Lead Experience Design Strategist

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead Experience Design Strategist

Company: Manulife

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Experience Design & Strategy / GTM Operations

Date Posted: January 27, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive complex, multi-channel digital initiatives by leading end-to-end experience and service design strategy from discovery through implementation.

• Bring structure to ambiguous problem spaces by translating complex insights into clear, 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, and evaluative testing.

• 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, and sales to define a cohesive experience vision and influence roadmaps through evidence-based storytelling and clear concept narratives.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Lead Experience Design Strategist," the core responsibilities and emphasis on influencing product roadmaps, driving initiatives, and synthesizing insights indicate a strong connection to Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy and operational execution. This role requires a strategic thinker who can translate user needs and business objectives into tangible digital experiences, aligning with GTM operational goals. The focus on "driving complex, multi-channel initiatives" and "influencing product roadmaps" directly ties into the strategic planning and execution phases of GTM.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end experience and service design strategy for new and existing digital initiatives, ensuring customer needs are central to product and business decisions.

• Define strategic direction for both near-term delivery and long-term vision by translating complex insights and ambiguous problem spaces into actionable plans.

• Plan and execute research and validation activities, including service design discovery, blueprinting, generative research, market scans, and evaluative testing to identify gaps and user needs.

• Synthesize diverse quantitative and qualitative data into actionable insights, user journey maps (JTBD), opportunity maps, and comprehensive experience frameworks.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional leaders in product management, engineering, marketing, and sales to define a unified experience vision and influence strategic roadmaps.

• Facilitate stakeholder alignment through confident presentations, evidence-based storytelling, clear concept narratives, and established experience principles.

• Develop and evolve shared frameworks and best practices to ensure consistency and elevate the quality of experience design across teams.

• Contribute to strengthening the strategic design practice by sharing expertise, coaching peers, and promoting a high standard of craft.

• Integrate emerging technologies, including AI-enabled experiences, into visioning and solution definition processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities outline a strategic role that bridges design thinking with business objectives. The emphasis on "synthesizing quantitative and qualitative inputs," "influencing roadmaps," and "integrating emerging technologies" suggests a need for analytical rigor and a forward-thinking approach, which are critical for operationalizing GTM strategies. The role requires not just creative design but also the ability to operationalize those designs into market-ready products and services.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• 6+ years of experience in design strategy, UX strategy, service design, or related disciplines within financial services or similarly complex, regulated environments.

• Proven ability to independently define, execute, and evolve strategic frameworks from ambiguity to measurable impact.

Required Skills:

• Exceptional storytelling, facilitation, and cross-functional stakeholder management skills.

• High-quality visual and conceptual communication skills (proficiency with tools like PowerPoint, Mural, Figma).

• Expertise in generative research, validation methodologies, 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 Skills:

• Strong portfolio highlighting strategic range, craft quality, and demonstrable impact on business outcomes.

• 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.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "stakeholder management," "evidence-based storytelling," and "influencing roadmaps" points to the need for strong communication and influencing skills, which are essential for aligning various GTM functions. The requirement for experience in "financial services or similarly complex, regulated environments" highlights the need for candidates who understand operational constraints and compliance.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a strategic process that clearly articulates the journey from problem definition to solution.

• Demonstrate depth in service design, including blueprints, journey maps, and user flow diagrams.

• Include examples of shipped digital experiences with clear articulation of your role and impact.

• Highlight how user insights and data were synthesized to inform strategic decisions and influence product roadmaps.

Process Documentation:

• Document the workflow for defining strategy in ambiguous problem spaces, detailing research, synthesis, and ideation phases.

• Illustrate the process for planning and executing research and validation activities, including generative and evaluative methods.

• Showcase how quantitative and qualitative inputs were integrated to create actionable insights and strategic frameworks.

• Detail the approach to collaborating with cross-functional teams (product, engineering, marketing, sales) to define vision and influence roadmaps.

• Explain methods for evolving shared frameworks and best practices to ensure consistency and raise quality across teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are critical for this role, as they directly demonstrate the candidate's ability to operationalize strategic thinking into tangible outcomes. A strong portfolio will show a clear process for understanding market needs, developing strategic solutions, and influencing the execution of those solutions, which is fundamental to GTM operations.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $92,900.00 CAD - $142,900.00 CAD per year.

• Note: The actual salary will vary based on local market conditions, geography, and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health, dental, mental health, and vision insurance coverage.

• Short-term and long-term disability insurance.

• Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance.

• Adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits.

• Employee and family assistance programs.

• Retirement savings plans, including a pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions.

• Financial education and counseling resources.

• Generous paid time off program in Canada, including holidays, vacation, personal days, and sick days.

• Full range of statutory leaves of absence.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a Lead strategist role in Toronto, reflecting the experience and strategic impact expected. The extensive benefits package indicates Manulife's commitment to employee well-being and long-term financial security, which can be a significant factor for operations professionals seeking stability. The mention of "incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance" suggests a performance-driven environment, common in GTM operations.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services (Wealth and Asset Management).

Company Size: Manulife is a large, international financial services provider, employing thousands globally. This scale implies a structured environment with opportunities for broad impact and collaboration across diverse business units.

Founded: Manulife Financial Corporation was founded in 1887, indicating a long-standing history and established presence in the financial services industry.

Team Structure:

• The Experience Design team is part of Manulife Wealth and Asset Management, focusing on digital experiences for Wealth, North American Retail, and Global Institutional businesses.

• This role operates within a dynamic, high-impact environment, suggesting a collaborative structure with significant cross-functional interaction.

Methodology:

• Emphasis on research-led insights, service design excellence, and compelling storytelling to drive decisions.

• A structured approach to ambiguity, translating complex insights into actionable strategic direction.

• Integration of generative research, blueprinting, and evaluative testing to de-risk decision-making.

• Focus on synthesizing quantitative and qualitative inputs into actionable frameworks.

• Collaborative approach to defining experience visions and influencing product roadmaps.

Company Website: https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html

📝 Enhancement Note: Manulife's long history and global presence suggest a stable yet evolving organization. The emphasis on "service design excellence" and "research-led insights" aligns with a data-driven and customer-centric operational philosophy, crucial for effective GTM execution. The team's focus on digital experiences in Wealth and Asset Management indicates a strategic push towards modernizing client interactions.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a "Lead" role, indicating a senior individual contributor or potential team lead position. It requires significant strategic input, influence over product direction, and the ability to mentor peers. In an operations context, this role would be responsible for defining and refining strategic processes that impact how products are brought to market and how customer experiences are managed post-launch.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, a Lead Experience Design Strategist typically reports to a Director or VP of Design, Experience Design, or Product. They would work closely with Product Managers, Engineering Leads, and Marketing Directors, acting as a key strategic partner.

Operations Impact: The role's direct impact on shaping digital experiences, influencing product roadmaps, and driving complex initiatives means it significantly influences the customer acquisition and retention funnel. Successful strategic design translates directly into improved user engagement, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction, all of which are key operational metrics for GTM success. The integration of AI also positions the role at the forefront of operational innovation.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in AI-driven design, advanced service design, or specific areas of financial services digital strategy.

• Leadership: Transition into management roles, leading a team of design strategists or overseeing broader experience design initiatives.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Expand influence across different business units or product lines within Manulife, driving strategic alignment at a higher level.

• Process Improvement: Lead initiatives to formalize and optimize design strategy and service design processes across the organization, enhancing operational efficiency and effectiveness.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a clear path for growth within strategic design and GTM operations. The opportunity to influence product roadmaps and integrate new technologies like AI positions the candidate for leadership in operational innovation within the financial services sector.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid. This indicates a blend of in-office and remote work, promoting flexibility while maintaining opportunities for in-person collaboration.

Office Location(s): Toronto, Ontario (primary) and Waterloo, Ontario. This provides flexibility for candidates located in these major Ontario tech and business hubs.

Workspace Context:

• The hybrid model suggests a need for strong remote collaboration tools and practices, alongside effective in-office engagement for workshops, brainstorming, and strategic alignment.

• Expect a work environment that values structured processes, data-driven decision-making, and collaborative problem-solving, typical of large financial institutions.

• Opportunities for interaction with product teams, engineering, marketing, and sales leaders will be frequent, fostering a holistic understanding of the GTM lifecycle.

Work Schedule: The standard 40-hour work week provides a predictable structure, while the hybrid arrangement offers flexibility in managing personal and professional commitments. This balance is crucial for operations roles that often require focused analytical work alongside collaborative sessions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid work environment is a common operational model, requiring individuals to be adept at managing their time and communication across different settings. The focus on "complex, multi-channel initiatives" implies a need for a structured work approach that can accommodate diverse projects and stakeholder needs within this flexible framework.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: HR or Recruiter to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Deep dive into experience, strategic thinking, and role alignment. Focus on past projects and problem-solving approaches.

• Portfolio Review: A critical stage where candidates present their work. Expect to walk through 2-3 key projects, detailing your strategic process, research insights, design decisions, and impact. Be prepared to discuss challenges and how you overcame them.

• Cross-Functional Stakeholder Interviews: Interviews with peers and leaders from product, engineering, marketing, and sales to assess collaboration skills and strategic alignment.

• Final Interview: Often with a senior leader to confirm strategic fit and leadership potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select projects that best demonstrate your experience in design strategy, service design, and driving tangible outcomes. Prioritize projects relevant to financial services or complex digital products.

• Tell a Story: Structure each case study with a clear narrative: the problem/opportunity, your strategic approach, the research and insights gathered, the solutions developed, and the measurable impact (user and business metrics).

• Highlight Process: Emphasize your strategic methodology, how you handled ambiguity, synthesized data, and collaborated with stakeholders. Use frameworks and diagrams to visualize your process.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use data and metrics to demonstrate the success of your initiatives. Focus on improvements in user engagement, conversion rates, customer satisfaction, or business KPIs.

• Showcase AI Integration: If applicable, detail how you leveraged AI tools or designed AI-enabled experiences.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared for potential case studies or design challenges that require you to outline a strategic approach to a given problem, potentially involving ambiguous requirements or complex user needs within a financial services context.

• Practice articulating your thought process clearly and concisely, especially when discussing how you would synthesize information and influence stakeholders.

• Prepare to discuss how you would integrate AI into your strategic planning or solution design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio review is paramount for this role. Candidates must be able to visually and verbally demonstrate their strategic process and its impact, directly showcasing their ability to operationalize strategy into successful initiatives. This is analogous to a GTM strategist presenting a plan and its expected outcomes.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Collaboration: Figma, Mural, PowerPoint.

• Research & Synthesis: Tools for generative and evaluative research (specifics may vary, but UX research platforms, survey tools, and analytics platforms are likely).

• AI-Augmented Tools: Experience with AI-enabled design and research tools is a plus, indicating familiarity with emerging operational technologies.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Familiarity with analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics) to understand user behavior and measure the impact of design strategies.

CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct CRM role, understanding how customer data in CRMs and marketing automation platforms informs customer experience strategy is beneficial.

• Awareness of how digital experiences integrate with sales and marketing funnels.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency with design and collaboration tools is expected. The emphasis on "AI-augmented design and research tools" suggests Manulife is investing in cutting-edge operational technologies to enhance efficiency and insight generation, a key trend in GTM operations.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer-Centricity: Placing customer needs at the core of all product and business decisions.

• Data-Driven Approach: Utilizing research-led insights and synthesized data to inform strategy and decision-making.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Working with low ego, fostering trust, and sharing knowledge openly.

• Continuous Learning: Commitment to excellence, continuous improvement, and staying abreast of emerging technologies and best practices.

• Systemic Thinking: Ability to turn complexity into clarity and actionable plans that balance user needs with business realities.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Strong partnership with product, design, engineering, marketing, and sales leaders to ensure cohesive vision and execution.

• Influence and Facilitation: Leading through influence, confident facilitation of workshops and discussions, and evidence-based storytelling to align stakeholders.

• Mentorship: Sharing best practices and elevating the overall craft and strategic capability within the design practice.

📝 Enhancement Note: The values emphasize a blend of strategic thinking, operational execution, and collaborative teamwork. This aligns with the needs of a GTM team where alignment across functions is critical for successful product launches and market penetration.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Ambiguity: Thriving in complex, undefined problem spaces and translating them into clear strategic direction.

• Influencing Stakeholders: Gaining buy-in and aligning diverse senior leaders on a cohesive vision and product roadmaps.

• Balancing Needs: Integrating customer needs with business realities and regulatory constraints in a complex financial services environment.

• Integrating Emerging Tech: Effectively incorporating AI and other new technologies into visioning and solution design while managing potential ethical and practical considerations.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Design & Strategy: Deepen expertise in designing and implementing AI-enabled experiences and leveraging AI tools for research and ideation.

• Service Design Mastery: Further refine skills in end-to-end service design, from discovery to implementation, and its impact on business outcomes.

• Financial Services Domain Expertise: Gain deeper knowledge of wealth and asset management, customer journeys, and regulatory landscapes.

• Leadership Development: Opportunities to mentor junior colleagues, lead larger initiatives, and potentially move into team leadership roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges highlight the strategic and analytical demands of the role, mirroring the complexities faced in GTM operations. The growth opportunities are geared towards developing expertise in cutting-edge technologies and strategic leadership, crucial for advancing in operations-focused career paths.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to define a strategic vision for a complex, ambiguous digital initiative. What was your process, what insights did you uncover, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on your structured approach, synthesis, and impact.)

• "How do you influence product roadmaps and align senior stakeholders on a strategic direction, especially when there are competing priorities?" (Highlight your storytelling, facilitation, and evidence-based approach.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Manulife and our Wealth & Asset Management business?" (Research Manulife's recent initiatives, financial performance, and strategic goals.)

• "How do you approach collaboration with product managers, engineers, and marketing teams?" (Emphasize your cross-functional partnership and communication style.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, your strategic process (research, synthesis, ideation), the solution, and the measurable impact.

• Visuals: Use clear, concise visuals (diagrams, screenshots, data charts) to support your narrative.

• Narrative: Tell a compelling story about how you translated complex challenges into successful, user-centered solutions.

• Quantify: Be ready to discuss the metrics and business impact of your work.

• AI: If applicable, clearly articulate your experience with AI tools or AI-enabled design.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating a strategic mindset, strong analytical skills, and the ability to translate complex ideas into actionable plans, mirroring the requirements of a GTM operations strategist.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations-focused strategic role:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Manulife's careers portal.

• Tailor your resume: Highlight experience in design strategy, service design, influencing product roadmaps, and working within regulated industries. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare your portfolio: Select 2-3 impactful projects that showcase your strategic process, research synthesis, problem-solving skills, and measurable outcomes. Ensure your portfolio demonstrates your ability to handle ambiguity and influence stakeholders.

• Research Manulife: Understand their business, their focus on digital transformation, and their position in the financial services market.

• Practice your narrative: Be ready to articulate your strategic approach and operational impact clearly and concisely during interviews, especially during the portfolio review.

⚠️ 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.