strategic success and market fit of Oliver Wyman's product offerings.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization Advancement: Deepen expertise in product strategy design, user-centered strategy, and concept development within complex enterprise environments.

• Leadership in Design Strategy: Progress into leadership roles within the Global Creative Studio, potentially managing specialized design strategy teams or leading larger strategic initiatives.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Transition into broader Product Strategy or Product Management leadership roles, leveraging a strong foundation in design and strategic thinking.

• Industry Expertise: Develop deep domain expertise in specific industries served by Oliver Wyman through project work.

• Mentorship & Training: Participate in and eventually lead mentorship programs, contributing to the development of junior designers and strategists.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a unique opportunity for a design professional to operate at a strategic level within a leading consulting firm. The growth path leans towards specialized leadership in design strategy or a broader move into product leadership, emphasizing strategic influence and problem-solving capabilities.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in Warsaw, Poland, and is described as hybrid. This implies a modern office environment designed for collaboration, with dedicated workspaces, meeting rooms, and amenities.

Office Location(s): The office is located in Warsaw, described as "modern" and "near the city center," suggesting accessibility and a professional business district setting.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The office serves as a hub for team collaboration, client meetings, and in-person strategic discussions, especially on designated "anchor days."

• Technology-Enabled: Expect access to state-of-the-art digital collaboration and online communication tools to support effective teamwork, whether in the office or remote.

• Team Interaction: The hybrid model fosters opportunities for both focused individual work and rich team interaction, encouraging knowledge sharing and spontaneous problem-solving.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, typically 40 hours per week. The hybrid model requires at least 3 days in the office, with the remaining days offering flexibility. This structure aims to balance the benefits of in-person collaboration with the need for focused work and personal flexibility.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a "modern office near the city center" and "digital collaboration tools" indicates a forward-thinking work environment that values both physical presence for collaboration and technological enablement for efficiency. The hybrid model is central to the work arrangement, balancing team cohesion with individual needs.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your CV and portfolio by a recruiter to assess foundational qualifications and experience.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Discussion focused on your experience, strategic thinking, and how you approach product strategy design challenges.

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: A key stage where you'll likely present a curated selection of your portfolio, demonstrating your process, strategic thinking, and ability to articulate value. This may be accompanied by a specific design challenge or case study analysis related to product strategy.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with potential peers and stakeholders from Product Design, Product Strategy, and Research teams to assess collaboration style, technical skills, and cultural fit.

• Final Interview: Potentially with senior leadership to discuss strategic impact, leadership potential, and final alignment with the firm's values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 projects that best showcase your strengths in strategic design, concept development, upstream work, and stakeholder influence. Prioritize quality and depth over quantity.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your strategic approach, the process you followed (including user insights and validation), the solutions you designed, and the impact or outcome. Use visuals effectively.

• Highlight "Upstream" Work: Emphasize projects where you influenced strategy, defined product direction, or shaped initiatives before detailed delivery. Showcase how you translated ambiguity into clear concepts.

• Demonstrate Tool Proficiency: Briefly mention your use of Figma and AI tools where relevant to your process or outcomes.

• Focus on Impact: Quantify results or describe qualitative impact (e.g., stakeholder alignment, clarity of direction, reduced risk) wherever possible.

• Prepare for Discussion: Be ready to discuss your design decisions, trade-offs, and how you navigated challenges in each project.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Oliver Wyman's Business: Research Oliver Wyman's consulting areas, clients, and recent work. Understand their strategic challenges and how product development fits into their offerings.

• Practice Strategic Framing: Be prepared to frame a business problem, identify key user needs, and outline a strategic approach to product concept development.

• Articulate Value: Practice clearly articulating the value of design at the strategic level and how it drives business outcomes.

• Embrace Ambiguity: If presented with an ambiguous problem, demonstrate your ability to ask clarifying questions, make reasonable assumptions, and structure your approach logically.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes a strong portfolio and the ability to articulate strategic design thinking. Candidates should prepare to demonstrate not just design skills but also business acumen, strategic foresight, and the ability to influence. The "upstream" nature of the role means showcasing how you shape product direction before development begins is paramount.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Core tool for design, prototyping, and collaboration. Expertise in creating high-fidelity mockups, interactive prototypes, design systems (if applicable), and collaborative workflows within Figma is essential.

• Prototyping Tools: Proficiency with Figma's prototyping capabilities or other related tools (e.g., InVision, Axure) for creating interactive user flows.

• AI Tools: Experience leveraging AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, or similar for ideation, content generation, research synthesis, and exploring design variations.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• No specific CRM or automation tools are mentioned as primary requirements for this role, as the focus is upstream strategy and design rather than sales or marketing operations. However, understanding how product strategy translates into CRM or marketing automation initiatives could be a plus.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on Figma and AI tools highlights a modern design technology stack. Proficiency in Figma is non-negotiable, and experience with AI tools signals an innovative and efficient approach to design exploration and ideation.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: A strong desire to create tangible, meaningful impact for clients and the firm through strategic design and product innovation.

• Collaboration & Partnership: Valuing close partnerships with Product Strategy, Design, Research, and Engineering teams to achieve shared goals.

• Data-Informed, User-Centered: Commitment to grounding all strategic and design decisions in robust user insights and business data.

• Excellence & Rigor: Maintaining high standards of quality, professionalism, and analytical rigor in all aspects of work.

• Entrepreneurial Spirit: A proactive, self-starting attitude, comfortable taking initiative and shaping direction in ambiguous environments.

• Continuous Learning: Embracing a mindset of ongoing learning and skill development, staying abreast of industry trends and new technologies.

Collaboration Style:

• Proactive & Engaged: Actively seeking out collaborations, initiating discussions, and contributing to cross-functional problem-solving.

• Transparent & Communicative: Openly sharing insights, progress, and challenges with stakeholders.

• Design Advocate: Effectively communicating the value of design thinking and user-centered approaches to diverse audiences, including senior leadership.

• Solution-Oriented: Focusing on constructive solutions and trade-offs, working collaboratively to overcome obstacles.

• Feedback-Rich: Open to receiving and providing constructive feedback to foster continuous improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: Oliver Wyman's culture values individuals who are intellectually curious, driven, and capable of working collaboratively to solve complex problems. The emphasis on "leading with heart," "striving for breakthroughs," and "working as one" suggests a culture that balances ambition with teamwork and a positive, human-centric approach.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Ambiguity: Operating "upstream" often means dealing with ill-defined problems and evolving strategic objectives. The challenge lies in synthesizing this ambiguity into clear, actionable design concepts.

• Influencing Without Authority: Persuading senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams to adopt strategic design recommendations requires strong communication, storytelling, and evidence-based arguments.

• Balancing Strategy and Feasibility: Ensuring that innovative concepts are not only strategically sound and user-centric but also technically feasible and aligned with business constraints.

• Integrating Design into Strategy: Embedding design thinking effectively into traditional strategy development processes within a consulting firm context.

• Rapid Iteration: The pace of strategic work may require rapid ideation and concept refinement, demanding agility and efficiency.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Strategic Design Mastery: Deepen expertise in advanced strategic design methodologies, foresight techniques, and innovation frameworks.

• Industry Specialization: Gain in-depth knowledge of specific industries (e.g., Financial Services, Healthcare, Energy) through project work, becoming a subject matter expert.

• Leadership Development: Develop leadership skills through managing strategic design initiatives, mentoring junior colleagues, and potentially leading design strategy teams.

• Exposure to Senior Leadership: Regularly interact with and present to senior Oliver Wyman partners and client executives, enhancing executive presence and communication skills.

• Cutting-Edge Tools & Technologies: Stay at the forefront of design technology, including advanced AI applications in design and strategy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges inherent in this role are significant, requiring a high degree of strategic acumen, influencing skills, and adaptability. However, these challenges also present substantial growth opportunities for professionals looking to make a strategic impact in the design and consulting space.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you influenced product strategy or investment decisions through design. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on upstream work, stakeholder influence, and impact.)

• "How do you approach translating ambiguous business objectives or market needs into concrete product concepts?" (Highlight your methodology for problem framing, ideation, and synthesis.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why Oliver Wyman, and why this role within the Global Creative Studio?" (Research the firm's values, recent work, and articulate how your skills and aspirations align.)

• "How do you approach collaboration with Product, Research, and Engineering teams, especially when there are differing opinions or priorities?" (Demonstrate your teamwork, communication, and ability to find common ground.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Start with the "Why": Begin each case study by clearly articulating the strategic problem or opportunity you addressed.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use high-fidelity visuals, diagrams, and prototypes to illustrate your concepts and design process.

• Narrate Your Role: Clearly define your specific contributions, especially if it was a collaborative project.

• Emphasize Strategic Thinking: Explain the strategic rationale behind your design choices and how they align with business goals and user needs.

• Quantify or Qualify Impact: Conclude with the results, whether they are measurable business outcomes, achieved stakeholder alignment, or key learnings that shaped future direction.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your process, decision-making rationale, and how you handled challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, influencing ability, and a robust understanding of the product strategy lifecycle. The portfolio is the primary tool for showcasing these capabilities, so thorough preparation and clear storytelling are critical.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Strategy Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Oliver Wyman careers portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight 3-4 key projects that best demonstrate your experience in strategic design, concept development, upstream product work, and stakeholder influence. Ensure each case study clearly outlines the problem, your process, your strategic approach, and the impact.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to prominently feature keywords related to product strategy, design thinking, concept development, strategic design, Figma, AI tools, stakeholder management, and experience in consulting or complex enterprise environments. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your portfolio projects using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). Prepare answers to common behavioral and situational questions related to strategy, design, collaboration, and problem-solving. Rehearse your "elevator pitch" about why you are a great fit.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Oliver Wyman, its core consulting areas, its Global Creative Studio, and its values. Understand the Marsh McLennan ecosystem and its significance. Identify recent company news or initiatives that resonate with your interest in this role.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.